The Landrum High School cross country team keeps giving the town reasons to celebrate, and this week the town gave a parade to honor these state champions.

The girls’ cross country team, led by seniors Sarah Cash, Paige Herbst, Elizabeth Walker, and Morgan McLellan, earned their second straight Division IIA championship this year.

“We dedicated our victory to Morgan McLellan, because she had a stress fracture and she earned this with all of us,” Herbst said. “It’s really big to be able to say we all finished as state champions.”

The team, under the leadership of coach Jeremy Darby, have helped establish a winning tradition at Landrum High School. This year marked the first year that the girls’ team has won back-to-back championships, he said. Last year they won in a tie-breaker, and this year they won by one point.

“This year means a lot, because we really have bonded as a team and we all worked hard all season together,” Cash said.

The younger runners on the team also contributed a great deal to the success of the group, and they will be the foundation of next year’s team.

“It’s a privilege to be able to run on the best team in the state,” said Laura Ford, team member.

The girls emphasized that the work they have done together has been difficult, but also truly fun and rewarding for all of them.

Team member Lily Mathis added, “I love to be with my friends, in a group where I feel appreciated and not judged. It’s just fun to be around all these people and we really are like one big, happy family.”