In her final high school cross country meet, Signal Mountain senior Adelin Glover’s patience and hard work paid off in a big way.
Glover began running for the Lady Eagles as an eighth grader, improved year after year as part of a program that churns out state championships, and this fall, she finally cracked the varsity starting lineup for the first time.
Glover and her teammates made program history Thursday as Signal Mountain won the TSSAA Class AA meet for the program’s fourth consecutive team state championship — and for the first time, all five scoring runners for the Lady Eagles earned the all-state designation by placing among the top 15 overall finishers.
A determined Glover was 14th in the 5-kilometer (3.1-mile) race at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, crossing the finish line with a time of 20 minutes and 15 seconds.
“I had never been to state before, so to finish inside the top 15 and help our team win state title No. 11 in total was really exciting,” Glover said. “I didn’t expect all five of us to finish top 15. But then again, I knew we had the potential. We have been a strong program for a really long time. We are so excited with the outcome. To be a part of a state championship race means a lot to me.”