Been there, run that - XC Season Recap

The Lady Indians weren't interested in matching last season's record-tying season. Rather, they were driven to improve upon that. With nearly every runner returning from the 2024 team that placed seventh at state, all saw improvement this fall under first-year coach Jamie Jimison. The result was the girls' first-ever claim as Region Champions as well as a State Runner-Up finish.

It was evident from the first meet that something special was brewing, when the Lady Indians placed second at the NE GA Championships. A 1st-place run at the North Georgia Championships in the next meet brought TFS to the forefront. The girls were ranked in the top-5 in the state for the first time.

Olivia Henderson twice set a new school record, with her 20:17.00 at Unicoi standing as the current high-mark. The junior was the individual Region Runner-Up, leading the girls to a Region Championship. Avery Keim was just behind her, and 8th-grader Naomi Russo was fifth. All three earned All-Region honors.

There was no letdown after that. The Lady Indians placed second in the state, as Henderson ran to a program-record 3rd-place finish to also secure All-State honors. Keim was 15th, Carol Pinho 18th, and Russo 27th in that meet.

The Indians were represented at state with All-Region and All-State selection Teagan Penland and fellow junior Ryan Anderson, who also was All-Region. Penland was ninth at state for a second straight season, and Anderson came in 34th. Penland was fourth in the region, while Anderson was eighth.The boys were fifth as a team at region.

Every All-Region and All-State runner still has at least one year left, so look out for the fall of 2026 and what those teams do to build off this success.