Once

children return to school, athletics are never far

behind. The softball season and the volleyball season

begin first,followed by cross country and football.

The cross

country programs at the county schools all seem to be

rich in talent and dedication. McIntosh seems to field

powerhouse teams year in and year out and Fayette County

is always close enough with them to compete.

The season

began last week for all of the county high school

programs and the results were encouraging. Fayette County

traveled to Newnan Waterworks Park to face East Coweta.

The boys' squad was dominant, taking the first four

positions and then finishing sevnth, eighth and ninth.

The top three finishers were juniors Trey Alverson

(16:44), Blake Riley (17:01), and Jon Riley (17:24).

Senior

Andrew Husack came in fourth place with a time of 17:55.

The seventh, eighth and ninth finishers were Adam

Pekarske, Blake Alverson and Adam Lester. The Tigers won

the meet 17-42.

The Fayette

girls were equally dominant, capturing the top three

positions and the fifth, sixth and seventh positions.

Junior Jessica Tyre finished first with a time of 20:49,

she was followed by seniors Dana Teat (22:56) and

Clarinda Phillips (23:25). Junior Rachel Swafford, senior

Jessica Kollmeyer and sophomore Taryn Kendall finished

fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. The Tigers will

head to the Darlington-Berry Cross Country Invitational

this Saturday.

Sandy Creek

also will head to the prestigous Darlington-Berry

Invitational this weekend. They are looking forward to a

great season as well. The girls return a core of

experience with seven members of last year's Region 4-AAA

runner up squad. They will be led by Rae Lynch, a 1998

all-state performer, along with Jessica Lovelace, Alexis

McCoy, Kim Bockmuller,Jennifer Huddleston, Kristi Knowles

and Anya Traille.

The boys'

squad will return Lukas Fortunato, Pete Browning, Brandon

Goldstein, Jesse Dukes, Brian Wetmiller, Kellen Owens and

Giovanti Bonner. The team is working hard and welcomes

newcomer Chris Wilson. Sandy Creek also will conduct the

Fall Classic Sept. 25. The race will feature 40 teams

from the area and a new, improved running course.

McIntosh is

the squad to beat, though. The girls return last year's

fabulous freshmen and shoot for a second consecutive

state championship. The team is led by Dana Van Winkle,

Elizabeth Gardner, Mary Katherine Crofton and Judy

Thomasson. Some of the strong upper classmen have

graduated from McIntosh, but Coach Charles Buckle will

prepare his team for battle the same as always.

The boys

may have an uphill struggle for the Chiefs this year,

too. Seniors Geoff Melymuk and Kevin Panke, last year's

number one and two runners for the boys' squad, both

graduated. Those holes will need to be filled well if the

Chiefs can secure another county championship this year.

This weekend's meet at Berry College should be an

excellent indicator for where the teams must improve.

As for

Starr's Mill, they finally have a senior class and should

return all of last year's starters to the squad. Both the

boys' and girls' teams improved with each week during

last season and hope that they can do the same this year.

Some strong

runners for the boys are Les Page, Jay Touchstone and

Jason Fitzgerald, while the girls are led by Jessica

Helenius, Kelsi Matwick and Sara Samms. Starr's Mill had

an impressive spring track season and should be in better

shape than early on last year. As long as their times

keep dropping, Starr's Mill could give a good show in the

region and the state.