ANNA - For the record, Verma Cochran is usually in church on Sunday nights.

This past week, however, she wasn't feeling well, and as crazy as it sounds, Cochran said, she's happy about it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been in front of her television to witness her great-granddaughter win $1 million.

Cochran, 80, of Anna is great-grandmother to Rachel Rosales, 23, of Los Angeles, one of the champions of this season's CBS reality series, "The Amazing Race."

The network on Sunday aired the final episode of the show, which pits teams of people against each other to complete challenges in a worldwide race. In it, Rosales and her partner, 22-year-old boyfriend TK Erwin, were first to reach the finish line in Anchorage, Alaska, securing the $1 million prize.

The duo's journey had taken them across several countries, with challenges ranging from diving into tanks filled with snapping clams to scaling the sides of glaciers.

Cochran, not a regular "Amazing Race" viewer, was floored by her great-granddaughter's win, since Rosales was required to keep all details about the show, including her prize, secret until the season was over.

Cochran recalled the moment she saw Rosales win.

"I just laughed and tears came to my eyes," she said. "It was joy; I was elated that she stayed in long enough. You have to know this little girl. She weighs less than 100 pounds, and some of the things she had to do were tough."

Cochran has received phone calls from family all over the country. After a couple of hours had passed Sunday night, she called Rosales at her California home. They didn't get much time to talk, Cochran said, as Rosales' house was full of cheering and screaming people.

"She did ask me if I was crying, and I said, 'No, I'm too happy to cry,'" Cochran said.

caleb.hale@thesouthern.com

351-5090