Veteran Ridgeland runners thinking state
After spending last year trying to establish a “cross county culture” at Ridgeland last year, second-year head coach Robert Hetrick said he is encouraged by the progress the program has made in a short amount of time.
“Cross country was always something of an afterthought at Ridgeland, but I think we’ve begun to turn it around,” he said. “Now the next goal is moving to a team that’s competitive. Our goals are to be in the top four in the region and get to state and we think that possible.
“Then, in the (Chattanooga Cross Country) league, we were around the middle of the pack of about 30 teams last year, so we think finishing in the top 10 is a realistic goal. Our two top will be there. Their times will be solid. We just need the rest of that top seven to step up for us.”
Sophomore Gabe Ashley and junior Coby Voyles will lead the Panthers’ charge. Hetrick said each put in the work over the summer and expectations are high for both.
Ashley was the Walker County Boys’ Runner of the Year last fall as a freshman, clocking in a seasonbest 18:12 at the Front Runner Championships at Baylor. Meanwhile, Voyles was the top Ridgeland runner at the area meet and had a season-best of 18:24.
Without having run a race yet, Hetrick said the rest of the starting seven were yet to be determined, but he said he felt he had plenty of candidates to choose from, including returning seniors Brandon Hair and Bryan Crouser, a pair of hard-working team leaders.
Additional senior leadership will come from Gavin Losh, Jacob Gadd and McKinley
Mosgrove. Losh is a distance runner on the track team in the spring that’s giving cross country a shot. Gadd plays on the Ridgeland basketball team, while Mosgrove is a wrestler and a soccer player.
“We’re happy to have them around the program,” Hetrick said. “We’ve added a lot of good athletes that play other sports that want to stay in shape and be a part of this. Not having raced yet, it’s a little hard to tell who the rest of the top seven will be, but there are a lot of good candidates. We’ve never really had this many to choose from so it’s a good problem to have.”
Among the female runners Hetrick is counting on are senior Madison Morris and sophomore Marina Mosgrove, whom have looked impressive in practice.
“We don’t have any female runners returning from last year, so we’re trying to figure out how to attract more runners,” Hetrick explained. “But the girls we do have out, we’re really excited about. Madison had danced her whole life and she runs every day. She’s very solid and Marina plays volleyball, so she will run with us when she’s not playing. They are both great girls with good attitudes.”