It's been a good start to the season for the Jackson County Central cross country program.
"It's been pretty good," said Huskies coach Rafe York. "We have a good percentage of kids who came into practice in shape which is kind of exciting so we can get into some of the tougher stuff right away as opposed to building everyone up. The attitudes have been great, attendance has been pretty good. It's morning practice. It's summer so it's sometimes hit or miss with some kids but for the most part we've been doing pretty well and it's been a good start."
York said having runners in good shape at the start is beneficial considering the short time span of the cross country season.
"Based on the reading I've done in the past, most training cycles are 24 weeks and we have a 12-week season," York said. "We want the kids to take care of most of the whole getting in shape part during the summer so we can jump in. But, it doesn't always happen so we have to adjust quite a bit. We make it work. It's just a matter of the peaks not being as high for some people, but that's okay."
The first meet for the Huskies is Friday at Fairmont. That meet uses a different format as the runners compete by grades in a 4K race. The first 5K event is at Mountain Lake on Friday, Sept. 3.
Watch for a further look at the JCC cross country teams in another newsletter later this week.