Two state meets. Two state titles. Fairview High School sophomore Alyssa Andrea successfully defended her TSSAA Division I Small School Cross Country State Championship Thursday at Sanders Ferry Park. Andrea finished in 20 minutes, 4.62 seconds, beating out Signal Mountain’s Kelsey Thompson by just over 10 seconds to capture the state title. After a fast start, several runners pulled in stride with the sophomore before Andrea was able to extend her lead down the stretch in the state run. As a freshman last year, she clinched Fairview’s first state title since Kori Bledsoe won in 2001. Loren Sloan, a Fairview freshman, also reached the podium by finishing 12th overall in 21:18.67 for the Lady Yellow Jackets. Andrea is the first two-time girls State champion in Fairview High School history. After crossing the finish line in first place, Alyssa said, “Honestly, it was the hardest race I have ever ran. It was the first one I have faced adversity in and because of the amazing people on my team and my family, I was able to finish with a 20 second lead.” The adversity she faced came in the middle of the race. She explained, “The first mile was great. Second, I got this ungodly cramp, and two girls passed me at that point. And in the last 800, because of my mom and brother cheering me on, I kicked it in and won by 20 seconds!” The daughter of Tanya and Victor Andrea, Alyssa has been competing in cross country since middle school. “When I was in fifth grade, my parents made me run, and the welcoming nature of the middle school coaches and my teammates was what gave me my love for the sport,” shared Alyssa. With FHS cross country competing almost every week this year, Alyssa said she also conditioned outside of competitions. “I worked hard all year in and out of practice and incorporated weight lifting,” she said. Andrea's winning time this year was an improvement over her 2019 winning time of 20:26.71.
The Fairview Boys Cross Country team placed 4th at the State Championships in Hendersonville, TN. Matthew Andrea led the Yellow Jackets with a seventh place finish, besting his 15th place showing a season ago. The junior closed in 16:47.35. Will Douglas of Camden won the boys’ race in 16:01.78, topping second-place Grayson Kennedy of Sequatchie County by more than 20 seconds. Senior Ryan Keeton (16:56.88) placed ninth overall for the Yellow Jackets.
Girls Team Scores (Top 5)
1, Signal Mountain 37 points (21 minutes, 6.23 seconds average); 2, Merrol Hyde 156 (23:22.79); 3, Gatlinburg-Pittman 156 (22:56.26); 4, Sequatchie County 181 (23:18.43); 5, Westmoreland 210 (24:04.84).
Girls Individual Results (Top 15)
1, Alyssa Andrea, Fairview, 20:04.62; 2, Kelsey Thompson, Signal Mountain, 20:14.71; 3, Jaedyn Stalnecker, Forrest, 20:22.07; 4, Lily Stinnett, Gatlinburg-Pittman, 20:30.27; 5, Sophia Gibby, Signal Mountain, 20:32.33; 6, Gracen Glover, Signal Mountain, 20:40.68; 7, Serenity Williams, Madison Academic, 20:46.73; 8, Stefani Johnson, Gatlinburg-Pittman, 20:59.99; 9, Jillian Givens, Sequatchie County, 21:10.46; 10, Keke Norfolk, Sweetwater, 21:14.25; 11, Gianna Cruz, Merrol Hyde, 21:15.33; 12, Loren Sloan, Fairview, 21:18.67; 13, Anna Kate Tibbs, Sequatchie County, 21:19.48; 14, Lexie LaDuc, Cannon County, 21:28.81; 15, Lexi Bates, Northview Academy, 21:36.71.
Boys Team Scores (Top 5)
1, Signal Mountain 60 (17:25.18); 2, Merrol Hyde 132 (18:11.83); 3, Alcoa 142 (18:17.12); 4, Fairview 151 (18:10.08); 5, Madison Academic 162 (18:25.17).
Boys Individual Results (Top 15)
1, Will Douglas, Camden, 16:01.78; 2, Grayson Kennedy, Sequatchie County, 16:21.97; 3, Joshua Pote, Signal Mountain, 16:31.64; 4, Irving Medina, Chuckey-Doak, 16:35.86; 5, Carter Bradford, Sequatchie County, 16:37.44; 6, Abdul Jaber, Alcoa, 16:38.22; 7, Matthew Andrea, Fairview, 16:47.35; 8, Parker Breitling, Merrol Hyde, 16:48.91; 9, Sam Fulton, Gatlinburg-Pittman, 16:55.01; 10, Ryan Keeton, Fairview, 16:56.88; 11, Colton Underwood, Signal Mountain, 17:11.53; 12, Dan Greer, Madison Academic, 17:15.86; 13, Chandler Dalton, West Greene, 17:18.50; 14, Nicholas Skarsten, Dresden, 17:29.32; 15, Max Sewell, Signal Mountain, 17:33.36.
Source: Williamson Herald/Main Street Fairview
