Following Hinman to All Conference honors were Connor Mang and Xiomar Ruckel, who both made the first team.  Making the second team were Tommy Baldridge, A.J. James, Jose Panduro and Charlie Reid.  The tight Tiger pack keeps making the difference and Autry hopes that can propel them to the State Meet, which is set for November seventh in Winston-Salem.  "Pack.  Pack.  Pack.  We preach it over and over.  And if our pack, especially our seniors, can rise up and have a phenomenal pack race on Halloween, who knows how well we can do?"  Autry questioned.

     Despite running their best race of the year, the Lady Tigers finished third overall.  Senior Candace Washington paced a total of three Lady Tigers to the All Conference squad.  Joining Washington were Justine Serje and Aimee Wilson.  "It's the best race we have had all year.  Terry Sanford and Jack Britt are really good teams.  We feel good about how well we ran."  Coach Jamie Shelton commented afterward.  A big goal for the Lady Tigers was to get back to the State Championship after two years out of it.  It will be tough, as there are some top notch girls' squads in the East.  But this team of Lady Tigers has shown there is no quit in them.

     The 4A East Regional will be held at South View on October 31st.  The boys' race will be at 10am, followed by the girls' race at 10:45.  A coaches' meeting will be held in Hut 2 at 9am.  If anyone has questions, please email Coach Autry at svxc@hotmail.com. 

     In the Developmental Races South View took the first 15 spots in the boys' race.  Led by Randy Hair, the Tigers ran to a perfect score of 15 and never looked back.  "It was an awesome run for those guys."  Autry said.  

     The Ladies placed third in the Developmental Race.  They were led by Taylor Elmore, who finished 17th overall.

For complete results, click here.  Article in Fayetteville Observer.

September 30, Mid South Meet 3 at Pine Forest  |  October 7, Mid South Meet 4 at Jack Britt

September 16 Results from South View | Pictures from September 16

 September 23 Results from Jack Britt | September 23 Pictures

From South View's boys take off at the 2009 Seahawk Invitational.

Wilmington - It's hard to imagine that every meet will go exactly as planned and on Saturday not much did for the Tigers at the Seahawk Invitational at UNC-Wilmington.  Injuries, illness and some old-fashioned bad luck caught up with the Tigers as the boys raced to a  13th place finish in the Championship Race and the girls have no idea how they placed, as confusion at the finish left senior Candace Washington and junior Amanda Corney out of the results, completely.  Washington had what was, arguably, the best cross country race of her career.  She paced the Lady Tigers.  Aimee Wilson fell out of the race at the two mile mark with illness and Cheyenne Mc Millon dropped out due to a nagging sore hip.  "We don't get hung up on the past, we try to learn from it.  I promise, things will get better.  These girls are tough."  Coach Jesse Autry said afterward.

     Sidney Reid, who raced in the JV Division ran a superb race in the last race of the day.  The conditions were the toughest of the day.  the temperature went up, but so did here performance.  "Sidney was awesome!"  Coach Shelton exclaimed afterward.  The sophomore was on pace by her third step out of the box and ran to a new personal best.  

     On the boys' side, a tight Tiger pack looked solid in the Championship Race, as front runner Kenny Hinman ran the entire race in the top 20, finishing 18th overall.  The spread on Connor Mang, Tommy Baldridge, Xiomar Ruckel and A.J. James was about two seconds.  "We were sitting pretty until..."  Autry said.  Unfortunately for the Tiger men, Mang was trampled at the two mile mark and suffered a mildly sprained ankle along with a lost shoe.  Autry continued, "I thought the other guys really stepped up.  A.J.'s race was just incredible.  He is really beginning to show what senior pride is."  Still, from a team placement perspective, the loss of Mang proved too much, as the Tigers fell out of the top 10.  "We learned a lot about ourselves and we hit several other goals.  I like where we're at."  Autry concluded.

     In the first race of the day, Darius Marsh finished third overall in the Developmental Race.  Another tight pack of Randy Hair, William Anderson, Jesse D. Autry and freshman Chris James pulled the Tigers to a fourth place team finish, overall.  That proved the best finish for South View all day.  "Although they ran a ridiculously slow first mile, those guys really turned it on for the last mile."  Coach Autry pointed out.  Hair, Anderson and Autry all ran sub-six last miles.  

     In the boys' JV Race Jordan Wilson and Ali Nunez led a top five that included Michael Roseberry, Von Ruckel and Cole Spear.  Again, they rolled with a tight spread of 38 seconds.  That was enough to put them in sixth place overall.

