You can’t beat the percentages when it comes to members of the Farwell girls cross country team who qualified for the state meet.
The Eagles batted 1,000.
Senior Contessa Hammond was the only female to compete for the varsity this season, and she finished 11th at the Division 3 regional to make it to Michigan International Speedway.
In her third trip to the main event, she finished 72nd in a time of 20:27.5.
The loneliness of the long distance runner has been well documented but, despite being a one-woman pack for Farwell, Hammond did not spend the season running alone.
She trained with the boys. “She was very capable of running with our varsity male team,” said Eagles coach Mike Jenkins. “She went out with us every day and practiced just like everybody else.
“She’s a very good runner with a lot of heart, and she improved her times quite a bit by the end of the season.
“She’s dedicated, and I know she has aspirations of going on to run at college.”
Hammond was not alone at MIS, either, as junior Daylen Garner represented the boys’ team for the second time and placed 82nd in a time of 17:16.8.
Garner made his season at the regional, where he finished fifth in a time of 16:59.77, easily his best ever.
“That race was a breakout for him,” said Jenkins. “His previous best was a 17:27, so he got under 17 and beat some of the guys who had finished ahead of him during the regular season. He wound up in the top third at the state meet and, if he works hard, there is no reason he can’t be in the hunt for all state next year.”
This season was Jenkins’ first at Farwell, and he is determined to build a program that can compete with the top teams in the area, with a full slate of committed runners.
“They’ve never had a run club here,” he said. “That’s in the works. We’re going to build a much stronger program down the road.”