Pickens Places in State Tournament

Featured Stories, Team FYN Sports

The Pickens High School Cross Country teams each finished in the top 10 of the state tournament. The Girls finished tenth, with five runners placing in the top 100, out of 222 runners: Alyssa Weaver (7); Savannah Rice (43); Mollie Shaw (61); Erin Dean (76) and Sarah Ballard (84). The boys finished ninth with five runners placing in the top 100, out of 223 runners, as well: Drew Bellows (20); Luis Lozoya (41); Wyatt Ingram (55); Levi Bruce (94); and Clayton Johnston (95). Fetchyournews.com interviewed, head coach, Jerry Scott, now in his fifth year, to find out his thoughts on his team’s unprecedented performance, going into the state tournament.

Coach Scott (Right) and the C.C. Team
(Photo by Jordan Hill)

FYN: So when the year started, what did you think about the team’s potential?

Scott:

“I could tell that they had done some real serious work over the summer with Coach [Robin] Dunn and with Maggie Shaw, who is one of our community coaches. I could tell they were in really good shape and that a large group of boys and a large group of girls had really prepared and done the distance work over the summer that it would take to be really good, so I kind of had an idea that they were going to do pretty well this season.”

FYN: Do you think that the philosophy of the team has changed in any way?

Scott:

“No, it hasn’t changed. It’s something that really for the past six or seven years that we’ve been trying to instill in the kids. I know that Coach Dunn before I came around was really trying to get them to develop a work ethic so that they would do the work, and if they would do the work then they would be really good at the running and for the past several years we have had individuals go to state, and then last year we took the boy’s team to state, and now this year we’ve got the boys and girls teams to state, so it’s kind of a progression; they’ve gotten better and better each year.”

FYN: What would you like to say to the people that don’t really understand the sport?

Scott:

“What I would want most people to understand is that it is an endurance sport. Most people will say ‘oh those guys are just running’ [or] ‘those girls are just running’, but they’re pushing themselves to a limit that can be pretty painful for most people, and it takes a good bit of respect to see what they do. What most people don’t realize is that some of those kids were running 50, 60, 70 miles a week during the summer, and that’s why they are running like they are.”

FYN: What would you say your biggest thrill out of coaching this team has been?

Scott:

“Seeing the success and seeing their response to the success. They had been putting in the work just day in and day out, but just to see that girl’s team-people were crying the day at region when they knew they were going to state-and seeing the boy’s team get rewarded by getting to go to state and getting that success, that’s been the most exciting part.”

FYN: What are your expectations for the state meet?

Scott:

“[The] girls have a good chance of being [in the] top four, and the top four teams get a trophy. The girls are ranked fourth in the state, and the boys are ranked seventh. I would say it will be pretty close to that.”

Senior Runners and Their Families (L-R)
Luis Lozoya, Erin Dean, and Jake Shaw
(Photo by Jordan Hill)

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