Cross Country Opens Season in Tough Heat at Peck Ranch

September 2, 2026

Story of the Night: Battling the Heat

Staying above 100 for the heat index is more common in early August than September 2nd. But, these consecutive days of high temperatures are our reality and as they say in show business, “the show must go on!”

The heat index was around 101 degrees at the Peck Ranch course in Winona when the race began, which made running conditions extremely difficult for the athletes and even more difficult when it was the first race of the season. 

Coach Will Hubbs was pleased with the performance of his squad and the effort they gave under such challenging conditions. “Running a cross country race is never easy, but competing in that kind of heat makes it even tougher. Our runners handled the conditions well and kept working all the way to the finish line.”

“For a young team, our first meet was a good starting point. There is plenty of work ahead, but I was very pleased with how we competed in extremely difficult conditions.” - Coach Will Hubbs

Runner Recognition

Senior Zoey Elliott showed why she is one of the best runners in the area as she came in with a 2nd place finish. Elliott matched her time from this same race a year ago, when you take into account the heat index, it was truly an impressive performance.

Freshman, Quinn Cooper, turned some heads in his first varsity outing. He was the top Salem finisher on the boys side with a time of 24:43 and good enough for 28th overall. Cooper is one of 6 promising freshmen on the boys squad which will be a group to follow this season.

When you have youth, you have some challenges, but you also have the excitement of the future. Coach Hubbs is excited about the potential. “I am looking forward to watching all of our ninth-grade boys develop this season. They are young and have a lot to learn, but this group has a chance to improve throughout the year.”

Coach’s Perspective: Learning How to Race

When you return a runner like Eillott to your squad, that will bring a smile to any Cross Country Coach. But when you realize the majority of the squad has little experience, that helps temper expectation and put the focus on learning how to race. That means spending time logging miles with intentionality, knowing the conditions, their approach to starting a race, and when to accelerate and when to control the pace. It is in these moments of pure coaching, that the smile really shows on a coach’s face.

“One of the biggest things a new runner has to learn is pace. A cross country race can be overwhelming the first few times you compete. Nearly 100 runners can take off at the same time, and it is easy to get caught up in the excitement,” said Hubbs.

Coach Hubbs stressed that you cannot run someone else’s race.  “Each runner has to learn his or her own pace. If you start too fast, you may run out of energy before the finish. If you start too slowly, you may have too much ground to make up.”

Learning that balance only comes from experience - experience gained my logging miles in practice and then applying what you learn in the meets. That is how they will improve. 

Next Up

Thursday September 10th at the Willow Springs Meet

Right now, Coach Hubbs is focusing on getting everyone eligible and ready to compete. At the last meet, they only had 3 girls and 3 boys run the meet. 

They will spend the days leading up the meet putting in the miles, learning how to pace themselves, and preparing for the next challenge.

“For a young team, our first meet was a good starting point. There is plenty of work ahead, but I was very pleased with how we competed in extremely difficult conditions.”

Rumor has it that Lady Tigers Girls Basketball Coach Cody Woody has begun training for a potential future race… I cannot deny or confirm this rumor which may or may not have been completely fabricated.