Norwood CC runners look to leave their mark in fall season

Norwood’s boys and girls cross country squads have their eyes on making the fall 2024 season a successful one.
The Lady Pirates are led by returning All-State runner Jayden Chambers.
Joining the junior on this year’s squad includes fellow returning juniors Sydney Irwin and Aliyah Irby.
The newcomers are Kalie Chadwell and Sadie Kelly.
Meanwhile, the Pirates are returning runner Gunner Bradshaw, who was 28th in districts a season ago.
Joining him will be senior Kyle Barker.
The boys did lose Ben Smith to graduation. Smith is now running cross country and track at Crowder College.
“I expect each individual to continue to improve throughout the year,” said Norwood head coach David Drake.
“We have the potential to qualify three to four runners for state meet. If we could remain healthy, we will have a girls team to compete at districts. I looking forward to this season. The team has been working hard in our early practices. I cannot wait to see how each individual improves this year and who can qualify for the state meet.”
The cross country teams opened their season on Aug. 31 at the Fellows Lake in Strafford.
Chadwell led the Lady Pirates with a 21st best time of 24:30.50.
Sydney Irwin finished the race with a time of 31:06.
The boys were led by Bradshaw’s 36th place time of 20:09.40. Barker finished his race in 29:20.70.
Then this past weekend, Chambers was the lone Norwood runner to compete in the Southwest Cross Country Coaches Association (SWCCCA) Richard Clark Invitational in Bolivar.
On a day that saw more than 800 runners compete, Chambers was 61st overall in the girls race that featured a ton of large schools.
Her time was 21:17.03.