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By Stan Olenik
For Hometown News
Broome cross-country coach Skip Frye gave his team some advice about running in Saturday’s Eye Opener. Frye told his team you can’t win the race in the first mile. It might also be a suggestion for the entire season. You can’t win a state championship in the first race.
The first big meet of the new cross-country season takes place on Saturday at the Milliken Research Park. High school runners from South and North Carolina will fill the grounds to race around the three-mile course.
“This is the perfect cross country course,” said Frye. “It is the best in the country. It is in such great condition it is like running in your front yard. It has hills and down hill sections, it is spectator friendly, it is just great,” said the coach.
Frye will bring a team that is currently ranked on top of the pre-season 2A high school poll. Early season ratings are often based on the results of the previous year but Frye thinks he has a team that can contend for a title. The Centurions coach returns all of his top runners for this year and is happy to be ranked very high to start the year.
“It shows the program is in good shape if people are ranking you on top. You got to remember they don’t give you anything for being the pre-season number one,” said the Broome coach.
Other area teams are also ranked very high to start the season at Milliken. The Dorman boys who won the 4A state championship are a pre-season number one team and the defending 4A state champion girl’s team from Spartanburg is ranked third.
The Dorman girls’ team is ranked sixth and the Boiling Springs girls are tenth in the 4A rankings. The Spartanburg boys are ranked eighth in the 4A poll.
Class 1A and 2A teams are combined in the rankings and joining Broome in the boy’s poll is an improving Chesnee team that starts the year ranked fifth. The Landrum girls are second and the Broome girls are ninth in the poll.
Landrum won the boys Class 1A championship last year and while they are not in the rankings to start the season the Cardinals are expected to challenge for a second straight title.
Since the Eye-Opener is the first race of the year and so many teams will be in the field Frye wants to use the race as a way to measure his teams work over the summer. The Milliken site is also the location of the Spartanburg County championship in October, just before the state championships, so Frye will be able to compare how his team has improved during the year.
“I’ve been pleased with the guys and girls and the work they have done this summer. They have put in some good miles and we will see how we measure up to the top teams this weekend,” said the Broome coach.
The day begins with a pair of college races starting at 8:00 AM and 8:30 AM. The first high school race for the top teams at the meet will start with the International girls at 9 AM and the boys at 9:30. The Championship girls will follow at 10 AM and the championship boys at 10:30 with the Junior Varsity races set for 11 AM.
Frye does not expect any surprises in the races. The good teams will run well and set the stage for the season that ends with the state championships near Columbia in November.
“We are a good team but there are a lot of good teams. The Eye Opener lets you see how you compare to those other good teams,” concluded Frye.
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