Editor’s Note: This story was completed before recent coaching changes with the cross country team.

by Isaiah Gatton and Elijah Lahrman

As the cross country season continues, the growing team hopes for increased support and recognition.

Former head coach Sam Mull spent 21 years involved with the program, first as an assistant before eventually becoming head coach. As a former JHS runner himself, Mull experienced the challenges of the sport firsthand.

“So when I was here, I did every sport possible, but I was mainly a runner. I did football, did basketball, wrestled, swam, cross-country, and track, but I was a track runner, mainly,” said Mull.

Mull said cross country presents a unique mental challenge because runners are constantly competing against some of the best athletes in the state and the daunting fact that it’s running.

“This is probably the toughest mental sport that you’ll ever participate in,” he said.

He explained that unlike team sports, athletes advance as individuals, and ultimately how well they do depends on them. 

“If you’re a 100-meter runner, you’re not competing against 475 other teams in the state; you’re competing against a 1000 other kids in the state. And you’ve got to advance against those thousand each week and get knocked out and knocked out until you make it to the final, final level. It’s a very, very difficult sport to advance in,” said Mull.

While the sport itself presents challenges, Mull said the Jeffersonville cross country program faces another problem: a lack of recognition and funding compared with other sports.

“We don’t get recognized as much as other team sports, such as basketball and football. Results are often overlooked or discredited. And when it comes to funding for equipment, it’s often overlooked. And I’ve had to go outside the school on many occasions to get basic equipment that schools should provide for both sports,” said Mull.

The lack of support is something athletes have noticed as well. Senior cross country runner Lizette Gonzalez said the team needs more support from the school and community in order to grow.

“The team needs more girls, more support from school, parents, friends, and others so we can thrive as a team. ‘Cause right now, our backbone is basically Mull. He’s the one that’s been getting us everything, either funding or fundraisers, or just paying out of pocket,” said Gonzalez.

Mull also had problems getting funding for his other sport, track and field, saying that the condition of the equipment isn’t up to the standard needed due to having the same hurdles for 30 years, and how the track itself is not up to the condition of other schools, suggesting that it may need to be updated to 8 to 10 lanes.

Athletic director AJ Moye said the JHS athletic programs often have to generate their own funding rather than relying on a large yearly athletic budget.

“We have to generate a lot of our own revenue. We have to generate a lot of our own funds to help out our students and help our student-athletes get better facilities, get better things,” he said.

Moye said the athletic department works to form partnerships with businesses and promote student-athletes both on and off the field.

“We show them our student-athletes; we show them not only what they do in terms of their athletic fields, but man, we show them in the classroom,” said Moye. “It’s not like every year I’m getting $250,000. So I have to go out and form partnerships, go out, market our student-athletes.”

Despite these challenges, Mull said there are positive signs for the cross country team this year. The girls’ team has grown, with Mull saying the program has more athletes this year than in any of his previous four seasons. The boys’ team, however, remains at around eight runners, a number that has stayed relatively consistent over the past few years.

“We have a lot of girls. Most girls I’ve had in the four years I’ve had the team. Boys, looks like we’re sitting at eight, which we’ve stayed at for the past couple of years, and I would like to see that grow, but we just continue to truck along with what we’ve got, keep encouraging people to come out,” said Mull.

For students who might want to try running, Mull encourages them not to discount themselves.

“It’s one of those things that you got to come out, and you just got to prove yourself day in and day out, and a lot of people find that maybe it’s not for them, but there’s another handful of those kids that also find out that it is very rewarding and they find out being much better than they thought they were,” he said.

With more students joining the team and greater support from the school and community, the cross country program has an opportunity to continue growing both on and off the course.

Junior Marcus Baker has been part of the cross-country team for three years and has contributed a lot of his efforts to the team, motivating everyone, showing up to practice, and overall being a figurehead. 

“I think cross country is a mental sport for everybody. I think it is good for people to go out and run. Get out all your personal stuff at home,” said Baker. “For me, running helps with my mental stuff, getting all my stress out.”

Baker looks past the fact that cross country can be a difficult and physical sport. Instead, he sees it as a way to decompress and hang out with friends. For him and many other runners, cross country is more than just a sport; it is also a way to improve their mental well-being and build relationships with their teammates. 

Funding is important for the continued growth of the cross country program, providing better equipment, uniforms, and transportation for the team.

“It would be cool to get some new uniforms,” said Baker. 

With more financial support from the school and community, the team could have more opportunities to improve, compete, and attract new runners. As the cross country team continues to grow each year, support from the community could play an important role in helping the program reach its full potential.

“The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare,” stated Mull.