COMMODORE MEDIA GROUP

By: Mia Dawson

Since last season, there have been many improvements to the 2019 Commodores Cross Country team. There has been a larger field of athletes to sign up for the team, and the returning athletes have trained during the off-season to contribute to the team scores. During the track season, a few of the cross country members attended the 5A Track and Field State Championships and performed very well. According to coaches, the girls’ team is predicted to place fourth at the cross country state meet and for the boys’ team to place twelfth.

Returning athlete Bralen Williams was one of the few athletes who competed in the 2019 5A Track and Field State Championships. As a freshman, he placed second in the 800-meter event. Williams says he thinks cross country is training for his track season, but all the things he did in the track season will definitely help during cross country. “I’m just striving for improvement and for more endurance,” says Williams. He says that he is excited for the 2019 5A State Cross Country Meet because of the time he can spend with his teammates at the hotel, and so he can see how much he had improved throughout the year.

Mia Dawson, another returning athlete, also competed in the track state championships. She raced in both the 1,600-meter run and the 3,200-meter run. As an eighth-grader, Dawson ended up placing second in the 3,200-meter run and fourth in the 1,600-meter run. She says,” I have been training hard all summer long, and in the first meet, I am hoping to break twenty minutes in the 5k. I really hope that I can break that because it would be my first time and a huge accomplishment.” She says she thinks all her speed work from track season and the summer will greatly impact her times and performance this season.

Gracie Guest is a sophomore. This will be her third year on the team. She says,” I’m excited to see how our girls’ team improves! We are predicted to be fourth in the state, so I have high hopes.” Guest says she has been pushing herself harder than ever this summer and she believes it will show during the upcoming season. “I have been doing more speed workouts for one thing. But I have also been pushing through the heat and strengthening my endurance.” She does not have a specific goal set for this year, but she is hoping to improve her best time by at least one minute and thirty seconds.

Watson Williamson, a new addition to the team, is an eighth-grader. He will be participating in the junior varsity races this year. Williamson says,” I am most excited for getting better this year.” He decided to join the cross country team because he has always enjoyed running and he thought it would be a good way to get better at running. His main goal is to break 19:30 in the 5k.

The 2019 Lafayette Commodores Cross Country team will partake in their first race on August 31 at the Senatobia Trails. The team will be putting in a lot of work this fall in hopes of getting a good team score at the 2019 5A State Cross Country Championships.