The bright spotlight of the state’s cross-country community will zero in on Gray Saturday for what may arguably be the largest gathering for a sporting event in the history of Jones County with the hosting of the GHSA cross country sectionals for the AAA and AAAA classifications.
And in the midst of all that, a region title and trip to the next weekend’s state meet will also be at stake.
Under the current GHSA cross country format, each classification hosts two sectional meets, bringing teams from half of its classification to one of two sectional events. The top 12 teams plus top 20 individuals will then advance to next weekend’s state meet in Carrollton.
If teams in the AAA and AAAA seek to do so, it’s a task that’ll have to take place at Greyhound Park, Jones County’s home course located on Howard Roberts Road. JCHS, which competes in AAAA, will also be hosting the AAA sectionals, bringing boys and girls runners from around 60 schools to the course.
“To be asked to do it, it’s really cool for us,” said Camryn Wommack, one of the Lady Greyhounds runners.
If one spends any time around JCHS cross country head coach Geoff Moore, he’ll be very quick to point out that the upkeep of the course off Howard Roberts Road and being able to stage a meet of this caliber is hardly a one-person endeavor. That takes assistance and support not just from the Jones County School System administration but also an army of parents stepping up to make sure the course is constantly in a good state of use and not being afraid to raise their hand to make Greyhound Park a first-class venue as teams make their way to Jones County this weekend.
“Seven years ago, it was all me, I did everything. I’ve hired some good people and have unbelievable parents out here doing things like cutting the grass on the course,” Moore said. “They have all bought in. They want kids to be successful, and all of that works together.”
Saturday will not only determine state qualifiers but also crown region champions based on the overall finishes.
So, in the midst of hosting a massive event, the Jones County cross country program is also out to add to its haul of region titles and continue a pursuit of finishing among the state’s top teams at next weekend’s state meet.
Both the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds will be aiming to make it three region titles in a row Saturday, but there are bigger goals in mind at the same time. Given the Greyhounds seventh-overall finish at the power-packed Coach Wood Invitational earlier this month with the Lady Greyhounds also being regular finishers either at or near the top of the leaderboard, the expectation is to be among the upper half of the teams in the state. The Greyhounds finished sixth in the state last year with the Lady Greyhounds 14th.
“There’ll be a lot of teams here. It’s a big deal to us,” the Greyhounds’ Luke Thornton said. “We know who we have to run against.”
Both the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds will have a very tangible edge on Saturday – home-course advantage. Running miles upon miles, JCHS cross country teams have logged countless hours of time on their course, giving them a big leg up on many teams that will roll into Jones County Saturday, some of whom have never seen the course before.
While runners from other schools may not know where reference points are or what small details to look out for, that won’t be an issue for Jones County.
“They know where every 1,000-meter mark is; it’s a huge advantage. They know where every downhill is. You wouldn’t know it unless you’ve ran it. It’s a huge advantage,” Moore said. “Plus, they get to sleep in their own beds. Their parents will be here; everyone who cares about them will be here.”
Or as one of the Lady Greyhounds runners says, there will be no guessing on where turnpoints on the course are.
“I just feel like it’s a very big advantage,” the Lady Greyhounds Addison Robinson said. “So many of the other schools haven’t been on the course.”
Even for teams that may have run the Greyhounds’ course for the Greyhound Invitational earlier this year, nothing replaces being able to run the course multiple times that will host one of the year’s biggest meets.
“It’s a really big advantage,” the Greyhounds’ Tyler Marshall said. “We go to courses all the time not knowing much about where were running, but here, we know where every single root and rock is.”
