GREYHOUND CROSS COUNTRY
The expectations continue to be high for the Jones County cross country program. As part of that, when it’s time for runners to compete, there is an expectation to perform at a certain standard. Last week showed that the expectation goes beyond just the top runners.
While both teams placed among the top 10 in their races at the Carrollton Orthopaedic Invitational and its challenging course, the depth of the JCHS cross country program was shown off last Thursday in Milledgeville in the GMC Bulldog Dash where the JV team won second overall in the boys race, besting 25 varsity teams.
“I was super impressed and proud of them; it just shows our depth. They ran tough and they ran like a varsity team,” Greyhounds head coach Geoff Moore said. “They listened to our game plan and went out and ran hard. We had multiple ones set personal records.”
Landon Steinmeyer and Luke Thornton ran to finishes of 15th and 16th, clocking in at 18:42.84 and 18:57.01. Gunner Kent’s 19:21.26 was good for 21st and more importantly, helped solidify the Greyhounds strong overall showing. Aaron England (19:27.56) was 23rd, Clay Lacy (19:46.73) was 29th and Hunter Pittman (20:18.38) was 41st with Ian Borsahole running a 20:25.45 to further help the strong finish as he came in 43rd.
In Carrollton, the striving for the high standard continued.
At an event so large that both the boys and girls varsity races had to be split into three sessions, the expectation was for the Greyhound and Lady Greyhound cross country runners to get a gauge of where they stand at an event featuring teams from the Atlanta area and as south as schools near the Georgia-Florida state line.
When all was said and done for the Greyhounds, they placed fifth as a team, the highest-finishing team from outside the Atlanta area. What’s more is that three runners placed within the top 35, led by Kyle Whipple running to a 23rd-place finish of 18:16.94. Just behind him one spot back with Joshua Barber as he timed in a 18:20.94 and Austin Sullivan in 35th with a time of 18:34.25. Grady Newby was 61st at 19:05.07.
“We kind of came back down to earth, which we knew would happen. We had some kids, it was their first time running there. It’s hard to get into a rhythm because of all the terrain changes. It can be a humbling experience,” Moore said. “It’s not always about time; it’s about place and who you beat. It gives you a chance to see where you’re at. If you look at the teams that where there, only one AAAAA team beat us, and we dominated teams in our region that were there.”
That said, Moore says that his runners came away seeking more.
“They’re not satisfied; that’s what I really like about this team,” Moore said. “They are not satisfied about just being good enough. It just shows you our depth and commitment.”
Camryn Wommack led the Lady Hounds to an eighthplace finish out of 30 times as she finished 14th with a time of 22:05.10. Lilly Palmer was 38th with a time of 23:23.34 while Addison Robinson was 67th (24:28.72) and Katlin Malone was 74th (24:39.47).
Both teams next head to the South Georgia Championships this Thursday in Hazelhurst before next Saturday’s Greyhound Invitational.
