Brevard High School's cross country program has quietly emerged as one of the best in the state, thanks partly to the dedication of longtime coach Jackie Witherspoon.
Thank you so much for this article, Dan. Both of our kids ran XC in high school, and our son ran in college. It is a truly team building and inclusive sport, boys and girls ride the bus together to meets, they cheer one another on, and they are a family. When our kids graduated, I sure missed those fall mornings getting up to go watch meets. These Brevard "Dawgs" deserve the community support!
This was a great article! The students and coaches work so hard and represent us so well at all levels. I have a small beagle. The highlight of Miranda’s today is when my friend takes her to walk over by the high school and the track team is running. She sits there and watches until they all go by and she loves it when they say hello to her!! Thank you for writing this. I hope it’s read widely.
Really enjoyed this article Dan. I now have a personal interest in the sport with my nephew. Always good to read and learn how sports can help kids ( and adults).
What a great tribute to an under-appreciated sport! In 1962, I was a disaffected and unsuccessful football player on scholarship at Auburn University, while racing quarter miles (now 400 meters) with spare training every spring. Unknown to me, my high school and college track coaches (respectively an SEC champion in both the 880 and mile in 1948 and an US Olympic coach in the 1930s) negotiated a transfer of my senior-year scholarship to track. A first-ever cross country experience resulted. Six month later, I won the SEC half (now 800 meters) and set a short-lived conference record. I have no doubt the one fall season of distance training in the Auburn forest preserves contributed greatly. The surviving team-mates keep in touch. Ken Winter, Brevard, kcwinter41@gmail.com
Love that you’re giving attention to a sport that few appreciate more than the athletes and coaches involved
Jackie Witherspoon is a gift to the sport and to our community.
Thank you so much for this article, Dan. Both of our kids ran XC in high school, and our son ran in college. It is a truly team building and inclusive sport, boys and girls ride the bus together to meets, they cheer one another on, and they are a family. When our kids graduated, I sure missed those fall mornings getting up to go watch meets. These Brevard "Dawgs" deserve the community support!
This was a great article! The students and coaches work so hard and represent us so well at all levels. I have a small beagle. The highlight of Miranda’s today is when my friend takes her to walk over by the high school and the track team is running. She sits there and watches until they all go by and she loves it when they say hello to her!! Thank you for writing this. I hope it’s read widely.
Wow. Impressive. You were a lot faster than I was.
Really enjoyed this article Dan. I now have a personal interest in the sport with my nephew. Always good to read and learn how sports can help kids ( and adults).
What a great tribute to an under-appreciated sport! In 1962, I was a disaffected and unsuccessful football player on scholarship at Auburn University, while racing quarter miles (now 400 meters) with spare training every spring. Unknown to me, my high school and college track coaches (respectively an SEC champion in both the 880 and mile in 1948 and an US Olympic coach in the 1930s) negotiated a transfer of my senior-year scholarship to track. A first-ever cross country experience resulted. Six month later, I won the SEC half (now 800 meters) and set a short-lived conference record. I have no doubt the one fall season of distance training in the Auburn forest preserves contributed greatly. The surviving team-mates keep in touch. Ken Winter, Brevard, kcwinter41@gmail.com