The Caledonia High School cross country roster reads more like an injured reserve list.
Whether it is on the boys or the girls side, coach James Reed”s laundry list of ailments, bumps, and bruises has erased any of the depth the veteran coach counted on at the beginning of the season.
But Reed always has said his cross country and track and field athletes persevere, and they showed again Saturday he is correct.
Jessica Comer and Zack Senneff won individual titles to lead the girls and boys teams to their sixth consecutive district titles in a meet at Saltillo High.
“We kind of have been patched up, but we have kept going,” Reed said. “We haven”t pushed like we wanted to because we haven”t been able to (due to all of the injuries).
Comer took first on the 4-Kilometer course with a 16 minutes, 40 seconds, while Senneff won the 5-K event (17:50). Comer”s finish helped the girls score 22 points and outdistance Houston (38), while the boys had 17 points to defeat Houston (42).
“I was proud we were able to rally,” Reed said. “I have a great bunch to coach because they understand what needs to be done.”
Comer, a senior, led from start to finish and wasn”t challenged. Avery Smith, who has battled a bad knee, SarahBeth Kinard, who had been plagued by a bad ankle, Jelisha Hackman, who was competing in her first event of the season, and Alexis Pace, a seventh-grader, also scored for the Lady Confederates, who have overcome a broken arm to Brooke Lester, one of their top runners. Lester competed in her first meet in a month and a half and is getting better day by day, Reed said.
The Caledonia girls also have competed for the last month and a half without eighth-grader Isis Perkins (Achilles” tendon).
The boys won without Colt Gilbreath and Kevin Kugel, their No. 3 and No. 4 runners. They also will miss the state meet Saturday in Clinton. Kugel, a senior, is still recovering from an injury he suffered as a kicker in the Caledonia High football team”s game against Houston.
Josh Kugel, Jonathan Comer, Addison Warren, and Houston Greggs also scored for the Confederates, who hope senior Chris Warren (sore feet) will be in better shape for a higher finish Saturday.
The girls will compete at 1 p.m. Saturday, while the boys will begin at 1:45 p.m. The New Hope girls will run at noon. All the action will be at Choctaw Trails.
“We”re going to do the best we can and then take a couple of days off and get ready for track season,” Reed said. “We have a lot we want to accomplish.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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