     Although it was not their best day, the Tiger machine had plenty to be excited about and much to work on.  From here the Tigers move into their conference schedule.  The first meet of the season will be against all schools from the new Mid-South Conference.  Each meet will count in a points standing throughout the season and all seven schools have to race each other each week.  Despite the specter of a regular season points championship, Autry has no intention of racing his top five this week.  "These kids need some psychological rest from racing.  My ultimate responsibility is to them and I cannot, in good conscious, over-race them into burnout or injury.  Some of these kids are going to college.  We cannot jeopardize that in order to try to be some paper champion.  Everyone knows when the real championship is determined."

For results from UNCW, click here.

For pictures from UNCW, click here.    

Hope Mills - It was a big day for former Running Tigers as several alumni of the SVXC family ran at the UNCP Invitational at Luther Britt Park in Lumberton this weekend.  Freshman Annette Sem led the Lady Braves while Christian Wiscovitch was the number two runner from the UNCP men's team.  Wiscovitch and fellow South View alumni Cedric Wilson, Kyle Elmore, Rocket Williams and Clayton Pierce helped pace the Braves to a victory for their opening meet of the 2009 season.  For more on the Ladies' race, click here to visit UNCP's website.  To read on the men's victory, click here.

     Freshman Aaron Holmes was the number one runner for Methodist University in the same race.  For more on Aaron's performance, click here.

     The girls team saw its top three runners runners go 22:02 and faster.  Led by Justine Serje, the Lady Tigers finished 14th overall and eighth among North Carolina 4A schools.  Serje, along with Aimee Wilson, ran her way into the South View record books by becoming one of South View's 20 fastest girls of All Time.  Candace Washington's 22:02 was a new personal best.  "You just cannot say enough about how well our front three girls are running."  Coach Jesse Autry commented.  

     Julie Sem and Sidney Reid rounded out the Lady Tiger top five.  Reid's continuing improvement is vital for the Lady Tigers to make a run at the conference title and get back to the State Meet.  "We just need Sidney to keep doing what she's doing: working hard and getting better.  It is going to take efforts like her's and Julie's to help us get where we want to go."  Coach Autry said after the meet.  

     Coach Jamie Shelton was very excited about the girls' performance and commented "We're looking good.  We just have to close that gap in our top seven."  Cheyenne Mc Millon and Amanda Anderson were six and seven for South View.    

     The boy's Championship Race proved very exciting as the Tiger men found themselves running among the top teams.  Kenny Hinman led the way for the Tigers, running a 16:34 and finishing eighth overall.  Both HInman and Coach Jesse Autry were pleased with his race, despite a 4:44 first mile split.  Afterward Hinman said, "When I heard that first mile split, I knew I needed to calm down."  Before the race Coach Autry and Hinman decided to take some chances early.  "We felt if we were going to experiment with a faster start, this was the meet to do it.  Kenny just got caught up in the moment.  In the end, he still ran great."  Autry said. 

     A surprise to many, except for the South View faithful, was the continuing emergence of junior Connor Mang.  Mang ran to a personal best of 16:48, a far cry from his 18:03 PR a season ago.  Fellow junior Ali Nunez (number eight for the Tigers on Saturday) commented on Mang's dedication over the summer, "Connor is my hero, now."   Coach Autry was equally pleased.  "Connor is demonstrating what a quality 500 mile summer can do."  After Mang, the rest of the Tiger top seven were Tommy Baldridge, Xiomar Ruckel, A.J. James, Jose Panduro and Charlie Reid.  James' kick proved to be the difference in getting the Tigers into the top five.  James passed over 20 runners on the final straightaway.  Coach Autry summed it up: "What A.J. did really saved our butt.  But the truth is, all our kids were laying it on the line at the end."  

     Freshman Brittany Combs continued to show huge improvement as she led the JV Lady Tigers.  Amber Minardi, Maya Alexander, Natalie Cross and Kelsey Welch WERE THE ONLY FIVE RUNNERS the Lady Tigers had in the race.  "We did not want to tell them that if anyone dropped out, we would not score.  There was enough pressure already."  Coach Autry said.  South View left several girls at home this weekend due to soreness and/or injury.  

