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Cannon Crompton/sports@cherokeescout.com Hiwassee Dam’s Travis Allen works on distance running at practice on March 12.
Hiwassee Dam – The Eagles’ track and field team is small but has big hopes for the 2024 season.
The Cherokee Scout spoke with new head coach Betty Jean Jones at practice last week. She talked about the team’s goals and how she has prepared to coach this season.
Q: What are some of the goals for this season?
A: “I want them to have fun, but build as they’re competing and practicing. But the biggest thing, I want them to have fun, and enjoy themselves, so make friends and get good enough to get a scholarship eventually.”
Q: What will the team work on to be competitive this season?
A: “Well, I’d like to work on routines and some techniques.”
Q: Since this is your first year coaching, what have you been doing to prepare?
A: “I’ve been watching videos, and then our assistant coach, he’s helping out. He’s done cross country, so he’s kind of helped me out. I’ve never done it before in my life.”
Q: Are there any meets on the schedule that stand out to you?
A: “I look forward to going to Murphy just because you’re at home, and for a lot of them it’s their first meet. I’ll see how it goes and how they do and how to enjoy it. And if we need to tweak something, or if there’s a different event, they say that they want to do, part of what they’re doing now. They’re expanding and growing.
“We’ll see where it takes them. Because we have some now that say, ‘I don’t want to do hurdles,’ but then they want to do hurdles. And ‘Oh my gosh, I want to do that.’ So let’s see what happens. New year, new coach, new team. I got several freshmen, so it can be different for them and different for me. So let’s see what we can build off of that.”
Q: Do you have a runner who stands out?
A: One of the players who stands out is Ethan Russell, who runs the 800-, 1,600 and 3,200-meter events. Russell runs 5-7 miles a day.
Q: With the track meet at Murphy coming up (today), what has the team worked on to prepare?
A: “Well, they’re working on throws. We got to work on hurdles because he’s never done it but he wants to do it. So I just think once they hit their home turf, it’ll kind of kick off instead of being somewhere else. And we’ll see how they do.”
The Eagles’ next meet is today at Murphy. The following meet is Wednesday, March 27, at Cherokee.