The Windsor High School cross country program has undergone a resurgence in the past few years by steadily increasing its participation numbers. The gradual turnaround has been fueled in part by the willingness of a handful of athletes to play two sports within the fall season.
Coaches Kabray Rockwood and Kenedi Hall took over the program three years ago when there were a total of three runners on the middle and high school teams combined.
“One of our first missions was to try to go after some of the other athletes on other sports (teams),” Rockwood said after a Southern Vermont League meet on Tuesday at Thetford Academy. “Because naturally they’re already doing something, so (it’s) a little collaborative effort.”
Of the Yellowjackets’ nine current runners, four play an additional fall sport: Olivia Rockwood (soccer), Skylar Thibodeau (soccer), Angelina Bigwood (field hockey) and Liam Attwood (golf).
Coach Rockwood explained the plan student-athletes employ while pulling double duties.
“We have communication with the coaches prior to the season, so we expect that the two-sport athletes have open communication with the other coach and that sport becomes their priority,” Rockwood said. “So if there’s a meet and it conflicts with an important practice or a game, they’re going there, ultimately, so we have to take a little bit of a back seat as a result.”
Most meets require a minimum of five runners for a team to score points, but at some races the number is four.
Thibodeau and fellow freshman Oli Holden were the only Windsor girls in the field on Tuesday, making it impossible for them to claim a team score.
“I’m still excited to be here, to be a part of the team,” said Thibodeau, who finished 18th.
The newcomer to cross country, who has been playing soccer since her elementary school days, shared some of the logistics of her demanding schedule.
“Usually, the times of the practices are lined up enough so I can go to both,” she said. “I’ll have soccer first, then a little rest, then I’ll go to cross country. … I had a practice today for soccer, but I chose to obviously come to the meet instead of going to practice. But since soccer is my initial sport, if I have a game and a meet on the same day, I’ll go to the game because they need me for people and it’s my primary sport.”
Windsor’s varsity soccer coach, Jeff Bachey, wasn’t opposed to Thibodeau’s routine, according to the active freshman.
“He thought it was a fine idea because it keeps me in shape for soccer as well,” she said. “It keeps me running.”
The dual-sport commitment can be difficult at times, but that’s part of its allure.
“Sometimes (it’s hard),” Thibodeau said. “But I think that’s the challenge. That’s kind of the fun part of it.”
After suiting up just three runners for much of last season, the Windsor boys fielded a team of five on Tuesday, allowing for a fifth-place finish (out of seven). It helped having Attwood — who joined Owen Abrahamson, Ethan Lawyer, Trace Petermann and Evan Burke — away from the links.
The freshman already has grown accustomed to moonlighting for the Jacks.
“For golf, the practices are pretty much every other day,” Attwood said. “I sometimes have golf and cross country and normally golf is right after school and then cross country practice would be around 6 o’clock.”
Windsor’s coaches often make training adjustments for their two-sport athletes.
“We’ve got to make sure we manage and obviously make sure they don’t get overworked,” Rockwood said. “So typically, we’ll have alternate workouts for them so that they’re not getting taxed too heavily.”
There’s also a degree of planning involved.
“We look at the schedule and we try to basically get them to three meets so that they’re eligible to run in the (Southern Vermont League championship race),” the coach said. “That’s the goal, so we kind of look at the meets and try to see where there’s not any conflicts.”
Runners must participate in at least four races to be eligible for the state meet, slated for Oct. 26 at Thetford Academy. The Yellowjackets’ home meet will be Oct. 1.