Mariana Mendez (front), checks her watch prior to a tempo run. Mendez looks to be this years standout Raider girl, and will be competitive throughout the Sandhills Athletic Conference.
Coaches Morgan Tedder and Ashleigh Buie explain the importance of getting out of the gate quick, especially on tight courses like Hinson Lake Park.
Senior Zaviar Lowry is a first year cross country runner, but his sheer athleticicsm will see him at the front of the Raider boy’s pack.
Tedder puts Raider runners through a dynamic warm-up.
ROCKINGHAM — While traditionally an individual effort, second year Richmond Senior High cross country coaches, Morgan Tedder and Ashleigh Buie, are working to foster a real team environment during preseason workouts.
Tedder and Buie are a perfect melding of former collegiate athlete and tenured coach.
Both Richmond County natives, Tedder ran cross country and track at St. Andrews University, while Buie has over a decade of soccer coaching experience at both the middle and high school levels.
“I came from just being the athlete trying to teach how to coach, I ran cross country and track in college, but it’s taking what you learn and making kids understand it, it really helped out with her being a coach before,” Tedder said of her appreciation for Buie co-leading the effort.
“I coached soccer for like twelve years at the middle school level, I’ve coached club teams, and now helping out with the high school,” Buie said on her extensive coaching background.
While winning is always the ultimate goal, on expectations coming off their first year, coaches Tedder and Buie are more concerned with athletic development, improvement, and teamwork, rather than race results.
“Last year, last year we got faster for every meet. After every meet last year, I’d break down, I’d time them, I’d break them down individually, and every single time everybody improved, and that was our first time coaching together,” Tedder said.
The ability to talk while running is historically a judge of training intensity. Tedder frequently runs with the team and keeps them talking – working on pace consistency and breathe cadence, but she is also promoting team building.
“It brings camaraderie out in them because that’s the thing, all of our competitors, they do these buddy runs, even in the meets, and it’s smart. It’s a smart tactic because they’ll get them to sit there and push each other throughout the meets, you’ll hear them talking to each other non-stop,” Tedder said.
Tedder and Buie are incorporating a diverse training protocol for their runners. From tempo runs, threshold runs, go-runs, and speed work on the track, Tedder and Buie want their runners to come out of the gate strong, quickly settle into their race pace, and then finish with a heavy kick.
“I’m trying to get the starts quicker this year, then finding their pace, and being able to finish really strong,” Buie said. “One thing I can say we are good at, last year we got complimented on it in our last meet, we apparently have the best finishes because we have literally pushed hard on sprinting,” Tedder added.
While not a big team, Tedder and Buie, are banking on returning junior Mariana Mendez on the girls’ roster, and senior Zaviar Lowry for the boys.
Mendez had an exceptional year last year, according to Tedder, as the sole female runner to make it to regionals. She is a gritty runner that Tedder and Buie hope will turn in times around the eighteen minute mark.
Lowry, on the other hand, while a senior, has never run a cross country race. Despite the obvious strategic disadvantage, Lowry is a pure athlete. He was previously a standout on the football field, and baseball diamond, and his abilities show in spades.
