Following the retirement of the impactful Jeff Cramer, who coached for 26 years, the girls cross country team is striving to rebuild their team under new leadership.
Head girls track coach Joshua Washington has now taken over the position as head coach of the girls and boys cross country teams. He said he looks to live up to Cramer’s legacy.
“Mr. Cramer is a legend in the program, so I am stepping into some very large shoes,” Washington said. “The good thing is that he and I had a really good opportunity to work together last year and I observed a lot of the things he did. It’s a lot of pressure coming in behind him to lead this program, but he’s taught me a lot. They are some big shoes to fill, but I do feel prepared and ready to lead the program.”
Washington said he will bring consistency in coaching from past years, but also introduce helpful, unique ideas as well.
“[Cramer] and I’s coaching style are very similar,” Washington said. “We’re not necessarily big yellers or raised our voices, but we do love motivational talks. We do value just relationships, not just ourselves and our teammates, but value in the relationships that the teams have with each other. The biggest difference you will see is that my background is more track related.”
Senior co-captain Cate Barton said that although the loss of Cramer impacted the team’s dynamic, the team is finding and building connections with their new coach.
“While it’s definitely different, we are already making good progress getting back into the flow of things,” Barton said. “Washington has been a great coach so far, and we all already have a strong bond together. I believe that’s setting us up for a very successful season.”
Last year, the team finished 12th in the State Championship and are looking to climb back towards its historical second place finish in the 2022 season.
“We’re just gonna be faster this year,” Washington said. “I believe in terms of our endurance and our aerobic capacity, everyone on the team can run three, four or five plus miles without stopping. I think we’re fine there, but I do believe that there’s a component of speed work that’s been missing, so that’s gonna be what my main goal is.”
Barton said she wants to push the team to be their best, looking at Washington’s new workouts to help them be successful.
“I want everyone to be excited about this season and I want everyone to be ready to put their best foot forward,” Barton said. “I believe we have so much potential that we can really build off of. Washington’s focus on speed work is very exciting because I know it will help our times drop.”
Underclassmen like sophomore Lydia Berry said that they are going into the season optimistic under new leadership.
“I feel good going into this season,” Berry said. “I’m just excited to run. I’m sad to see Mr. Cramer leave since I really liked him, but I really like coach Josh.”
Washington said he has high hopes for the season and is excited to see how the team progresses.
“I’m very big on development and I want our top runners to feel like they have accomplished everything that they can do,” Washington said. “I want everyone to reach their potential, and I want to see our developing athletes develop in a way that they can be proud of. I want everyone to have their goals, their short term goals, their long term goals that they set for themselves, and when we look back at the end of the season later on in the fall, I want them to be proud of what they accomplished.”
