The men’s and women’s cross country teams prepare to represent Piedmont University in the upcoming CCS Championship at the end of October, after quite a shift change from last season.
With the absence of former head coach Jamie Jimison, Piedmont University alumnus Gary Halverson takes over as head coach to continue positivity and encouragement for his athletes.
“It took a toll on them a little bit and their motivation to start.” Says assistant coach Remel Williams on the switch to Halverson from Jimison and how it affected the runners. “I don’t think it’s been that much of a change…he knows what he’s doing, he cares about them as people.”
Unfortunately, both the men’s and women’s teams are small in numbers, primarily due to the last class being so large and the lack of recruits over the past two to three years. However, this group doesn’t look at the downside.
The majority of both teams’ runners graduated, transferred, or opted to focus solely on track and field, leaving fifth-year Layton Braford and senior Bella Caccamo to lead their teammates.
While maintaining that positive energy, it has been a rebuilding year, especially for the women’s team, four out of the five women are freshmen: Eva Doyle, Katie Payne, Roseline Velasquez and Madison Worsham.
Because of the lack of runners, the women’s team continued recruiting at the start of the fall semester. The team welcomed two freshmen who, although not highly experienced in running cross country in a collegiate setting, can still perform well.
According to assistant coach Williams, Caccamo has not shied away from leading this new group of women with encouragement.
Halverson may be new to being the head coach of the cross-country teams at Piedmont, but the attitude remains the same from last season: to enjoy being out there and simply have fun. To Halverson, it helps being a former Piedmont athlete.
“Knowing the school, the people, the culture just made everything a lot easier…everyone was able to adjust well to the change,” he said.
The cross-country team has participated in two meets this season: the Converse Kickoff and the UNG Invite. All eyes are on improving times to place at the conference. With the CCS Championship just under a month away, the runners and coaches prepare to show up and show out at their next two meets: the Asics Invitational on Oct. 4 and the South Region Showdown at the Roanoke XC Invitational on Oct. 18.
Fifth-year Layton Bradford is turning heads for Piedmont. With it being his final season, Halverson and Williams expect him to break personal records and place in the conference, possibly even higher.
In the last two consecutive seasons, Bradford was awarded All-CCS First Team and placed second at last season’s CCS Championship, finishing with a time of 26:32.1. While struggling to start the season off on the right foot, he’s shaping up to strive for more. In his last meet, he finished with a 27.40.8 at the UNG Invite. Coaches expect Bradford’s best effort to close out his final season with Piedmont University.
The effort the men’s and women’s teams have put in shows. But it’s not their good times and fast feet that create the encouraging space, it’s the endless positivity, support and uplifting spirits Halverson and Williams have continued after Jimison’s farewell to Piedmont.
