Decatur High School’s Cross Country and Track coach, Mary Souther, won the award for the best Cross Country coach in the state of Georgia. Souther is a teacher at DHS who has been the lead Cross Country coach for seven years.

“I would say that it really means that our team came together because what the award does is that it recognizes that our team was the best in the state,” Souther said. 

According to Souther, winning the award requires more than being a top-tier manager and coach. 

“It’s a long season… and getting everyone to commit, it’s less of a problem now, but for years people were trying to play soccer and tennis and do cross country, so the difference is commitment,” Souther said. 

In the past 3 years, Decatur High School has taken home two state championships with hopes to bring home more in the future, and now with a coach of the year award added onto the list of achievements, the only way to go is up.

“We keep going,” Souther said. “I think that people are going to be shocked at what the girls team does next year. Success breeds success, so when people see us being successful they know that the commitment pays off.”