VHS girls going to state as 5-time region No. 1

It’s never happened. Not in five years.

Veterans High girls cross country runners never seem to go to their region championship meet (3A or 4A) and not bring home the team championship. 2014 was no different, for on Oct. 30 at the Rock Ranch course in Yatesville the Lady Warhawks – behind the individual championship performance of senior Bethanie Bailey – captured the gold of Region 2-AAAA.

Bailey reached the finish line in 19:38, five seconds before Perry High sophomore Tiffany Mountin. Teammates Katherine Luque (21:47.1) and Josi Giovinazzo (22:05.6) were fifth and sixth respectively. Veterans had 40 points to edge out the 48 for West Laurens High. Perry’s girls were third, one point ahead of Mary Persons thanks to the run of freshman Retchiel Roble (21:41), fourth overall.

“We want to do better than eighth (in state), though,” said David Shepherd, coach for both the Veterans boys and girls cross country teams. He is referring to the GHSA championships for all classifications that will take place today (Nov. 8) in Carrollton. “We keep coming in eighth.”

When Veterans High opened in 2010, a freshman named Anna Leigh Nix helped set the bar for cross country success. She not only led the charge to the first region title in Class AAA but also placed third in state.

“Anna Leigh was awesome,” said Shepherd. “I think a lot of people thought we were going to let up a little bit. The goal in cross country is to have more than one who can contribute. (Our girls) started decreasing gap between the No. 1 and No. 5 runner and started running more as a pack.”

Bailey is also this year’s county girls champion winning in 20:43 on Oct. 15. She took this year’s Demon Invitational at the same Huntington Middle School course, and in one other race at Rock Ranch, she was second in the invitational hosted by Upson-Lee High in 21:02. Bailey is this year’s Greyhound Invitational winner at Jones County (20:53).

“The thing that makes Bethanie really strong is she’s very disciplined,” said Shepherd. “She’s committed to negative splits. She is going to run her second and third miles faster than her first mile. She’s not going to get carried away with euphoria and run out too fast. Her training always shows up at the end.

“She probably had the best competition against her (in region) chasing her and she proved strong and finished strong. She’s battled through injuries runners tend to have: knee ailments, ankle problems, stress fractures.”

So the state meet should be right up Bailey’s alley, for it’s nothing but top competition, especially defending AAAA champion Marist. Shepherd said Bailey, as well as his top boys runner, Michael Rowlands, are aiming for the top 10.

“This summer, we did a 300-mile running club,” he said. “Tried to get a minimum of 300. Michael ran over 600 miles this summer. They love it. They did their science fair project on researching barefoot running vs. shoes and how to improve your arch strength. They are lifetime runners.”

Like Bailey, Giovinazzo is a senior mainstay on the team always with her name somewhere in the top 10 of any meet.

“Hard work really does pay off,” she said. “There’s no excuses. You have to take responsibility. The harder you try, the faster the times you’re going to get.

“We do encourage each other a lot. Every practice, we’re always ‘Come on, you can do faster.’ People have more potential than they give themselves credit for. Other teammates see that.”

Giovinazzo admitted to struggling with her own motivation and could not point to any reason for that. She said this is a mental sport and performance can be impacted by other things around you. To stay positive, she looks at what Bailey’s accomplished.

“She helps me a lot more than I can help her,” said Giovinazzo. “She’s always giving me awesome advice. Her uncle’s a cross country coach, so she knows a lot … always positive. I love her for that.”

Brandon Bodony was sixth in the 2-AAAA boys race at 17:52, and like his fellow seniors the state meet became an expected trip every early November.

“Having all the top runners in the state in the same place, that really motivates me,” he said. “The first mile, everybody is so ready to compete. You go way too fast. It’s just a lot of fun.

“The more you run a (course), the more strategy you have. My freshman year, (my result) wasn’t what I wanted it to be. You’re packed in there. Sometimes you get caught in a pack that’s a little slower. As a senior I’ll be able to overcome those obstacles.”

“I’m so nervous,” said Giovinazzo. “I’m just going to try to kill myself because it’s my last race. Can’t hold anything back.”

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