My kind of champion
Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 10:10PM 
I was born in a small town.
(No this isn't going to be a John Cougar - or whatever he calls himself these days - homage.)
Nope, I only bring up that simple and prideful fact because I interviewed a young lady today who is just as proud of her small-town roots as I am.
Richford sophomore Elle Purrier is a farm girl. And not shy to admit it. And that, my friends - in the age of where some define Snooki as the queen of cool - is pretty neat.
After talking with Elle (pronounced Ellie, for those who don't know her) it's refreshing to know that while she's one New England's top cross country (and track and field) runners, that is just a part of who she is ... not a defining attribute.
Sure, her fourth-place finish in the New England cross country championships (and her Gatorade Vermont cross country runner of the year award) cemented her place in the Vermont cross country running lexicon for the next two years, but she's an oustanding student and very much a true Franklin County kinda girl.
Need more proof?
In her school's girls basketball program she lists her future goal as owning a farm.
Now that's a true Vermonter.