The Clarke Central High School cross country team finishes practice on the track in the Billy Henderson Stadium on Sept. 23. The team has trained daily to prepare for the upcoming Clarke-Oconee Championship on Oct. 12. “I expect the boys to win,” foreign language department teacher and head cross country coach Erica Cascio said. “I feel like they are putting in the work (and) they’re improving. The boys are really working on strategy and speed (and) it’s coming together nicely.” Photo by Lucas Donnelly
After a difficult meet at North Oconee High School on Sept. 25, the CCHS cross country team is pushing to stay on track to make it to region and state championships.
The Clarke Central High School cross country team will compete against Athens Academy, North Oconee High School and Oconee High School in the Clarke-Oconee Championship at ACAD at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 12.
While the boys performed well at their previous meet at NOHS, which occurred on Sept. 25, the girls had a rough race with many team members out of competition due to injuries.
“It wasn’t cohesive that morning,” foreign language department teacher and head cross country coach Erica Cascio said. “It was a different mix of runners (and) this is just a younger group of less experienced runners. We’ve (also) had a lot of people struggling with chronic injuries.”
“The boys have really started running together as a group during workouts and we’ve got a good strong group of guys running, so it’s a very competitive team,”
— Erica Cascio,
foreign language department teacher and head cross country coach
However, with region and state championships fast approaching, Cascio hopes to get the team focused and back on track.
“The boys have really started running together as a group during workouts and we’ve got a good strong group of guys running, so it’s a very competitive team,” Cascio said. “(But) we’re still in a building phase with the girls. We’re hoping that they’re starting to get stronger, and that they’ll be able to come back and start putting in the mileage and the speed work that they need to really race cohesively.”
Despite these challenges, girls cross country runner Daniela Delgado, a senior, is optimistic about the meet and feels the team is prepared.
“I think (the team is) going to do pretty good. (We’ve) been working out a lot lately, especially doing track workouts. We’re consistent. It doesn’t mean that we’re going fast, but we keep our pace the whole time,” Delgado said. “I know the boys will definitely go (to state), but the girls we’re still working on it.”
