David Bond, Special to the Times-Recorder
November 13, 2006 01:02 pm
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CARROLLTON — Schley County’s boys awoke to a dark, foggy, dreary morning Saturday at 6:30 a.m. in Bremen, Ga., ready to compete in the Georgia High School cross country championships.
About 150 teams will run in 10 races with a total of about 2000 runners before the day is over. Races are divided by Class A through AAAAA. The The Wildcats will compete in Class A with over 150 runners.
Most members of this team have never seen an event of this size. Only returning runners Blake Hartsfield and Nik Bentley have previously represented Schley County at the state championships.
The Schley runners were able to walk the course late Friday with community coach Tommy Barnes as he gave pointers on pulling up and sprinting down the hills. Barnes gave strategies for charging off the line to get in a good position and other valuable tidbits he has learned over his many years of running and coaching.
Since the beginning of August, Schley runners have run six days a week, putting in many grueling miles and wearing out one or more pairs of shoes. Since they have been made to rest and not expend any undo energy since Thursday in preparation for the meet, they are “chomping at the bit” with lots of pent up energy. You can tell each one is anxious, but ready to see what he is capable of doing against other runners in Class A.
At 10 a.m., 23 teams line up at the starting line. At the sound of the gun, the Schley team sprints for 150 yards before settling into their individual pace. The team sprints out to get in a good position toward the front because the field narrows to about 15-feet wide where all runners have to vie for available space. If a runner gets stuck too far back in the crowd it is difficult to move up in the pack.
Initially the Schley team is right where it needs to be.
Blake approaches a short steep hill at 1,000 meters in about 25th position, exactly where Barnes wants him. This is a good pace for Blake, but at the same time it keeps him in position to pass those ahead of him. He digs up the hill encouraged by family and other spectators’ yells.
For the Schley spectators, all are asking where is Nate Norton? Before the first 200 meters, Nate Norton tumbles to the ground and simply covers himself to keep from being stepped on. By the time Nate recovers, he is back in about 100th position, not a position one of Schley’s top runners was expected to be. By the time Nate hits the short hill at 1,000 meters, just behind Schley’s Nik Bentley, he has passed several runners, but is still much farther back then expected. He turns it on going down hill passing many more runners.
Other Schley runners: Jeremy Hicks, Christopher Law, Max Holloway and Jasper Goodin, follow with each giving all they have. With more than two miles to go, Schley runners try to hold or better their position.
Spectators can be seen running from one vantage point to another to catch a glimpse of runners before the runners once again disappear around a curve or go behind a building. Coaches, in particular, try to shout instructions to their runners as they pass.
At the three-mile mark, Blake is pushing himself up the hill. As he rounds the top he knows it is about 100 meters downhill to the finish line. He sprints, passing two competitors before crossing the finish line at 18:26 to earn 23rd place.
Not far behind Nate Norton has continued to pass runner after runner. He also charges the last long hill and sprints past four runners to clinch 34th place at a time of 18:46.
Every Schley runner sprints at the end, even though they are hurting and gasping for oxygen from the tough 3.1 miles. Each one shows tremendous heart as they pass other runners down the last stretch. These young men can be proud of the tremendous effort they put out!
Other Schley runners: Nik Bentley, 83rd place, 20:36; Christopher Law, 93rd, 20:56; Jeremy Hicks, 105th, 21:31; Max Holloway, 119th, 22:08; and Jasper Goodin, 132, 23:11.
Cody Bruer was Schley’s alternate runner in case one of the above had been unable to start the race.
Schley County Varsity Boys placed 12th overall out of 23 teams competing in class A.
This is a young team with half of it made of freshmen. If they continue training on their own in the off-season, the team has the capability of being even stronger next year. The goal of any cross country coach is to start the new season with everyone in at least the same condition as they ended the previous one. This will only happen with a lot of work and dedication on the part of the runner to continue their training.
David Bond is the Schley County head cross country coach.
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