After a long summer of training, cross country 2021 is finally here.  For those new to SFHS XC, welcome to the fun and exciting world of high school cross country, sofo-style!  In addition to early Saturday wake up calls for long bus rides, you also get the joy of this weekly newsletter, where I’ll talk a bit about each week’s race, give you a different view of the sport from one fan’s perspective and a look ahead to the next race.

What should you not expect from this newsletter?  Any official team news (that will come from coaches), official SFHS news (no Covid protocol info here) or anything other than a fairly lighthearted look at high school cross country.  

First, let’s take care of some housekeeping items.  Our booster club has done a great job refreshing the SFHS XC website (https://sfhsxc.membershiptoolkit.com/Home).  That site will be used for transactional things (paying dues, ordering spirit wear or the fundraiser shirts) but just as important will be where you can sign up for volunteer activities (pasta dinner sign-ups, etc.).  

Also new this year we will use the site as our archive for pictures throughout the season.  There is already a link on the left side of the home page to upload pictures and already a folder for each meet, so please start dropping pictures there all season.  It will make it much easier for everyone to share and see and to gather pictures for things like the end of season banquet.

Now let’s get to the important stuff - Saturday’s time trial.

After a couple of years of doing a joint time trial as a 5k scrimmage with Lambert HS, a format I much prefer, circumstances beyond our control forced us back to our old location and a 2-mile race, because no one can tolerate the idea of having to do three laps in the humidity bucket that is Windermere Park.  Bottom line, remember this wasn’t a race.  Just a way to kick things off and let the coaches set the starting point for the season.  If you weren’t happy with the time trial results, know that you are just a few short days from showing what you can do in a real race.  It’s a long season, so focus on steady improvement (in times, place, pace, etc.) and a good result is sure to come.

The Girls

Our girls are coming off a very successful season last year that saw them place 3rd at State, led, of course, by 7A state champion Carmel Yonas.  But despite that and the relative youth of the 2020 team, this year will have a bit of a different look to it.  South lost 3 of last year’s top 7 (two to graduation and one non-returner), so there are definitely opportunities for some ladies to contribute to success on the varsity.

The time trial held no drama as the girls started to string out from the beginning, so didn’t have much change in positions as the time trial went on and no surprises at the top, as Carmel (Jr.) led the way with sister Izzy (So.) in the very familiar 2nd spot.  Junior Janisha Patil, who got better and better as last XC season went on, looked like she is ready to take up right where she left off, finishing 3rd.  In 4th place was a newcomer to the team, Junior Caroline Turner, who moved to GA over the summer and is already looking like a great addition.  Sophomore Molly Hanlon was in 5th and marked the last of 2020’s returning top 7.  After a solid summer of running, Junior Pragna Veeravelli was next in 6th, and fellow junior Emily Barnes, who is coming off a good track season, rounded out the top 7.  Finishing up the top 10 were three more sophomores in Ava Wright, Landon Layman & Madeline Braley.

The Boys

South’s guys had a huge senior class last year, so lost a huge chunk of depth coming into this season.  Last year’s 9th place state squad returns two outstanding runners in Senior Nate Verska and Junior Ben Bergey, but of the next 11 spots on last year’s team, only 2 return.  So while there is experienced leadership at the top, this looks to be a much younger team, with a huge need for the underclassmen to step up and take on some scoring opportunities.

With that backdrop, it should be no surprise that it was Nate and Ben leading the time trial from the get go, basically running stride for stride throughout.  I certainly didn’t expect a huge kick to the finish line, but as they headed toward the finishing chute, I also did not expect a round of rock, paper, scissors, yet that was exactly what we got.  Ben won and Nate graciously eased up as Ben crossed the line in first.  I knew South had a promising freshman class coming in and it didn’t take long for us to get our first glimpse, as newbie Ben Winn was 3rd across.  Sophomore Adam Zorko was the only remaining runner from last year’s state meet and he looks ready to again contribute, coming in 4th.  Harris Garmon (Jr.) also looked good, rounding out the top 5.  

The rest of the top 10 was a nice mix of newcomers and improving returners, featuring Wyatt Longstreth (Fr.), Rishi Nagappan (Fr.), Jackson Waddell (So.), Josh Wilson (So.) and Max Ressman (Jr.).  Looking forward to seeing how all of these guys compete as the season gets underway this week.

Pickens used to be a staple on the schedule, but it has been a few years since South has come here for our first meet.  Returners will be familiar with it, as this was the site of last year’s region meet.  For those at the time trial, you may have heard Coach Shaw refer to this as spectator friendly and she is not exaggerating.  This will likely be the most viewable meet we’ll have all season, where with a short, casual walk, you can see the start, finish and 5 passes in between.  

There will be a lot of runners at this one, with 26 teams signed up.  It is never wise to make predictions this early in the season, as you never know who’s back, who’s not and what newcomers may be stepping up to make a team more competitive.  What I can tell you is there should be plenty of good competition for the individual titles in both boys and girls, and South should have a number of runners vying for top 10 spots in both races.  On the team side, South should also be in the mix to take the titles.

See you in Jasper, GA!