Cross country program gets restart

Cross country is returning to New Rockford-Sheyenne.

After disappearing for the 2022-23 school year, NR-S will once again have a cross country program this year, giving those that love to run an exciting opportunity and further bolstering the district’s already strong track program.

The team’s new head coach will be Joe Greiner, a successful cross country athlete in high school and an avid runner to this day.

Greiner said he was first approached about the possibility of restarting cross country by Elliott Belquist, the district’s athletic director and track and field coach.

“The track team’s gotten to be so successful, but if the track team has a weakness right now, besides not having a track, is that they don’t have a distance program,” said Greiner. “They’ve got really good sprinters, but once they start to get past 400 meters they really struggle getting someone to run that.”

However, Greiner said the primary motivation for restarting the program is because young students are interested in doing it.

“The other reason, and this is the reason that actually motivated me to get off my butt, is that there’s some seventh graders and a sixth grader coming up that expressed a lot of interest in running,” said Greiner. “They’re very excited about it, and I didn’t want them to not have that opportunity.”

Greiner said he has up to seven students interested in Cross Country including both junior high kids and upperclassmen, which would be a notable increase over their 2021-22 participation of just two students.

The district’s previous cross country coach was Cherry Heinz, and Greiner said he’s already been working with her to ensure the success of the team moving forward.

“I’m really excited to take over and build off what she’s successfully already done for the team,” said Greiner.

Practice for cross country starts on Friday, Aug. 14, and their first meet will take place in Jamestown on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Greiner said Class B cross country meets in North Dakota are typically divided into just a junior high division, a girls’ varsity division and a boys’ varsity division.

Junior high kids would run a 3K (1.8 miles), varsity girls would run a 4K (2.5 miles) and varsity boys would run a 5K (3.1 miles).

Of course, each runner would be competing to finish the best they can for individual placement, but they’d also compete as a team, with each scoring a certain number of points depending on their finishing position.

“I enjoy the balance between the team and the solo effort,” said Greiner. “When you play football, you can be a lineman and do a halfway decent job, and if you have a star quarterback and a star receiver you can win every game.

“But in running each runner scores points, if you pass a runner or get passed by a runner that’ll affect the team’s score,” added Greiner. “… your team can’t carry you, you can carry people in other sports, but you can’t carry people in cross country.”

Greiner also noted the benefits long-distance running has on the mental and physical health of those who choose to do it, as well as the numerous benefits for athletes of other sports.

Greiner said he already has multiple runners wanting to do cross country for purposes of improving their stamina and their performance in other sports.

“Running is really good for people. ... Just the act of running and coming out and having fun with us is going to make you better in all aspects of life, and selfishly you can do it without getting a concussion,” he added with a chuckle.

Those interested in signing up for this year’s NR-S Cross Country team are encouraged to reach out to Greiner or to visit their Facebook page title, “NR-S Cross Country 2023.”