     Darius Marsh ran his way back into the Tiger top 10, leading the b-team boys to a fifth place overall finish, as well.  Finishing a second behind Marsh was Cole Spear, who continues to consistently improve.  Rounding out the South View b-team top seven were Michael Roseberry, freshman Nick Owens, Eddy Chrisman and Tim Drury.  South View's young guys continue to excel.  "For Nick to go under 20 in his first meet, and in that heat...  It really says something."  Autry said.  He continued, "Matt Kriner and D.J. Guthrie really impressed me, too.  These freshmen are the real deal."  Both Kriner and Guthrie went just over 20 minutes.

     Both Coach Autry and Coach Shelton were pleased, but in typical Autry fashion, he was already moving on to next week's Jungle Run.  "It was a good day.  But we always tell the kids that a great athlete has a short memory.  We have some injury issues we have to deal with and some work to do in closing the gaps in our packs.  Come Monday, it's back to work."   

2009 Providence Invitational Results: JV boys | JV girls | Varsity boys | Varsity girls

South View at the 2009 Providence Invitational Pictures

     The only other change the Tigers expect is from when school opens.  Every year the door is opened for one week for any additional freshmen.  Coach Autry maintains he has a no cut policy for freshmen as long as they are consistent in their attendance and work ethic.  "We just don't cut freshmen.  They can cut themselves with attendance, poor work ethic or a bad attitude.  But I have always stuck to the James Cole Rule."  Autry said late Monday night.  James Cole was the first runner that Coach Autry kept that showed little promise as a beginner, but blossomed into an all conference performer.  Other athletes who have risen from obscurity to stardom include Amber Youngvall (the girls' school record holder in the 3200 meters and cross country), Phillip Park (last place for the Tigers his freshman year, conference runner up his senior year), Phillip Misklow (had the slowest mile time among boys his freshman year, ended up being two time all conference runner - pictured left), Annette Sem (all conference in track and cross country, South View Athlete of the Year finalist and a member of UNC-Pembroke's cross country and track team) and there are a whole lot more.

     "This is a sport where you hang in there with a kid.  You just don't know down the road who is going to rise up.  It is truly effort based.  Henry Ford said it best, 'The most successful people in life are those who just don't know how to quit.'"  Autry concluded.

     To see this year's list, click here.

     The Summer Workout schedule can be emailed in a PDF format if you did not get your copy, yet.  Please email Coach Autry if you need it.  All camp information can also be obtained via email.  Several members of the team are already meeting and organizing runs.  If you are interested in getting in on some of these runs, email Coach Autry to get the most recent call list so you can get with your friends and start logging your miles.  Coach Autry is stressing for everyone to get in their summer miles and go for a 300 or 500 mile t-shirt, but make sure you are running quality miles.

     Important Dates to know for the Summer:

• Tuesday, June 2: Spring Sports Awards Ceremony in the Auditorium
• Thursday, June 4: Dead Period begins - no workouts at South View
• Thursday, June 11: Physicals in South View Gym from 2-4 PM for only $15
• Monday, June 15 - Friday, June 19: Little Tiger Sports Camp 8AM until 5PM
• Tuesday, June 16 - SVXC Optional Practices begin at 6:30 PM until 9 PM; every Tuesday and Thursday thereafter until we go to camp
• CHANGED: Monday, July 13 - Balance on Camp Payment due by 11 AM
• Thursday, July 16 - Last Optional Practice and Parent Camp Meeting at 9:10 PM in football stands (mandatory for parents of those going to camp)
• Sunday, July 19 - Thursday, July 23rd - XC Team Camp at ASU, Boone, NC
• Monday, July 27 - Regular Practice Begins, 6:45PM

     Autry was particularly pleased that his team found a way to win despite returning only two from last year's top seven.  "You know, I have to hand it to our guys, a lot of them were new to championship racing, but they found a way to get it done.."

     Senior Dana Johnson ran to a personal best of 19:33.46 and led the ladies with her second place, first team all conference finish.  Jaira Britt and Justine Serje were also recognized as all conference. 

Boys Championship | Girls Championship | Developmental/JV | Pictures (NOW HERE!!!)

      Justine Serje paced the Lady Tigers, followed closely by Candace Washington.  Aimee Wilson,

From More pics: click here.

     From here, the Tigers will turn their attention toward the post season.  The Conference Championship Meet (which no longer determines the championship) will be at South View on Wednesday, October 21st.  The Developmental Race will begin at 4:30pm.  The boys' championship, then girls' championship will follow.  Keep checking back for more information.

For results from the Pre-Conference Meet, click here.

