The Lady Tigers cross country team finished up its season last week at the state meet in Carrollton where the team finished fifth in the state.

Sophomore runner Frankie Muldoon led the group with a sixth place finish individually for Class AAA.

"To pull off a top five finish in a ‘rebuilding' year is incredible and speaks volumes to the talent we have rising in the program right now," said Head Coach Charles Beusse.

It was a difficult season in Class AAA with losses from graduation last year and this year's stiff competition, according to Beusse.

Muldoon finished at 19 minutes and 46 seconds to become one of the top 10 runners at the state level.

Junior Marley Hamby finished in the top 20 with her race and Beusse was pleased with the efforts of senior runner Bailey Cotter.

"In her last race, senior Bailey Cotter ran as good as I've ever seen her run, hanging with a strong North Hall pack just like she did at region," he said.

"The surprise of the day, however, was first year runner Alyssa Habermann. Alyssa stepped up big for us today and her best race of the season, finishing just behind Bailey to secure critical points."

Beusse also cited the efforts of freshman runner Jenna Lecours who was running in her first ever state meet and seniors Isabel Queen and Nicole Chumbley.

"In their last race, they put it all out there and raced the hardest I have seen them run all year," he said. "It was great to be able to see them go out on a high note."

Like the boys team, Beusse feels the future is bright for the cross country girls' team.

"I'm excited for the direction that both the boys and girls programs are headed, but more than that, I'm excited to see more and more runners in Dawson County becoming interested in the sport of cross country."

Beusse said the numbers continue to grow steadily and credits the leadership from the seniors in the program as well as the assistant coaches who worked tirelessly throughout the season: Ben Barrett, George Graves and Eddie Roberts.