Newcastle Cross Country has been hard at work this summer putting in the time practicing.
Those who are returning from last year’s squad saw some success as the NHS boys qualified for State as a team, and the girls qualified two individuals at State in Addyson Bush and Bella Allen. This year’s young squad won’t have any senior boys, and they’ll only have three senior girls. Two of the girls will be running, while a third is recovering from ACL surgery, according to Head Coach Jerald Lewis.
Graduating last year were Collin Seeley, Steven Whitmore, Rhett Carter, Bentlee Lindsey, Jaycen Lea, Madi Platte, and Melia Stucks.
Returning as seniors this year are: Addyson Bush, Ava Wright, and Daelyn Fulton.
Coach Lewis said, “I’m excited to see how the work they did in the offseason this summer will pay off. They showed up every day and ran at the camps and programs, as well as running on their own.”
Lewis said the additional time should pay off for Newcastle in October when they go to Regionals and then try to qualify for State.
Their first meet, however, is August 24 when the Racers travel to Deer Creek. They’ll be up against mostly Class 5A and Class 6A schools.
The growing Newcastle Meet is Friday, September 20. So far, 20 middle school teams have signed up to run. Lewis said there will likely be 1,500 runners there. Other activities also are planned including food trucks on site.
Lewis said there are 33 high schoolers on the cross country roster.
“These are good kids taking part in a difficult sport,” Lewis said. “This will make them better human beings, because life is hard, too.”
Lewis said these students could make the choice to just go home and do nothing, but they choose to work hard.
“It’s exciting to see what they do,” he said. “That motivates coaches.”
Lewis said he was also excited to see the freshman who are jumping up to their third mile this year.
He said. “They were running two miles and now they’ll be running the 5K. We’ll see their transition and how well they adapt to it, and embrace it — taking ownership of it.”
Assistant coaches for the Newcastle Racers, covering both varsity and middle school, are: Brooke Heskew, Colton Evans, and Joshua Lewis.
