By Debbie Burt Myers

Passers-by the Neshoba County Schools before and after classes or on weekends often see a group of dedicated students running tirelessly across the campus.

As the cross-country season started earlier this year, Coach Will Stewart told runners that the team which trained the hardness would win a state championship.

Neshoba Central High School’s cross-country team proved him right, capturing the state Class 6A championship trophy. The 5K competition last month at Choctaw Trails in Clinton.

The top seven runners from each team at regionals qualify for the state competition but only the scores of the top five count, Stewart said.

“The other two are there in case of a tie. You add up all the placements and the team with the lowest score wins.”

The victory marked the first boys’ state championship in a sport other than bowling to Stewart’s knowledge in the school’s history.

Neshoba Central High School Principal Jason Gentry is “extremely proud of the hard work that the boys and Coach Stewart put forth since the summer to reach the first ever state championship in cross country at NCHS. Their time and dedication exemplifies what it takes to be the best in their craft!”

Now in his fourth year coaching cross-country at Neshoba Central, and his third as head coach, Stewart expressed pride in his runners who train “almost every day” across campus and beyond.

 “These guy run like crazy on their own after school and on weekends,” he said. “I’m happy for them because they got what they deserved, a state championship.”

Senior Shot Stribling, a six-year cross country veteran, said the championship win meant that their hard work had finally paid off.

As the team’s sixth runner and potential tie-breaker, Stribling juggles cross-county with other activities.

“Shot is in the band, too,” Stewart said. “In the past he had ROTC, band and cross country all at the same time. For him to find the time and the willpower to be able to compete at this level is great.”

Evan Hallford, the team’s number one runner, has been running since age 10.

 “It means a lot to see years of work finally paying off not just for me but for our team, too,” Hallford said. “I’d rather win a team championship than an individual one.”

Hallford trains with Stribling most every day except Sundays.

Coach Stewart described Hallford as a special guy.

“He puts in an extremely amount of work, whether at practice or on his on,” he said. “He always puts in 100 percent and pushes his teammates to do the same. He is a big reason why we’re state champions.”

Teammate Emjae Willis, who also plays basketball, said the championship was particularly meaningful after years of near misses.

“I’ve been running since eighth grade,” he said. “Every time prior, when we went to state, we would get third or second. Last year we were runners-up.”

Stewart described Willis as a special kid who has the ability to balance basketball, boxing and cross-country.

 “He got into boxing, outside of school, this year,” he said. “He has been training with that, too. He still finds time to work hard.”

The coach also commended the other runners on the team: Isaiah Thomas, John Paul Moore, Zayden Nowell and Quinton Dan.

Thomas and Moore are seniors.

“They have been running practically since they could walk,” he said. “They train a lot on their own and deserve to be a part of this state championship team.”

He described Dan as a naturally gifted athlete.

“He could show up one day and randomly run a fast 5K without much training,” he said. “He has something different in him that lets him do that.”

Nowell, in his second year on the team, has shown remarkable improvement, cutting his 5K time from 25 minutes to 19 minutes, Stewart said.

“All these guys push each other to be the best they can. At the start of the season, I told them that if we work harder than everybody else, we would win because cross country is one of those sports where the team that works the hardest wins. They took what I said and believed in it. I think they got what they truly deserved.”