The Tallulah Falls cross country season starts Thursday, with the Indians running on principles of sportsmanship and conduct.
This starting point spawns a priority in thanking meet officials and hosts, while also leading the way for younger members to carry on those valued virtues.
Two of those leaned on for leadership are record-holders returning as seniors: Evan Prince for the boys team and Lucia Alexander for the girls.
On Oct. 3, 2020, Prince broke the all-time TFS boys mark set by Chris Pic in 1987 by nearly a minute, with a time of 15:42.72 at the Chattahoochee Hills Event Center in favorable weather conditions on a course without many turns, none of which were sharp. More revealing of his character was his 10th place bounce-back performance at the Nov. 14 Meet of Champions.
Having finished fifth in the state meet in 2019, Prince returned to a Carrolton course featuring treacherous terrain, not to mention the “pouring rain” creating a muddy surface. Despite the environment, he had reached the last couple meters in third place, before bonking caused him to fall to 17th.
Every year, Tallulah Falls hosts an event called Cookies ’n Quotes, where athletes receive words of inspiration. Fitting is that the most memorable over the years for Prince came from Babe Ruth: “You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.”
“I’ve never once seen Evan slow down before a line, not even in practice,” coach Scott Neal said.
Despite the complete loss of glycogen, he recovered in time for the Meet of Champions only a week later, breaking Pic’s previous record again with a time of 15:53.27, beating many competitors who had “beaten me all season.”
On the girls side, the road to state in 2020 exemplified the heart of Alexander and the selfless character of teammate Caroline Ball.
During that Region 8-A Private Meet, 12th-seeded Alexander made her way through the first of two loops at Athens Academy’s course in the top ten. Ahead of her was a teammate who had stumbled and threw up, but as Alexander has done so many times, encouraged her Tribe member who went on to finish 11th.
Alexander was in fifth place with less than a mile remaining, but pushed herself to third place and her personal best time of 21:11.77.
Despite the devastation of the team coming one point shy of advancing to state, Ball tackled Alexander in celebration for her good friend’s achievement of getting there as an individual. She agreed to travel to Carrolton, where she showed support for Alexander every step of the way.
“If you could personify a ray of sunshine it would be Caroline Ball,” Alexander said of her now-fellow senior. “She is a huge supporter, motivator, and critic when I need it. She encourages everyone to give their all, she is constantly positive and she can make anyone smile with her infectious joy.
“As a teammate, she knows just when to cheer you on, yell at you to speed up, or comfort you after a bad race. Even in my lowest points during cross country, she has always found a new perspective that makes my biggest mistakes look insignificant in the big picture.”
Thursday’s meet will take place at the Hartwell Golf Course, the junior varsity preceding the varsity teams at 5:30 p.m.
Over the offseason, the term “Earn it” has been used in team circles, with Prince, Alexander, Ball and another senior Josh Jackson being key members in holding teammates accountable for a program that makes heart rate data available to track progress.
During that training, the Indians have used “One Voice” to promote inclusion and togetherness that will be crucial in keeping them prepared for trials of adversity and the challenging courses ahead.
One of those is their own home venue, a tougher layout that generally produces higher times. Starting across the street from the middle school, the 5k Farm Course gets its name from students “decades ago” using the land as a place for farming before and after school. Featuring hills, it’s beneficial for training, along with Stonewall Falls, Stoneplace and Bear Gap, in addition to other locations.
The Farm Course hosts three regular season meets. The aforementioned Cookies ’n Quotes on Sept. 7 has every athlete, manager and coach receiving a bag with three cookies and three quotes. At the Sept. 25 Heroes Invitational, competitors run for their chosen person. And on Oct. 19, the Harrier Harvest features athletes jumping over hay barrels at the one, two and three mile marks, with the winning team awarded “the world’s best apple pie” made by Susan Chester, wife of assistant head of school David.