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The Three Forks Running Club will wrap up its 2024 season with two student-athletes competing at this week's USATF National Junior Olympics Cross Country Championships in Indiana.
Senior Cass Violett, who won the Class B Individual State Title in October, and two-time All-State finisher freshman Teegan Gifford will both be representing Three Forks at the prestigious meet that will take place at the Blue River Cross Country Course in Shelbyville.
"It's very exciting for our runners to be able to compete at these big events. Coming from a small school, the competition seems to be the same each race around here, so to be able to get out of the state and experience other high-level meets goes a long way for our runners," Coach Matt Robb said.
Three Forks has been sending runners to the National meet since 2018, which Robb said was a fun way to end the season and reward all of their efforts.
"I'm very happy with how well we've competed against some great runners across the nation the last few years," Robb said.
Over the past two seasons, Three Forks has had two runners earn All-American honors at the event: Beau Johnston in 2022 in Texas and Bryon Fanning in 2023 in Kentucky. Robb has the same goal this season for Violett and said his PR and school record from the state meet (15:54) ranks him 12th in his age group heading into the meet.
Robb added Violett being able to compete at the NXR Northwest Regional Championships in November should give him some great experience and confidence, as the Nationals course will be wider, allowing him to move around better.
This will be the second consecutive season Gifford has competed at Nationals. Robb said Gifford's race will have around 400 runners in her age group and, in his opinion, will be one of the most competitive.
"We both learned a lot from last year and will go in with a better plan to give her the best chance possible," said Robb. "It's been a long season, but I've been impressed at how they've handled the last few weeks of workouts. The race will be almost 3,500 feet lower in elevation, so I'm very excited and confident in how they will do."
