Eupora cross-country kicked its season off on Aug. 21 at the Golden Wave Season Opener hosted by Tupelo High School. Eupora had a total of 30 runners compete in the high school and junior high races.
"For the first meet, there were many positive takeaways that will motivate these runners for the next meet. They have been working hard this summer and since school started to be able to compete and run solid races. Our motto this year is 'Run hard. Train harder.' I am really proud of how they started off our season and expect for a lot of individual and team successes," commented Coach Randee Jernigan.
Both junior high teams (boys and girls) earned a second-place finish as teams. The high school girls team earned sixth place. The high school boys team was unable to compete as a team because of athletes having to quarantine but could run with four individual runners.
Three junior high girls earned Top Finisher credits for placing in the top 10 runners of the junior high race: Anna Katherine Doggett (third), Ansley Mason (eighth) and Avery McCluskey (10th). The Eagle Runners had 14 runners that placed in the top 30 of all the races combined.
"There is a lot of camaraderie on the team this year. These kids are out here to invest in each other, encouraging each other. It's really something special to watch," Jernigan said.
The next meet for the Eagle Runners is the TCPS Twilight on Sept. 2 at Belden. Local action will be held on Sept. 25 at Gary Park, when the Eagle Runners host the annual Eagle Claw Invitational. Hope to see you there!
