In the sport of cross country, the fruits of labor arrive in the late summer and into the fall when the season is well underway.
For that reason, getting mileage in during the summer months carries a heavy degree of importance for runners. Now, with the season opener less than a month away, Greyhounds head coach Geoff Moore likes what he’s seen for the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds runners. JCHS opens the season Aug. 13 at Perry in the Midstate Invitational.
“Summer is based on mileage. Cross country is a sport that you get ready for in the summer and runs in the fall. If you’re not prepared, you won’t be ready,” Moore said. “Our first meet is (less than a month away), so we don’t have time to mess around. I’ve had consistently 40 to 50 kids working out every morning. Some have had vacations and family stuff, but they have a mileage chart. Even if they’re not here, they’re responsible for sending it in to me.”
Jones County will add another level to its offseason this week with 23 runners going to camp in Brevard, North Carolina, the most that Moore says the team has ever taken to the camp in the mountains.
“It’ll help with teamwork, working out in those mountains,” Moore said.
It’ll build toward a season in which both teams should be favored to win the region. As a bonus this year, the region meet will be hosted by the Greyhounds on their home course, something that Moore says is a “huge advantage.”
The Lady Hounds surged to finish second in the region last year with the Greyhounds being ravaged by injuries and illnesses at the end of the season.
“We have four really good seniors that are leading the group, and we have three very good sophomores and eight freshmen that’ll be good,” Moore said of the Greyhounds season prospects. “That five, six and seven spot, it’ll be interesting to see how that works out.”
Expectations should be similarly high for the Lady Hounds, who returned nearly all of their top runners from a season ago.
“We have two freshmen who are really good,” Moore said. “They’ll be able to help us immediately.”
