GMC cross country kicks season Saturday
Published 12:14 pm Thursday, September 1, 2016
- GMC
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The GMC cross country teams start their season Saturday at the University of Georgia Cross Country Invitational.
“We are really excited about this race,” said head coach Rob Sherwood. “The teams are looking forward to testing themselves against some of the best runners in the state.”
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The University of Georgia Cross Country Invitational will be held at the UGA Equestrian Center in Bishop. The event will feature University of Georgia (sixth place pre-season regional ranking), Georgia Tech (sixth place pre-season regional ranking), Kennesaw State, Morehouse, Oxford College, Brenau and Dalton State. The wide variety of teams will allow the young Running Bulldogs to test themselves.
The men’s team will be led by three returning sophomores. Twins Adam and John Dougherty (Gainesville, Fla.) were the top two runners on the team last season. Both qualified for the NJCAA Division III Championship last season. Adam was the fastest Division III runner at the NJCAA Half-Marathon National Championships, while John was the second fastest. They will be joined by John Milledge Academy graduate Amos Prestwood. These three will be the leaders of the team. Joining them will be an exciting group of freshmen runners led by Austin Cook (Cochran) and Dominic Roberts (Las Vegas, Nev.).
The women’s team returns only one runner from the 2015 season. Sophomores Sierra Brower, Alicia Santiago (Hinesville) and Jamaica Mitchell (Eastman) will the core of the squad.
“These three worked very hard in spring practice as well as over the summer to be in position to lead the team this fall,” said Sherwood.
Incoming freshmen Lucy Pitts (Chantilly, Va.), Destinee Hernandez (Merritt Island, Fla.), Jessica Hurtado (Grovetown) and Talisa Soto (Gainesville) join the team as well.
“I am optimistic for this season,” said Sherwood. “We have deeper teams than in the past. Our goal is to qualify an entire men’s and women’s team for the national championship. We are looking forward to the season to see what work still needs to be done.”
