Photo by Chris McCarthy
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher
Lydia Kay accomplished quite a bit during her first year of competitive long distance running.
In nine cross country meets this past season, the Southside High seventh grader finished in the top 10 five times, including first at the Etowah County Schools 5K in October and runner-up the Vinemont Invitational. The Lady Panthers’ 2024 Etowah County Schools championship was the program’s sixth out of the last seven seasons.
Kay (pictured at left) came in fourth out of 49 runners to help the Lady Panthers win first-ever sectional title and placed 33rd out of 254 competitors at the AHSAA state meet at Oakville. Her season PR of 20:06.84 was almost 25 seconds faster than the next closest local runner, teammate Marlee Tucker, making Kay the runner of the Year for the All-Messenger girls cross country team.
“Lydia is a very talented young athlete,” said Southside cross country coach Kim Nails. “She has a lot of natural ability and is very competitive. Although she is young, she doesn’t mind working on her own and made tremendous progress throughout the season. Before Lydia was in seventh grade, she would come and run while her brother was practicing, so we knew early on that she had the potential to become a very good distance runner. Our upperclassmen demonstrated a love for the sport and provided tremendous leadership for Lydia, and their character and work ethic were good examples for her to emmulate. We’re looking forward to see the results of her continual commitment, hard work and self-discipline.”
Editor’s note: Selections to the All-Messenger cross country team were based on season PRs. Not all schools in The Messenger’s coverage area had runners who qualified.
2024 All-Messenger girls cross country team
Runner of the Year: Lydia Kay, Southside
Coach of the Year: Kim Nails, Southside
First team
Lydia Kay, seventh grade, Southside: 20:06.84
Marlee Tucker, freshman, Southside: 20:31.30
Allie Cone, freshman, Ashville: 21:03.26
Payton Ridley, senior, Southside: 21:07.52
Taylor Dortch, senior, Southside: 21:16.08
Second team
Sarah Ponder, sophomore, Glencoe: 21:21.81
Emma Godfrey, freshman, Hokes Bluff: 21:45.16
Karlee Tarpley, junior, West End: 21:57.94
Luci Valentine, eighth grade, Southside: 22:06.72
Kennedi Nix, eighth grade, West End: 22:34.94
Third team
Mallory Tucker, junior, Southside: 22:50.54
Adalyn Phillips, senior, Southside: 22:57.66
Emma Franklin, eighth grade, West End: 23:08.27
Riley Hulsey, freshman, Southside: 23:15.36
Madelyn Chandler, sophomore, Southside: 23:16.97
Honorable mention
Jada Wright, junior, West End: 23:20.52
Kenzli Nix, seventh grade, West End: 23:54.83
Tensley Young, eighth grade, West End: 24:00.36
Carolina Rainey, eighth grade, West End: 24:08.76
Avery Whiteman, seventh grade, Ashville: 24:15.11
Editor’s note: Selections to the All-Messenger cross country team were based on season PRs. Not all schools in The Messenger’s coverage area had runners who qualified.
