For the first time in over a decade, Lake Highlands sent two cross country runners to the state meet.

Senior AJ Thompson and junior Rhett Austin were the hardworking runners who earned the opportunity to compete at one of the highest levels.

Not only did they compete, they worked hard enough to finish in the upper half of 152 runners. Thompson finished 44th and Austin finished 13th. 

Head coach Alonna Miller has been at the helm for over 15 years, and this is the first time she has ever had two students compete in the state meet.

“To be 13th and 44th in the state in 6A is such a huge accomplishment and I couldn’t be more proud of them both,” Miller elaborated.

Both worked extremely hard to get to this point. From the hot early August days to the chilly October mornings, it was no easy feat to get to this point.

“I was happy that all my hard work paid off after not making it to state last year,” Austin stated.

Lake Highlands has established a great tradition to do a sendoff for teams competing in the state meet. The cross country sendoff was another great one.

“I couldn’t help but smile when everyone was there to cheer me on,” Thompson mentioned.