Clarke Central High School varsity cross country team co-captains Ailynn Irwin, JD Daniel, Waylon Vaughn and Noah Kilpatrick (from left to right), all seniors, pose during the ODYSSEY Media Group’s Fall Media Day on Aug. 23 in the CCHS Competition Gym. As they enter their senior season, all four captains have experienced running-related injuries during their high school careers. “This off-season, I was coming off a stress fracture on my ankle, so I wasn’t able to run at the end of last track season and early off-season, but I picked up my cross-training and came back into training with the team recently,” Daniel said. Photo by Iliana Tejada
As the 2025-26 season starts up, the CCHS varsity cross country team is focused on the health and well-being of its runners.
In a sport that requires running approximately five-eight miles a day in 90-degree heat, Clarke Central High School head varsity cross country coach Erica Cascio, along with the rest of the cross country coaching staff, is prioritizing the health of the team for the 2025-26 season.
During the 2024-25 season, the boys varsity cross country team ranked No. 2 in the 2024-25 Georgia High School Association State Cross Country Championships, but Cascio felt that both the girls and boys teams took their training too far in order to reach those milestones.
A graphic displays the Clarke Central High School varsity cross country team’s 2025-26 season schedule. At the Gladiators’ first meet of the season, the North Oconee High School Twilight Invitational on Aug. 29, the boys placed 12th and the girls placed 11th after the meet was moved from Aug. 28 to the 29. “(The meet) went really well. Most of our varsity team wasn’t there (because) it was Labor Day weekend, but I think our boys did great,” CCHS head varsity cross country coach Erica Cascio said. Graphic by Cooper Jones, photo by Iliana Tejada
“There’s always (lessons) that we learn from season to season. One (from last season) is that we’re really monitoring the health of our runners,” Cascio said. “(Last year’s runners) were really serious about the training. Sometimes they did too much. So, that’s (something) we’re trying to get ahead of now.”
One component of keeping runners healthy is managing the Georgia summer heat. Though GHSA policy states that meets can begin on Aug. 11, Cascio chose to hold off on racing until Aug. 29 in the North Oconee Twilight Invitational.
“I used to put (the team) into races the second (or) third week of school. (But,) because of the extreme heat in August, the (meet locations) couldn’t provide the support that the athletes needed for that kind of heat,” Cascio said. “I thought, ‘Well, this is putting my runners at risk,’ and I’m going to wait (until Aug. 29) to keep my kids safe.”
Girls varsity cross country runner Mariel Sanford, a junior, says coaches have been checking in with players in summer and regular season practices on both their physical and mental health, asking about everything from hydration to how things are at home.
“This focus on our health is important because the major variable in your race is your body, and running in bad health can affect not only your current race but the rest of your season performance,” Sanford said.
As the 2025-26 season begins, Cascio hopes both teams to make it to the state championships and end with a state title, but it isn’t her top priority.
“Winning is nice, but not at all costs,” Cascio said. “As an adult in these children’s lives, it’s important for me to prioritize the people that they’re developing into over some trophy, because that’s not going to be what was most important for their overall success in life.”
“As an adult in these children’s lives, it’s important for me to prioritize the people that they’re developing into over some trophy, because that’s not going to be what was most important for their overall success in life.”
— Erica Cascio,
CCHS head varsity cross country coach
