Hall of Famer Grace Dwyer Cook

Published Jan 5, 2026

This article is the latest in an ongoing series highlighting the upcoming honorees of the 3rd annual Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame induction class. The induction & awards banquet for the Class of 2026 will be held in May at Mercer Oaks (See here for details).

It's been said that it's harder to repeat as a champion than to win the title the first time around. If that saying is true, Nottingham's Grace Dwyer Cook's accomplishments are all the more impressive. She was a repeating machine.

In cross-country running, Dwyer won 3 straight Mercer County Championships and 3 straight CJ Sectional Championships between 2012 to 2014.

In winter track the repeats continued. For 3 consecutive years--2013 to 2015-- Dwyer won both the 1600m and 3200m at the indoor CJ Group III Sectional Championships. She also added an indoor Group III state title in the 3200 in 2015.

In winter county competition, Dwyer repeated as Mercer indoor 3200m champion in 2014 and '15. In 2014 she added county gold in the 1600m to make it a double win that year.

The repeats were even more mind-blowing in Dwyer's outdoor career for the Northstars. During her spring track campaigns, she won back-to-back Mercer County1600m titles in 2013 and '14, and in the 3200m she won the county title an unprecedented 4 years in a row from 2013 to '16.

In outdoor sectional competition, Dwyer accomplished yet another quadruple when she swept the 3200m at the CJ Championships 4 years in a row from 2013 to 2016. She doubled the first 3 of those years, winning the CJ 1600 as well. The 2015 CJ meet was especially remarkable as she added the 800m title for a sectional hat trick.

Dwyer leads the pack

In outdoor Group III competition, Dwyer won the state title for 3200m in 2015. She followed that up the next week with the most prestigious win of her incredible high school career by taking The Meet of Champions 3200m, She won it with a personal best time of 10:21.46.

After graduating from Nottingham, Dwyer attended both Liberty University and Furman. At Furman she won the 10,000m at the 2019 Southern Conference Outdoor Championships.

For her stellar collection of hardware throughout her running career, Grace will be inducted this spring into the Mercer County Track and Field Hall of Fame on May 17th, 2026. She will be joined by 17 other inductees who each possess outstanding athletic achievements and contributions to the sport.

For more info on the May 17th induction event or to become a donor to our 501 (c) (3) organization, visit our banquet page here.

© 2026 Mercer County Track & Field Hall of Fame

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