• Chloe Adkins finished in the top 50 in 6-A State Cross Country Meet November 4 and the fastest female runner from Effingham County in 2025.
•   Theron Claridge finished as the fastest male runner at State from ECHS with a time of 17:17 placing 32nd in 2025.

Senior Riley Morrison signs with Point University in West Point Georgia! We can't wait to see her run in a college meet next season!

Senior Ernie Zittrouer signs to run XC with Gordon College in Barnesville, GA! Another Cross Country Rebel that will make Effingham proud!

Senior Olivia Moreland signs to run XC with Gordon College in Barnesville, GA! Another rebel runner we can be proud of.

Seniors Hank Campbell and Taylor Hall sign with Darton College in Albany, GA. Effingham XC is very proud of these two outstanding athletes.

 Taylor Walsh commits to Erskine College- 2015: http://sports.effinghamherald.net/prep-sports/article/3940/ 

   Ashley Kaeser signs to run for Point University. Spring of 2016. Way to go Ashley!

1. Time — Based on Year/Gender

AND/OR

2. Meet Participation

(a) Run in the top 7 for five varsity meets
OR
(b) Run in the top 7 for three varsity meets AND qualify for the region meet.

AND/OR

3. Team Commitment

After participating for two consecutive years without missing more than three practices each year and participating in 90% of the scheduled meets, a runner will be eligible for a letter after completing the third year.

What is Cross Country?

High School Cross Country competition is running a standard 5 kilometer, or 3.1 mile course. The length is standard, but the design is anything but. Courses are usually off-road, sometimes incorporating sections of roads, sidewalks, cart paths, etc. Often times, the courses are set up along winding foot paths through the forest which can be filled with obstacles including mud. Yes, we run in the rain!

Runners compete as a team, but also as individuals. Each runner's finishing place number is added together for a team score. A team needs a minimum of five athletes to score team points, and those five (or the top five on a team) add their places together for a team score. Lower is what you're shooting for. For example, if five members finished 2nd, 5th, 6th, 12th, and 35th, the score would be 60 (2+5+6+12+35). The lowest score possible would occur if one team finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th, giving them a score of 15. While each individual runner can compete against the clock, against teammates, or against runners from other teams, he or she is also helping to lower the overall team score.

Cross country is not for the lazy athlete. An individual has to love to run just for the sake of running. A runner has to push through heat, fatigue, cramps, and pure pain. Beating other runners, beating your own personal records, and discovering that your body can do things you never dreamed it could are among the many rewards. The thrill of sprinting through the finish line to the roar of the crowd is impossible to describe. Especially if you have beaten a personal benchmark, a record time, or maybe just sprinted past that other team in the final five seconds.