Girls Cross Country

2007 Postseason Write-up

2007 End of Season Summary – FRA U/S Girls Cross Country
Submitted by Dean Cole, Head Coach

NEVER GIVE UP. NEVER BACKDOWN. NEVER LOSE FAITH.

These bylines from the movie Facing the Giants pretty much sum it all up. The 2007 season didn’t end like we had planned, but it was a good season nonetheless. We’re in a very tough region, and the teams we went to battle against in the Region 5 A-AA Championship race only improved since last year. We knew we were the underdogs. We knew all we could do was prepare as well as possible, execute our game plan in the race, and race the entire 3.1 miles. We resolved to give glory to God regardless of the outcome. And that’s exactly what we did – we never gave up, we never backed down, we never lost faith. Our bid to requalify for the State Meet came up short, but we did our best and we give glory to God anyway.

Having no seniors on the 2007 team bodes well for the future. This year’s team was led by two juniors I like to call “The Sarah’s” – Sarah Moore (Captain, PR 23:16) and Sarah DeMarco (PR 24:04). The other members of the team were sophomores Victoria Dodd (IR) and Ansley Lance (PR 24:37); freshmen Drew Austin (PR 27:16), Rachel DeMarco (IR), Kelley Tompkins (PR 23:17), and Taylor White (PR 25:06); and eighth grader Audrey Kromer (PR 24:45). God willing, all nine of these girls well be back for us next year.

After the 2008 track & field season ends in May the girls will have 2-3 weeks off to rest, then we’ll start hittin’ the bricks again in early June to begin reestablishing their aerobic base for cross country. Piling up the miles in the summer – this is one area we simply must improve in if we expect to be competitive in Region 5 A-AA come next October. The older girls have to get their mileage up to 35-40 miles per week. Like my old high school coach used to say, “Cross Country champions are made in the summer.” The mileage is what he was talking about. On July 20, 2008 we’ll head to UNC – Asheville for our third year attending Coach Roy Benson’s Smoky Mountain Cross Country Camp. After that we’ll be off again to the races!

Cross Country Teams Start Season

Reported by Coach Dean Cole

Photo by David Lance

The FRA cross country teams opened their season on Tuesday at the Drake Memorial Cross Country Meet as they ran in blistering heat on the scorched, rock-hard Steeplechase course.

Five FRA girls competed in the 3.1 mile annual preseason practice meet: Liz Boyd, Kelley Tompkins, Sarah Moore, Sarah DeMarco, and Ansley Lance. Other members of this year's U/S Girls Cross Country team are Emily Anderson, Victoria Dodd, Drew Austin, and Rachel DeMarco. Sarah Moore is the captain of this year's team. Head coach Dean Cole and assistant coach Mandi Wicks return as the girls team coaches.

Cross Country Teams Face Tough Competition

Photos by Teresa Lance

The FRA cross country teams got a chance to see some of their competition in the first District Race held at Vaughn’s Gap.

The girls team (222) finished 5th out of 6 teams as they competed against Harpeth Hall (20), Ensworth (48), St. Cecilia (107), MLK 9143) and CPA (370).

FRA Runs at Tennessee Classic

Due to injury and illness, only 3 FRA girls competed in the Silver Varsity race. Kelley Tompkins (62nd of 175 - 23:59), Sarah Moore (82nd - 24:31) and Ansley Lance (90th - 24:47) all did an outstanding job in the 3.1 mile race. Ansley's time was a personal record (PR) for her.

Past Seasons

2006-2007 Season

2005-2006 Season

2004-2005 Season