Jason Fayant Mead Year: Junior Sport: Cross Country

One mile into the State AAA cross country race, Jason Fayant trailed more than 20 runners.

During the final 2 miles Fayant passed all but two of those runners: champion Isaac Hawkins and runner-up Paul Harkins, both of Ferris.

Fayant’s strong showing, after a 10th-place regional finish one week earlier, led Mead to its eighth consecutive state team title.

Mead runners had won seven of the previous eight individual titles, but nobody was upset when Fayant failed to make it eight of nine.

“It would have been nice … to keep the streak going, but not at the expense of the other thing,” said Mead coach Pat Tyson.

“Our focus was not on regional (a Ferris team win),” Fayant said. “Our focus was on making it to state and having our race there.”

Fayant broke his pinkie finger while clowning around with a friend prior to a season-ending dual with Ferris. He competed at regional with a cast on his finger.

“He had been on a lot of painkillers that week,” Tyson said. “We downplayed (the injury), but I don’t think it helped him.”

Neither did a hamstring injury that limited Fayant’s training over the summer. Fayant’s hard luck aside, the Mead Machine keeps churning.

“And next year we’ll have five of our top seven back,” said the Panthers junior.

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