As the new head cross country coach for the Harlan Green Dragons, Erin Alred has high expectations for her squad this season.
“We have a lot of new runners that come from a sprinting background that have shown great strides in distance running. We are excited about the opportunity for our boys and girls to be contenders for a regional title,” Alred said.
Sophomore Harper Carmical is expected to be a key contributor for the girls this season.
“We look for Harper Carmical to be a serious contender for a regional title and could be in contention to compete for the overall. She has a lot on her shoulders this season and we believe she can lead our girls to a victory,” Alred said. “She is a strong runner and sets the pace for our girls.
“Salena Amro, Amy Roman, Addison Lemar and Jenna Nguyen will work together with Carmical to keep our girls’ state competition streak alive.”
“We have high expectations for our boys this season to reach a regional title overall. Our boys team has a lot of depth this season. We feel that many of our boy varsity runners can be top contenders,” Alred said
Sophomore Tanner Daniels is expected to challenge for the regional title.
“We have Tanner Daniels that sets the tone for our boys,” Alred said.
“Xavier Farley, Cooper Thomas, Dalton Halcomb, Gibson Wilder, Cruz Galloway, Micah Shope and Garrett Wilder will be competing this season to give the boys varsity team a chance at a state competition,” Alred said.
Alred also expects success from her younger teams.
“Our elementary and middle school teams have been blessed this year with a record number of runners, indicating a bright future for the program,” Alred said.
“The goal for this season is to give all Green Dragon runners a memorable experience in the sport of cross country. Cross country is a skill these runners can carry with them for a lifetime and can translate into other sports in which they participate. Most of our runners compete in numerous sports at our school,” Alred said. “As a district, it is a team effort to accomplish goals for each student, be it sports or academics. At the end of the day, we are more than a cross country team, we are a family who works together to reach our goals: every day, every dragon.”
Harlan’s first meet will be Saturday at Corbin for the Lynn Camp Invitational.