Bob Jones’s cross country 2019 season is only just beginning, but many team members have already begun asking a big question: Could this be the best season for the team thus far? The official season started alongside the school year on August 7th, and there have already been five formal meets. Most recently, the Varsity and JV boys finished 1st place at the Fairview meet with Jean Pierre-Leroux coming in 2nd overall. Six of the Top 20 runners were our Varsity boys.

“The first race was pretty promising for both Varsity and Junior Varsity runners, but the next two weren’t as great overall,” Isaac Allen, an athlete on the team explained. “During the last two races, many Varsity runners had more hit-or-miss times, same story with Junior Varsity.” James Garrison, another member of the team, also commented on the situation. “The first few meets are always a little shaky after returning from Summer vacation, so hopefully we’ll see improvements during the rest of the season.”

The Fairview meet is hopefully the turning point in the season. The boys and girls saw quicker times across the board. The cross country season formally ends around the beginning of November, so the athletes should have plenty of time to improve their race times to the best possible degree.

Assistant Coach McIlwain provided for his input. “The best way we can improve our athlete’s times is by working hard during practice, keeping our athletes loose with stretches and ab workouts, and staying safe from injuries and the like.” McIlwain added, “If we keep improving in our races like we have in our practices, I’d say we have a pretty good season ahead of us.” 

All in all, it looks like a few bumps in the road won’t be enough to make this cross country season a flop. If the athletes work hard, keep loose and stay safe, then this season should stack up to be a good one for both our veteran runners and our newcomers, especially if Fairview is anything to go off of.