The 2020 cross country season opens up this week as all three local teams will try to run through an entire season into less than two months.
The season will see a lot of fast and furious running in a short amount of time as Catawba Ridge starts their season Wednesday and both Fort Mill and Nation Ford start Saturday.
Qualifiers for the state meet will be Oct. 30-31 with the state meet being Nov. 6-7 at the Sandhills Research Center in Columbia. Because of the coronavirus, the schedules for all three local schools are subject to change.
This year’s cross-country season will not only prepare teams for the state qualifiers, but will give more importance to regular season meets. The state qualifying meets this year will be different from in years past. Teams will have to qualify to get into the state qualifying meets based on their average times as a team during their regular season. The top 24 in the state will make it to the qualifying meets and from the top 12 will make it into the state meet per classification. Individuals who have average times in the top 30 in the state will be invited to run in the qualifier races if their team does not make the qualifier. Final rankings will be released Oct. 25.
Nation Ford
The Falcons will have 30 runners on this year’s squad, 15 back from last year including three-time defending state champion Katie Pou. Pou is looking to be the first ever four-time individual state champion from any Fort Mill related school in the sport.
“We are itching to get races in,” said Nation Ford head coach Jake Brenner. “We are ready to get back into cross-country.”
Nation Ford girls finished second in the state last year, and could have another good showing.
“We are pretty confident the girls’ team will go,” Brenner said. “It will be a lot more difficult this year.”
Brenner said he is cautiously optimistic they can get the season in this year. The Falcons have three home meets this year at the Anne Springs Close Greenway, including co-hosting the Region 3-5A meet with Fort Mill Oct. 20. Nation Ford opens their season Sept. 12 at the Falcons Invitational at Columbia International University.
Fort Mill
Fort Mill fields a roster with 90 runners, which is between 30 and 40 percent smaller than last year, said co-head coach Lee Whitaker.
“With COVID restrictions and concerns, we had a lot not come out,” Whitaker said. “We have a lot of veterans and we are pretty experienced.”
The Jackets’ boys team finished fifth in the state last year. Like Nation Ford, Fort Mill has three home meets at the Greenway this season.
“Overall, we have a team that is deep, probably deepest we have had,” Whitaker said.
Fort Mill will open their season Sept. 12 at the Trojan Invitational in Rock Hill.
Catawba Ridge
The Copperheads open their season first as they have a home meet Sept. 9 against a handful of Region 3-4A teams. Catawba Ridge has 15 more kids running than last year.
“The numbers look good,” said head coach David Helms. “We have a lot of young kids. We have a pretty deep boys’ team.”
Helms said the boys’ team looks strong, but the girls’ team took a hit in losing its top runner from last year. The girls finished third in the state last year.
“The girls’ team should be in a good spot,” Helms said.
Helms said he feels like Catawba Ridge boys’ team should be a top 10 team or a top five team in the state this year after getting a new runner from Georgia in Sam Rich, who has a PR of 15:17.
Mac Banks: mac@fortmillprepsports.com, @fortprep
