The Dawson County middle school cross country program ran in the Mountain League Championship meet at Clear Creek Middle School in Ellijay last week.

In near perfect weather, two Dawson County runners captured first place in the Oct. 15 event.

For the boys, Christopher Shelp edged out Connor Morano from Pickens Middle to finish the 3,200-meters with a time of 12:17. Morano was just behind with a time of 12:20.

Katya Bessiere from Dawson County easily won the girls race with a time of 13:37. Bessiere broke the tape yards ahead of second place finisher Bailey Stewart from Pickens Middle (13:55).

Teams from Pickens, Jasper, Fannin, Clear Creek and Dawson competed in the event.

The Tigers also placed another runner in the top 10. Nathan Sorrells crossed the finish line with a time of 13:33 for a sixth place finish.

Rounding out the boy runners were Cody Wood (14:15), Hunter Voyles (14:50), Jacob Sinclair (15:32), Jared Posey and Derek Chambers.

There were 73 runners in the race.

The team accumulated 71 points for a third place team finish. Pickens Middle captured the team title with 50 points.

On the girls' side, Dawson County finished with 95 points. Winning the team title was Fannin County with 46 points.

Also running for the Lady Tigers were: Lindsey LaBaron (17:08), Hope Bennett (1750), Jessica Butler (18:00), Hayley Burt and Mackenzie Smith.

The cross country season has now ended for both teams.