The annual trek to bring home a state title will begin for two Bridgeport High School varsity sports programs Saturday. For the BHS boys cross country team, they’ll be looking to improve on their Class AA sixth place finish, while the Indian girls team will be looking to bring home the school’s first-ever title after finishing fourth in 2017.

 

Step one in the process begins tomorrow. The Tribe will take part in the Autumn Classic at St. Marys High School. The action begins at 9 a.m.

 

The bad news heading into the season is that the Indians numbers are down. The good news is that participation is still so strong that they’re higher than most.

 

“Both teams are doing well.  Numbers are holding well.  We have 28 girls and 28 boys for a total of 56 on the team.  That is down a couple from last year, but we are still one of the largest cross country teams in the state,” said veteran Coach Jon Griffith. “We are working hard and looking to improve individually and collectively as the season progresses.

 

“The girls are a much more mature team, with lots of experience and a young group of athletes looking to gain valuable experience working with the older girls,” he continued. “The boys are very young with only 4 seniors on the team.  While the boys’ team should be strong this year, we expect to be even better for the next several years.”

 

For the boys, there are several holes to fill. Leading the way are Jackson Jacobs and Cade Robinson.

 

“(They) are our top two.  Both are just juniors.  Senior Hunter Hutson, Sophomore Landon Burns and newcomer and junior Logan Carr are all doing very well,” said Griffith. “We also have quite a few others that are right behind them, including a lot of sophomores and freshmen.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see one or more of them fighting for varsity spots.”

 

For the first time perhaps in the program’s history, it’s the girls that are considered among the favorites to win it all in ‘AA’ this year heading into the season. And they have plenty of weapons on a roster returning nearly everyone from last year’s highest finishing team ever.

 

“Senior Julia Muller is our number one right now.  She has been working very hard and is getting a lot of looks from colleges (West Virginia University, Marshall, California (Pa.) and a host of others),” said Griffith. “Along with Julia, senior Michaela Perri, juniors Brooke Wagner and Allison Hess, with sophomores Emma Campbell and Kanoe HuiHui and freshmen Emerson Grafton, and Mira Blount are all pushing to get on to the varsity squad as are several others.  This is the largest and deepest girls’ teams we have ever had.”  

 

So what happens if the Indians don’t do well in week one of the campaign? He’s not putting all of the season’s eggs in the opening meet’s matches.

 

“The first meet is always difficult.  We have several that aren’t eligible yet, due to lack of practices.  That will correct itself this next week and everyone should be eligible by the second meet.  The Autumn Classic is a good opening meet for us,” said Griffith. “It generally has good competition and is well run.  

 

“We use the data we get from this meet to continue tailoring our workouts for the kids and get a better handle on our lineup going forward.  Practice is fine, but things always change on race day.  Some kids are just better with the spotlight on and everyone watching; ‘Gamers,’ if you will,” Griffith continued. “So we like to see who does and doesn't respond well under actual race conditions.”

 

Bridgeport will be back in action the following weekend. The Tribe will head out of state to take part in the Elizabeth S. Broughton Memorial Invitational August 25 in Marietta, Ohio. That meet also begins at 9 a.m.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo is of Julia Muller, while Jackson Jacobs is shown below. Top photo by www.benqueenphotography.com.