Last year, Crenshaw County’s Relay for Life fell short of its goal. This year’s teams more than made up for that shortfall by raising over $92,000 — around $18,000 more than the goal of $74,000.

“We were a little shocked at the amount,” said county coordinator Cathy Wilkes. “We just had a great response from the sponsors, teams and people that donated.”

While a line of storms that moved through delayed the start of Friday night’s event, it didn’t take long for things to kick into full swing.

The survivors’ lap was soon followed by “theme laps,” such as crazy hat lap, patriotic lap, backwards lap and jersey lap.

Several Troy football players also stopped by to show their support and sign autographs for fans.

The most solemn moment of the evening came during the luminaria ceremony, when all the lights in the stadium were turned out.

With the only light coming from the luminarias, the names of survivors and those who lost their battle with cancer were read aloud.

“We had a lot of people that stayed until 2 a.m. this year,” Wilkes said. “The rain might have affected our turnout a little, but we had a great group that came out.”

Awards were also given out to honor those who raised the most money.

The SMART team took home the top money award with over $18,000, while Highland Home School was second and South Luverne Baptist Church placed third.

Both HHS and South Luverne raised over $12,000.

Individually, Edna Ruth Norsworthy raised the most money with over $3,000.

“This honor isn’t about me,” Norsworthy said. “It’s a tribute to the people who donate everything from $5 to $300 every year. I want to thank each of them for their support.”

Luverne High School took home the Spirit of Relay Award, and Highland Home School won the award for Most Money Raised Online.

The Luverne United Methodist Church took home the Per Capita Award.

“We really want to thank everyone who had a part in Relay for Life,” Wilkes said. “It’s been a fantastic community effort.”