SAC Student-Athlete Insider: Cross Country

SAC cross country runners are back on campus gearing up for the start of the season. Lincoln Memorial's Brandon Ward, Wingate's Tiana Barnes, Lenoir-Rhyne's Amber Bowles, Newberry's Rebecca Eddy and Mars Hill's Danielle Metz shared some insight with theSAC.com about their teams.

What is the best part about being back on campus for the start of classes and practice?

Barnes: "The best part about being back on campus for the fall semester is having a fresh start with new classes, getting to see fellow classmates, friends and coaches, and also looking forward to having an even better fall season than the previous one."

Eddy: "The best part about being back on campus is seeing friends that I haven't seen since school got out in May. I'm also looking forward to helping at Spanish Academy, which is a program we started last year at a local elementary school to help kids grades 2-5 learn the language."

Metz: "I have to say I love preseason. It gives the whole team a chance to bond and get to know each other before everyone else comes back to campus. It also gives you time to meet all your new teammates, and I love the team bonding that occurs. Also, I do love the start of classes because you get to see your professors and see who your classmates will be."

What race are you most looking forward to this season?

Barnes: "This season I would have to say I'm most looking forward to our conference championship meet in Tusculum for cross country."

Eddy: "I'm looking forward to all of our meets but of course the one everyone hopes to peak at is the SAC championship race."

How do you plan to serve as a leader on your team and on campus this season?

Bowles: "Since I am a senior, I plan on leading my team by helping the freshman adjust to college life and college running. I will make sure that we as a team get plenty of bonding time before classes start."

Eddy: "I plan to lead by example; by always showing up on time, sleeping sufficiently, eating right, working hard at workouts and in the classroom. I'm very excited to see what our team can do and I'm looking forward to having a close-knit team that works hard and proves itself."

Metz: "I plan on serving as a leader on my team by helping out my coaches and the captains. Since I will be one of the oldest on the team, I will already know most things about how the team is handled. I also want to help guide the freshmen transition from high school to college life, and show how a college team is run."

What's something interesting people don't know about your team?

Eddy: "A lot of people don't realize that running is a skill that needs to be fine-tuned, practiced, and perfected to achieve success. We work on form (meaning good posture and proper movement using drills), on our core strength, using light weights, and of course by running different kinds of workouts. There is more to our sport than most people think!"

Metz: "Many people don't know is that everyone on my team is different and unique. We are all different from our personalities to how we act. I enjoy being a part of the team I am on because I like the uniqueness which brings us closer."

Ward: "We eat at Subway – a lot!"

Did you do anything exciting this summer?

Bowles: "I got to go to Germany this summer with L-R Teaching Fellows. That was really exciting, because instead of staying in a hostel for the entire trip we got to live with host families for five of the ten days."

Barnes: "This summer I went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a family vacation and had a great time. We went parasailing, took a boat over to see the arch (tip of Baja California), and had some awesome food and drinks!"

Eddy: "I worked at Students Playing Learning and Staying Healthy (SPLASH) Camp in Columbia which had over 50 refugee kids ages 6-14. They were mostly from Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Bhutan and many had stayed at refugee camps in Thailand. We worked on math, reading, writing and English skills and we went on field trips to places like the state farmer's market and the zoo."