Depth to carry Lancers to title

By Laura Clark

Published: August 27, 2008

As the boys cross country team finished their speed work (12 x 400-meter strides), they nearly drained the water cooler that coach Bill Chavis had lugged to the shady dirt road below the high school. That’s not surprising, since Chavis has 18 boys on the varsity team.

He knew that about more than a dozen would return from last season, but the team also added some first-time runners and soccer players looking to get into shape.

“We’re going to do things with more intensity this year,” Chavis said. “I’m very excited about these athletes. Some of them haven’t realized (their potential) yet, and I’m going to push them to become great runners.”

Senior Jacob Pritchett said practice began about three weeks earlier this season and is harder than previous years. He understands Chavis believes this team can go to the state meet.

The Lancers graduated only one top-five runner, and already the remaining runners have shown major time improvements.

“This could be one of the best teams that I’ve had,” Chavis said. “We have three guys that can run in the 17s, and we have a couple who can run in the 18s. Last year we had three guys in the top seven were over 20 minutes.”

“We’ve all picked up the pace. We push each other pretty well,” said senior Carson Reynolds, who is teased by his teammates for being ultracompetitive.

“For me, I say we’ve got to set an example for the younger guys,” senior Josh Wise said. “We run harder; they’re going to run harder behind us.”

The fourth returning senior, Steven Cooke, is looking to break into the top five and possibly be the anchor runner in dual meets. The anchorman, Pritchett said, can be the difference between winning and losing.

The seniors plan to compete more in the district but caution that the long season lends itself to plenty of surprises. For now, their emphasis is on improving times each meet and filling out the top seven spots with their depth.

“We were very young last year,” Chavis said. “These kids have matured, and they know what to expect.”