Veteran cross-country coach Kelly Simpson sees the 2012 season for the Greene County Rams as one where sportsmanship and a family atmosphere are emphasized. Nearly 30 girls and boys are out and have been running the track, streets, hills, and countrysides in and around Jefferson preparing for the upcoming season. The top runners back for the Rams are senior Jacob Simpson on the boys’ side and sophomore Allison Higgins for the girls. Both just missed qualifying as individuals for the Class 2A state cross-country meet last season. Simpson is the son of the Greene County coach.
Coach Simpson said one of the characteristic of Ram teams is their display of good sportsmanship, not only toward teammates, but other runners as well. “As we begin to finish, as we begin to stop, our kids stop. They wait for their teammates, then they expand it and wait for other runners and congratulate them and we’ve become known for that; for being good sportsmen. We’ll even have a pack of kids that will break off after they’ve finished and go find our last runner and they’ll do the best they can, without breaking the rules, to encourage that runner to finish as best they can. It’s really a family atmosphere in cross-country!”
Simpson is well into his second stint as the lone cross-country coach for both high school teams. He’s seen the combined numbers more than double in that time. Expectations for the teams in 2012 include improving as the season goes on. “We may be similar to a year ago when our teams finished toward the bottom against some pretty good competition. As the season went on, we improved and the team finishes started to climb, which we could see again this season.” He added the Rams compete in the Heart of Iowa Activities Conference, which the coach said is very strong in cross-country. “Our goal is to be somewhere in the middle at the conference meet.”
The Rams begin the 2012 season on the Iowa State University cross-county course in Ames for the Gilbert Invitational on August 23 starting at 5 p.m. The only home meet for the Rams is on the Greene County High School grounds in Jefferson on Thursday, Sept. 6.