Here in just a couple of hours, Head Coach Shawn Montgomery and Carroll County High School junior, Brenden Fariss, will be leaving The Hill. For the fourth time in four years, I will follow behind them in hopes of providing coverage for our young Cavalier.
Year 1 had freshman Corrie Delp and Senior Elijah Smith.
Year 2 was sophomore Corrie Delp and junior Brayden Smoot.
Year 3 was Junior Corrie Delp and sophomore Brenden Fariss.
Year 4 will be Junior Brenden Fariss.
Assistant Coach Jon Delp is currently in southwest Missouri with his family as the celebrate daughter Amy and her moving to the next level of her service to pur country.
The journey starts here in Olde Mill, and from here, it’s on to the high school 🏫.
This feed will stay active right up until we have completed the Class 3 High Jump competition tomorrow afternoon. We will pick it up again at the school shortly.
#Proud of Brenden
Yes, I am here two full hours early but that allows me time to write ✍️ out some thoughts. Here is the first one…https://aroundthevalleyin60days.blog/2026/06/04/lets-call-%f0%9f%93%9e-this-one-a-mothers-love-%e2%9d%a4%ef%b8%8f-and-the-championship-that-casey-burcham-has-already-won-%f0%9f%8f%86/
Another fun write ✍️ about one of our own…https://aroundthevalleyin60days.blog/2026/06/04/softball-on-the-hill-is-in-the-books-%f0%9f%93%9a-so-its-time-for-reflection-on-the-2025-2026-season-and-it-the-list-of-stories-must-begin-with-the-tale-of-one-ava-beamer/
12:40 pm – getting closer to departure
Batting second on the end of the year in review :Little Kevin and the Lineberry family !
Now it’s 1:23, folks should start arriving soon for the send-off !
Both of us have made it to our 🏨 rooms safely and will meet for dinner 🍽 shortly!
Choice Hibachi Buffet !
Tale of the Tape on Brenden Fariss !
Age – 17
Grade – Junior
Height – 6’1
Weight – 153
Hometown – The Hill
Parents – Jonathan and Brooke Fariss
Siblings – Makenzie (Older ), Atlee (younger)
Track Coaches – Shawn Montgomery and Jon Delp
Specialist field – High Jump with a minor in Triple Jump and 200 meters.
Dinner has been consumed, and Coach & Star Pupil have headed back to their hotel 🏨. We will meet back up in the morning 🌄 when it’s time to check in at Liberty University.
The time at dinner was beyond enjoyable, and there is plenty of 411 on our Cavalier as the night 🌙 plays out.
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Welcome 🙏 to Friday morning in Lynchburg ! The sun 🌞 will rise soon, and so will the dreams of so many student athletes from across the Commonwealth. Both Class 3 and Class 4 competitors will walk thru the gates today, with each one having hopes and dreams.
Shawn Montgomery, Jon Delp, and program newcomer Mark Hamlett have coached up our Boys and Girls teams all spring, leading up to this moment.
Our entire focus today will be on our Shawn Montgomery and Brenden Fariss. Fariss has his own set of goals, and here is what that looks like :
- Set a new PR , which stands for Personal Record. To do that, Fariss would need to clear the bar at 6’3.
- Match his PR of 6’2, which he set just a few weeks ago. The previous PR had been 6’0.
- Clearing the bar at a minimum of 6’0.
How does the event work at the State level ? This year, the Class 3 field has 27 athletes, and each will be given three attempts to clear each height. This process continues until we have the Last Man Standing.
The Schedule :
Meet up at the entrance to the facility at 11:00 am.
11:30 – Coach will attend the meeting with all of the others as all of the teams will be represented for the instructions.
12:30 – The high jump event will begin, and the length of the competition is open-ended. There is no telling about how long it will take 26 athletes to be removed, and one declared State Champion.
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Thoughts from Coach Montgomery include the following :
” The best part of the State Meet is having it take place on a college campus. That is what makes it different from the other meets, and most athletes will never have the opportunity to compete at the next level.”
” In track and field, if an athlete is not self-motivated, he or she will never reach Liberty University. You have to work hard outside of the practice time we have at school.”
When asked about the nutritional aspect of the 24 hours, Coach broke it down from leaving The Hill at 2pm on Thursday afternoon until the end of the competition.
” Dinner the night before can be a good solid meal of his choosing ( that is how we ended up at the Choice Hibachi Buffet), and from there, it lowers. Something light for breakfast and then a healthy snack and fluid to replenish during the heat 🥵 of the day.”
It’s safe to say that Fariss will be hungry when our duo gets back in the car and begins the drive back to The Hill. I’m not sure where they will land, but with the looks of the forecast but it will be a place with air conditioning !!
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Here are some nuggets from Brenden that are fun to share in hopes of making sure readers can get to know him.
Describing his parents : Mom 👩 / Brooke is amazing, and Dad / Jonathan is a source for motivation. He adds that both of his parents are his best friends 🧡!!! I’m not sure how often you hear that from a teenage boy !
When I asked him to describe his relationship with Coach Montgomery by comparing him to a restaurant ( one of my favorite questions), he responded with Chick-fil-A because there’s a lot going on there but it’s all nice !
Fariss enjoys traveling and lists Italy 🇮🇹 as a dream destination for the future.
Hobbies – being involved with the Fire Department 🚒, to which Shawn added that was his father’s hobby for 45 years.
Other events in track 👣 – Triple Jump and 200 meters.
When did Track become part of his life ? 8th grade, and it was the High Jump.
Last year, Fariss appeared to be just happy to be at the State Meet, and this year, he has a great deal more focus.
What would you want someone to know about you and your time with Track ?
” It would be for folks to realize how much effort has to go into the sport. You have to really push yourself to achieve your goals. There is a big difference between doing Track 👣 and getting good at it. “
It’s now 6:30 am, and while it’s time for me to take a nap but a few miles away, Brenden should be waking ⏰️ up and looking for his ” light breakfast.”
Here’s hoping that we have ourselves a great day while at the same time 🐌 slowing down long enough to soak in the reward for all of the hard work !
More 2 Follow…
It’s Showtime or at least walk through the gates time !
Coach Montgomery is now attending the Coaches meeting, which started promptly at 11:30.
Breakfast took place at Waffle 🧇 House, and our Guy had a super star 🌟 special, which I find very fitting for the occasion!
We are now within 60 minutes of the start of our competition. Soon, it will be time for stretching and the practice attempts.
Coach is back from the meeting, and now he can relax and join me as a cheerleader, minus the pom poms, but only because we don’t have any.
We have officially moved to the infield for the warm-up stage !
Live coverage on the Network !
Two events kickoff the two day event, and we are in one of the two 12:30 slots!
1:01 – The bar has been raised, and the field thinned down.
1:04 – good first attempt at new height but his foot clipped the bar at the end. Two more tries to come.
1:10 was another strong attempt but a late bump of the bar.
1:15 – third and final attempt at second height just misses and marks the end of the run. Need to get out of the Sun 🌞 but will add more later.
1:30 – back in the car 🚗 but managed to capture a priceless moment during our goodbyes 👋
Through the eyes of a Greater Fool 