2009 Hagan Stone Classic Results | Pictures from the Hagan Stone Classic

The Tiger A-Team Men pose with the runner up trophy on Saturday.

     In the Girls Championship Race the Lady Tigers finished 12th.  The loss of Candace Washington at the last minute hurt the squad, but Julie Sem, Amanda Corney, and Cheyenne Mc Millon all stepped up.  Stellar performances were turned in by Amanda Anderson and Sidney Reid to to round out the Lady Tiger top seven.  The ladies were paced by the one-two punch of Justine Serje, who finished 22nd overall, and Aimee Wilson, both of whom ran the best races of their careers.  Serje continued her assault on the

From Aimee Wilson Finishes at the  2009 Jungle Run.

South View record books, moving up to number six all-time.

     The race of the night belonged to the b-team boys of South View.  A tight spread of 32 seconds between all seven runners enabled the b-squad Tigers to eek out a close one over powerful 2A Northwood High School in the Invitational Race.  "Those guys had the race of the night." Autry said afterward.  I knew we were going to place as a team because of the spread.  Winning that race was just a bonus."  It is also a great example for the rest of the South View team of how important pack running is.  The Tigers were led by Jordan Wilson.  Wilson was followed by Ali Nunez, Cole Spear, Nick Owens, Dean Donovan and Darius Marsh.  Ali Nunez said afterward "We just made a commitment ot each other to stay together."  

     In the JV/Developmental Races, the boys ran to another runner-up trophy behind a tough Cardinal Gibbons squad.  The girls placed out at eighth.  Leading the boys in the first race of the night was Von Ruckel, who placed third overall.  Also receiving top ten recognition were Randy Hair and Tim Drury.  The girls were paced by Rebecca Misklow who continued to look more and more like herself.  "As Rebecca gets back to form, we'll be looking for her to push back into the top runners.  We need that depth."  Coach Autry said.

     From the Jungle Run, the Running Tigers will travel to UNC-Wilmington for the adidas Seahawk Invitational on Saturday, September 12th.    

     Rounding out the Lady Tigers'  top 10 were Candace Washington, Julie Sem, Sidney Reid, Amanda

Justine Serje

Anderson, Rebecca Misklow, Ava Hart, Brittany Combs, Natalie Cross and Maya Alexander.  Coach Autry was especially pleased with Candace Washington's performance.  "She is really stepping up for these girls.  That is what you expect from seniors."  He said afterward.  He continued: "If we can get all of our girls healthy, we should be able to make some noise in the championship season."  

     On the boys side, after Hinman, the boys' top 10 consisted of Connor Mang, who surprised at second, Chris Small, Tommy Baldridge, AJ James, Charlie Reid, Jose Pandruo, Xiomar Ruckel, Jordan Wilson and Ali Nunez.  The boys had much to be excited about with their top two runners going under 10 minutes and a 23.3 second spread on their top seven.  Still, Autry was quick to point out that they need that spread to be tight at 5000 meters, "It's a great place to be at right now.  But it's something we have to hold together until it really matters."  Autry was particularly excited about the performance of his b-team.  "They really pack ran well tonight.  You could feel their energy and how they were feeding on each other at 2000 meters.  As a coach, that is the kind of thing you get excited about." 

Images from SVXC at ASU 2009!  More Coming...

     Seniors Kenny Hinman and Chris Small led the boys to a second place overall finish behind Maryland powerhouse Damascus, while Justine Serje and Aimee Wilson paced the girls.  Coach Autry was particularly excited about how everyone started and finished the camp race.  "That is the first time that has happened.  We are always so sore at the end of camp." He commented afterward.

     Another exciting development for the ladies was how well they did under the leadership of new girls' coach Jamie Shelton.  Shelton, formerly Jamie Wheeler, was a former captain fro Autry's Tigers in the early 2000s and has transferred back home after leading Pine Forest's girls to a third place finish in last year's conference championship.  Together, with another former Lady Tiger, coach Laura Valentine, the Lady Tigers found their way and are are looking forward to what many think will be their best season in a long time.

     Form pictures (still coming), results and more, click on the links below:

2009 Camp Pictures  |  2009 Camp One Boys' Race Results  |  2009 Camp One Girls' Race Results

Camp Event Schedule and Times To Know  |  Camp Rules  |  What to Bring

2008 Boys' Cap Race Results  | 2008 Girls' Camp Race Results

A Look Back at the 2003 Men's State Championship Team