RUNNER OF THE YEAR
PAUL PATTERSON
Although a nagging hip injury curtailed his productivity at times, it was hard to argue that the Bradley Central sophomore was the best when he was healthy. He placed third in the Jesse Owens Classic, with a personal-best time of 16:10, as well as claiming his second consecutive Region 3-AAA championship. "I felt he was the best runner in the area," Bradley coach Larry Cotton said. "It's unfortunate that because of the injury, he wasn't able to solidify what I felt, but he's definitely on pace to become one of the best
we've ever had here."
COACH OF THE YEAR
LARRY COTTON
Cotton has had a lot of successful runners in his 29-year coaching career, including 19 now at Bradley Central. He's had region champions. But he never had the top two finishers in a region meet until sophomore Paul Patterson and freshman Harold Smith finished 1-2 in the 2010 Region 3-AAA race. The Bears finished second as a team, then placed 15th in the state meet with four freshmen running in their top seven. "I'm really excited about what we can do in coming years," Cotton said. "They all have the same attitude - to be one of the best teams around. They know that to be the best, you've got to beat the best, and I look forward to coaching them toward that."
FIRST TEAM
Seth Goudzward
WALKER VALLEY
Senior
He had four top-10 finishes before an injury forced him out of the City Championships and the postseason.
Ryan Hacherl
HERITAGE
Junior
He ran a personal best time of 17:42 in the Georgia Region 7-AAA championship meet.
Patrick Shultz
POLK COUNTY
Sophomore
He was second in the Region 3-A/AA meet and was an all league honoree.
Harold Smith
BRADLEY CENTRAL
Freshman
He was the Region 3-AAA runner-up and ran a personal-best 17:00 in the Jesse Owens Classic.
Joseph Turner
SEQUATCHIE COUNTY
Senior
Turner was third in the Region 4-A/AA meet and ran a season best 17:47 at the state meet.
Madison Yates
WALKER VALLEY
Senior
Yates ran a season best time of 17:43 at the Woodland Park race and had five top-10 finishes.
Caleb Young
MCMINN COUNTY
Senior
The Tennessee Wesleyan signee won the Greenway Farm race and was an all league honoree.
SECOND TEAM
BRODY COOK Northwest Whitfield Sophomore
PARKER COOK Northwest Whitfield Sophomore
GRANT CURRIN Cleveland Sophomore
JAKE CURTIS Bradley Central Senior
TAYLER KNIGHT Ringgold Freshman
CHRIS PINEDA Dalton Senior
PHILLIP WILLIAMS Lakeview-F.O. Senior
TEAMS OF THE YEAR
1 BRADLEY CENTRAL
The Bears were runners-up in Region 3-AAA and placed 15th in the state tournament.
2 DALTON
The Catamounts had a third-place finish in the Georgia Region 7-AAA meet.
3 NORTHWEST WHITFIELD
The Bruins had a fourth-place finish in Georgia 7-AAAA and advanced to the state tournament.
Photos by Allison Carter, Laura-Chase McGehee and John Rawlston. Text by Gene Henley. Layout by Stacey Wysong.