JUNGLE RUN 2011: South View Looks to Host Largest Field Ever

Click here for Registration Information on the 2011 Jungle Run

     There will be some differences this year, as the registration will be done online.  "As the meet has grown, it has just become more and more difficult to handle all the entries manually."  Autry said.  Registration will take place through NCRunners.com.  Autry plans to open registration up for the meet in early August and run it through Wednesday, August 31st at 11:59PM.  

For registration information on the 10th Annual Jungle Run, please click here.  If you any direct questions concerning this event, please email Coach Jesse L. Autry at coachjesseautry@yahoo.com.       

For a look back at the 2010 Jungle Run, click the links below:

Over Sixty Tigers Headed to Appalachian State This Summer!

     This year is looking to be very different, as the Lady Tigers have more pre-registered student athletes going than the boys.  "It's true.  The girls have a couple more than the guys this time."  Autry confirmed on Wednesday.  This increase is being fueled by a strong class of rising sophomores.  Autry has made it clear that he thinks the numbers are still a bit fluid.  "For some reason I think we will still pick up a couple of kids.  We always do."  

     For information about balance due dates, camp expectations, what to bring and more, please continue to check back here.  

     Click below to see some of the Running Tigers 2010 camp experience:

• Camp Pictures from 2010
• Camp Video Clips from 2010
• Camp Race Results 
• Camp Pictures from 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007

Strong Sophomore Class Leads Young Lady Tigers Into Most Important Summer in Years

     "It is simple, really, for our ladies: if they want to contend, they are going to have to put in their

Sarah DeSantis at the 2011 Track and Field Conference Meet.

 summer miles."  Autry said on Sunday.  The Lady Tigers return an impressive nucleus of super-sophs from their 2010 squad.  Combined with an excellent recruiting class of freshmen and sophomores from the Spring track team, they will push hard to be a force in the East.  Kelly Corney earned All Conference as a freshman in 2010 and finished strong in Spring track.  She will lead the the class of 2014, which includes Hannah Kavosckitz, Amanda Cubitt, Alyssa Saxon and Alyssa Zappe, who were all in the Lady Tiger top 12 last Fall. Joining this talented group will be veteran track stand-outs Kiara Glover and Andria Wren (who both helped carry the Lady Tigers to their 10th straight conference title in the spring).  

     Autry is also excited about the arrival of rising sophomores Sarah DeSantis and Jessica Blanks.  Both were late arrivals to the program when they joined the track team during the winter and spring, respectively.  Blanks had become a top five two-miler for South View before an injury cut her season short.  DeSantis ran her way all the way to the Regional Championships.

Autry also feels their could be a surprise in the wings with other young runners like Christina Sem, Sabrina Hogan, Kimberly Jencks and Erin Clancy off to a good start on their summer miles.  The return of Ashley Merritt could be a major factor if she returns to her early 2010 form.  Then there is the the incoming freshman class: Catherine Thompson and Lauren Garrick have all physical tools to be special and Mackenzie Odom had a promising time-trial.  These, and more, could end up being some names to watch.  

   "What we need is something, or someone, to tie it all together."  Autry claims.  "I feel we have a couple of great leaders in senior Jessica Piper and junior Taylor Elmore.  Autry is particularly excited about Elmore's recent commitment to her summer miles.  "Taylor is off to her best summer ever.  She really has that look in her eye.  She wants to lead in more ways than one."  

     Can the Lady Tigers pull together their youthful talent and veteran leadership and become a contender again or will the temptations of poolside sun-tans and late nights on Facebook take precedence?  By the end of July, the truth will begin to come out. 

Who Will Rise Up?

     A team that has traditionally been known for its depth would seem to have some answers already.  Indeed, last fall the Tigers proved how deep they were when they won the Jungle Run Championship, Invitational and Developmental races all in the same night.  Their top seven remained competitive and was not truly solidified until last year's pre-conference meet one week before the championships began.  

     Is all this uncertainty unnerving?  For Coach Jesse Autry, it is just the way he likes it.  "I'm a capitalist: I believe competition makes everyone better.  We know we have depth.  The truth is, there is not a lot of difference for us from four or five down to about 15 or 16.  So, how do we decide?  Let them fight it out?"  During the 2003 State Championship run, Tiger great Jonathon Isom was asked in an interview what made the South View top seven so formidable.  His answer said it all: "That's easy; our next seven.  We all know that if you slip up, you have lost your spot." 

     Autry believes that the answers could lie somewhere other than the rising seniors.  "If you look, we have an outstanding group coming up from the middle schools and they are hungry.  Then we have guys who have already cracked the five minute barrier in track and are knocking on the door of the top ten.  Guys like Matt Kriner, Ronald Washington, Austin Crawford and Chris James."  The Tigers will also be adding Kaeleb Ionnone and Tim Johnson from the spring track team.

     As another summer gets underway, the facts remain same for Autry, "Miles.  Quality miles.  If we do not work and train together, we will not get the ending we want.  If we do, the sky may be the limit."