ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: LANE THOMASSON

Lane ThomassonSchool: Cape CentralSports: Cross countryCoach: Mark HahnWeek Report: Thomasson blew away the competition in the Class 4A, District 1 meet last Saturday, finishing the race 33 seconds faster than the second-place runner. Thomasson, a senior, in finishing the race with a personal-best 19:41, helped the Lady Tigers to their first district championship in school history.

Season Report: This is the second time this fall that Thomasson has been named "Athlete of the Week" but it has been well deserved. Thomasson wasn't even a varsity runner last year, but she has worked her way into becoming the best female runner in Southeast Missouri. This season, she has won four races and has finished in the top five in every race this season.

Coach's Comments: "It's going to be a learning process Saturday (in the sectional meet). She'll run against some classy competition and she and I are both really looking forward to that," Hahn said. "I think she'll do really well. I have a lot of confidence in her conditioning and so does she. We've only had one girl in our history to be All-State. That would be quite an accomplishment. We'll learn a lot on how she'll do at state on how she does in sectional. We'll see if she can hang with it. She's just a great kid. Her focus is the same as it's always been."