The Clarke Central High School varsity cross country team trains for the Region 8-AAAAA meet on Nov. 1 in Conyers, Ga. “I think that practice is very challenging mentally and physically and I think that it will help us become better runners in the end,” junior Jared Warner said. Photo by Owen Churchwell.
By OWEN CHURCHWELL – Staff Writer
For the 2014 season, Clarke Central High School’s varsity cross country team relies on the strength of its freshman class.
As the Clarke Central High School varsity cross country team prepares for the Region 8-AAAAA meet in Conyers, Ga. on Nov. 1 and the AAAAA state meet on Nov. 8, the team looks to count on freshman runners to help them succeed.
According to boys co-team captain senior Joe Aubry, the team made great strides since last year because of the large group of freshman runners.
“Last year we had a really good team, but I actually think we have improved since last year because we had a lot of freshman come in that were good additions to the team,” Aubry said.
Boys co-team captain junior Freddy Geiser has set his hopes high for the years to come with all the rising freshmen.
“We got a lot of really good freshman this year too – we really got lucky with that – like Jack Byrne and Christopher Dellaria and Bailey Veeder who have a lot of potential,” Geiser said. “I think that in the next few years they are going to be doing really, really well as they get faster and stronger.”
Aside from the big meets coming up, the freshman group has not been significatly affected by the teams’ dependence on them to perform.
“I just go out to the meets and try my hardest. If I try my hardest, I know my team is going to be happy,” Dellaria said.