Members of the girls Clarke Central High School cross country team stand in a huddle at their region meet on Oct. 23 at Unicoi State Park. The team had four and one top 10 placements at its region and state meets, respectively. “It (was) a bigger team (this year), which was kind of fun,” CCHS cross country runner Mckinley Campbell, a junior, said. “I know some people got a lot better, and so it was fun just standing by them. (CCHS senior Lucy Yeomans) won region and then got fifth in state. That was a lot of fun to see and cheer her on.” Photo courtesy of Mollie Sherman
Finishing the 2019 season with top ten placements at their region and state meets, the Clarke Central High School cross country team will experience various changes to their team next season.
The Clarke Central High School cross country team finished its 2019 season with four and one top 10 individual and team placements at both their region and state meets, respectively.
At the region race on Oct. 23, CCHS senior Lucy Yeomans placed first and CCHS sophomore Lena Cook placed second. On the boys team, CCHS senior Braden Delamater placed fifth and CCHS senior Colby Meeks placed seventh. Both the girls and boys teams placed third overall.
A graphic displays the Clarke Central High School cross country team’s top 10 placements at its region and state meets in the 2019 season. CCHS senior Lucy Yeomans placed the highest out of the two meets, coming in at fifth at the state competition.
“Considering everybody already ran (the region course at an earlier meet this year), we had a lot of high expectations for setting personal records,” CCHS cross country runner Colby Meeks, a senior, said. “We all went into (region) with a very positive outlook (and as) a good chance to improve.”
Last season at the 2018 region meet, the boys team placed second and the girls team placed fourth.
“We had some people individually do better (this year), but we didn’t do as well (as previous years) overall as a team,” cross country runner Mckinley Campbell, a junior, said. “We definitely tried, we were just not as fast as the other (teams).”
At the state competition on Nov. 1, Yeomans placed fifth. The girls and boys teams placed 12th and 17th, respectively.
“State is just a whirlwind. There’s a lot of kids there. They’re the fastest kids in the state. The competition is fierce,” head cross country coach Mollie Sherman said. “If you’re going to place, that means that you are doing something right. You have worked really, really hard to place that state.”
According to Campbell, the social dynamic of the team will change next season, both in positive and negative ways.
“We’re going into (next season) closer (as a team), with the juniors next year, we’ll be closer. But also losing (Yeomans), she’s a big part of the team — especially being the only senior (girl),” Campbell said. “She’s definitely been a role model and we’re losing that.”
Assistant cross country coach Erica Cascio believes that certain aspects of the cross country program could be improved upon for the 2020 season in order to place higher at these final competitions.
“We could be doing a better job at practicing how to run through the (finish line), and I’d like to see them be a bit more serious about stretching afterwards,” Cascio said. “(Next season) I think they’re going to come in fired up, and I think that enthusiasm will spill over into the new kids that are coming in.”
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