The school motto serves as an inspiration to the Landmark track team.

Landmark Christian School will be running for its fifth consecutive Class A Georgia boys' outdoor track and field title this weekend in Jefferson, Ga. While it would be an amazing feat for a school that has only 160 males in its entire student body, the accomplishment would be downright awe-inspiring considering the status of the school 11 years ago.

In 1989, Bill Thorn set out to set up a Christian school with high moral standards and principles. With the help of a few others, Landmark Christian School was born and operated out of what used to be a one-building cabinet shop. Within two years, a lack of financing and space forced Landmark into a dreary economic state.

"It looked real bleak at the time," says Thorn, who is the track coach at Landmark and has been coaching in Georgia since 1955. "We had a lot of inquiries for incoming students, but there was no room, and we certainly didn't have any (athletic) facilities."

That's when it happened. Thorn's prayers were answered when a closed-down high school in Fairburn, approximately 20 miles south of Atlanta, went up for sale. The asking price for the entire property was only $250,000. The rest is, well, track history.

Once in its new facility, Landmark flourished. The boys' track program joined the Georgia High School Athletic Association in 1991 and has won a regional title every year since. In 1996, the squad captured its first Class A state championship. Thorn, whose philosophy involves working hard, working harder and working the hardest, knows why his students have been able to repeat the feat three years running.

"We don't have great athletes here," says Thorn rather bluntly. "We require dedication, commitment and consistency. I tell them hard work, given time, beats talent or takes talent to a higher level. You have no control over somebody else. The only person you control is yourself."

It's a philosophy his athletes have taken to heart.

"Yesterday, we were out there from 3:30 to 8:30," says senior Nick Polgardi. "It wasn't the coach keeping us out there. It was us wanting to put in the time to get it done."

"I think our program is a whole lot different because he (Thorn) makes us run," adds distance runner Nathan Kosiba. "Other schools run, but not as much as we do. They may be out there putting in 30 to 40 miles a week, while we're doing 70 to 80."

"We work hard at practice," says Kyle Rabbitt, who will be running for Georgia Tech in the fall. "At other schools it's not even mandatory to practice."

Thorn's practices are geared toward distance runners. He believes that a successful distance runner does not have to be blessed with talent, just a strong work ethic. He has molded his team accordingly.

"We pick the events we are going to work on and direct our kids to those," says Thorn. "We're not going to be successful in the sprint events because we don't have the athletes. So, we have our kids put the time in the middle and long distances. That's the beauty of those events. They're training events. Any kid who puts in the time has a tremendous opportunity to excel."

Excel is what the Landmark track program does. Now that a history has been established, this year's group of seniors is eager to keep the tradition alive.

"A legacy has been created," says Polgardi. "It's an honor to be part of it, to be part of something exceptional. There are big shoes to fill, but we want to keep the tradition going."

This weekend, they'll have their chance.