To place things in perspective, of the four state team titles ever won at Morristown West high school in any sport, the girls cross country program has captured three of those titles. This has all been done at a school where the student enrollment hovers around 1200 students, quite small in comparison to most AAA cross country powers that line up across the state.
Farmer, a state finalist and 4th place finisher in the Tennessee boys state 800 meter run in 1987, went on to become a cross country All-American at Carson Newman College before returning home to coach his alma mater at Morristown West High School.
“Last year was our third state championship and we had two runner-up finishes in the past,”said Farmer.
“Our first state title was in 1993 and I was an assistant for five years under Jana Haney back then of course. Then the last two were in 2005 and 2006.”
Farmer is quick to point out that there have been other factors that have contributed to the success of the Morristown West program.
“The middle schools have definitely helped us out and have got the interest going. The middle school is a basic program and by the time we get them, we work with them a little bit more and develop them a lot further.”
Farmer takes an old school approach to training and racing that has worked well with Morristown West.
“It seems that many of the high schools are now taking the same approach as the colleges and are racing fewer and fewer races in the bigger meets but our approach is that they are still kids and we try to involve them in as many different levels of competition as possible,” said Farmer.
“The training is good for them but my old high school coach, Ty Murrell always made the statement years ago, the best way to get them in shape is to race them into shape. Where as we do work hard in our practices, nothing can take the place of a race.”
When discussing his team’s schedule, Farmer indicates a variety of small and large meets are important.
“I think they really need a good mix of it all. Throw in a few big meets but run the local stuff as well because they need to know their local competition and see who else is out there.”
“They really need that success in the smaller meets to boost their level of confidence but at the same time the bigger meets are helpful to know where they are at so that they can work a little bit harder.”
This year the defending AAA girls state champions will be down a bit due to graduation.
“Right now we have 10 girls and the numbers are not what we had expected but like anything else, things travel in cycles and we are hoping to build things back up,” said Farmer.
“Emily Parker finished in 15th place in the state for us and she’ll be back and beyond that a lot of young ladies have a lot of big shoes to fill so it may take a few years to reach the level that we were at.”
The boy’s outlook looks brighter for the 2007 campaign.
“I was actually pleased and surprised by the finish we had at state last year,” said Farmer regarding the boys seventh place team finish.
“They actually could have been fifth. I feel if they continue where they are at, having come in pretty strong and continue to progress, I would like to see them in the top three but we are just looking at a top five finish right now.”
Farmer was quick to point out his boys team is still young.
“The majority of our team are sophomores and juniors,” said Farmer. “We are still pretty young and are excited with what we have and the direction we are headed in. The guys we are going to be counting on are Spencer Frantom, Matt and Chris Bishop, John Herold, Taylor Ryden, Andrew Dibb and Desmond Pierce.”
Regarding the outlook for the boys in Northeast Tennessee
In the Region Meet last year, Science Hill won by one point and we were second,” said Farmer.
“I think Science Hill will be a force to be reckon with and Dobyns- Bennett is stepping up from last year. It is not going to be an easy year.”
In the sport of cross country, nothing is ever easy, including much deserved recognition.
Morristown West begins their season this Thursday, August 23rd at Panther Creek State Park in Morristown.
