NASHVILLE -- Saturday will go down as one of the greatest days of Claire Turner's life.

The Red Bank senior woke up to the news that she was the Wendy's Heisman Award winner for the state of Tennessee, then followed that up by winning the Class A/AA state cross country championship at Percy Warner Park.

"This has been an amazing day for me," she said. "I've worked so hard for the past four years, and it's a great way to end my senior season."

The state championship has been four years in the making. Turner was all-state in 2006 and 2007 but was unable to finish the 2008 meet. Her "failure" in last year's meet only made her more hungry this year.

"I was upset about last year. I didn't get a chance to compete," she said. "I wanted to get back out here and show everybody what I've got."

She came down the final hill neck-and-neck with David Lipscomb's Barbara Lee Ball but pulled away in the final 200 meters.

"She got on my shoulder and took off, so I had to go with her," Turner said. "In the last 150, 200 meters, I got a couple of steps on her. I was dying, but I knew I had to keep pushing.

"I'm always happy with a win, but a state championship is great; it's what you work for."

According to the Wendy's Heisman Web site, the award "has set the standard for high school student-athletes and gained tremendous prestige in its own right as the program combines the best of high school athlete and academic awards. Each fall, the WHSH recognizes the nation's most esteemed high school senior men and women for excellence in academics, athletics and community/school leadership."

Turner has a 4.0 grade point average and made a 31 on the ACT, although she took the test again and will receive her results next week.

"I'm hoping to get a 32 so I can get an academic scholarship and have my full tuition paid for," she said.

She also plans to run cross country in college and has narrowed her choices to Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. She plans to make her decision by Christmas.