White County cross country building for the future

White County High School's cross country teams lined up against runners from schools of all sizes Saturday morning at the Macon Bank Invitational, giving head coach Terry Meece another look at where his program stands — and where he believes it can go.

"We held our own against schools our size, but there were a lot of big schools that dominated," Meece said.

Kolt Pryor, Isaac Williams and Michael Smith were the top three finishers for White County in the boys race.

On the girls side, Samantha Benson, Anna Knupp and Natalie Wilson led the Warriorettes.

But for Meece, what happens at a single meet is only part of the picture right now.

White County cross country is in a rebuilding phase after several coaching changes in recent years. Meece believes there is a young group in place that could provide the foundation for what comes next.

"If they stay with it, will be a force to reckon with in the coming days," he said.

Keeping them with it, and getting runners prepared long before the first meet of the season, will be important.

Meece pointed to year-round conditioning as one of the biggest factors in developing successful distance runners. When athletes wait until August to begin running and conditioning, there simply isn't much time to build the endurance needed to see the results they want during the season.

That's one of the things Meece hopes to change as he works to grow the program.

He also wants more students to see cross country as an opportunity.

The sport may not receive the same attention as some of the more mainstream sports, but it gives students another place to compete, become part of a team and find a community within White County athletics.

For the current group, that growth will take time. Saturday's meet offered another chance to see how they measure up, while the bigger work continues toward building a program Meece believes can become much stronger in the years ahead.