Clinton High School Cross Country Begins Season With Two Wins in Three Races
By Charlie Rook
Photo Credit: Will Nations
The Clinton High School men’s Cross Country team has two wins, in their first three races, including this past Saturday at the French Camp Invitational where they swept the top three spots. The week before that, the team placed seventh in a very competitive field at the Tupelo Invitational, placing fourth among 7A schools.
“It’s nice to get a win or come in the top three, but honestly, I was pleased how all the kids ran,” said Head Coach Eric Solis. “We were 7th overall but 4th among 7A schools. Eleven out of the 16 high school boys that ran, had a PR (Personal Record).”
The junior high team has followed the example of the varsity, and currently sit number one in the state after their win at the Tupelo Invitational. The team average for two miles is a state best 11:53, coming to sub 6 minutes per mile.
Cross Country success begins during summer training, and while Clinton put up the highest numbers they’ve ever had attendance wise, Solis wants to continue to push for more athletes in order to compete with the likes of the other talented 7A schools in the state. “Our summer training was better this year than the previous years but it’s not yet where we want it to be,” said Solis. “We only had 52% attendance for the high school and 65% for the junior high. The key to any successful cross-country program is June, July, and August. With cross country being a fall sport, our preconditioning season is the summer, and it’s difficult to compete with teams like Pearl, Oxford, Tupelo, Madison, etc. with only half the people coming to practice. A goal I have for next summer is to have 60% attendance.”
The summer of training has worked though, with the team posting a 5k average that is 47 seconds faster than last year at the opening meet. The growth of several talented Freshmen and Sophomores has caused the older guys on the team to step up.
The team has six meets left on their schedule, and will follow a specific training plan, in order to stay healthy and be best prepared for each race as it comes at them. “When it comes to training, we do our ‘recovery’ runs on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 6:30 am,” said Solis. “In the afternoon we do our hard workouts. For example, Monday is usually our hardest day so then Tuesday morning we do an easy 4 and then by Tuesday afternoon they are ready to run hard again. We follow this pattern all week.”
Looking ahead to the end of the season the team has high goals, and looks to take a jump forward from last season on both the varsity and Junior High levels. “In 2024, we finished 10th at the State Meet which was an improvement from the previous year of 13th,” said Solis. “This year, I want to be in the top 4. I know it’s a big jump, but we have the kids that have the potential to do it. The junior high boys finished second at the state meet, and this year we’d love to win it.”
These goals are of course important to both the coaches and the athletes, however when reflecting on whether or not the season was successful, Solis has other metrics. “I also want to have a strong team of runners who work well together, support each other, and keep the positivity they have started the season with,” Said Solis. “Like most coaches, I want them to say that they did their very best with no regrets and instill a love of the sport long after they are done with their high school days.”
Clinton’s next meet will be on Saturday, September 20th at the Valhalla Invitational in Vicksburg, MS.
