As the lone senior on a team of seven cross country runners, Sophie Bennett is the elder stateswoman for the Warrenton girls this season.
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As the lone senior on a team of seven cross country runners, Sophie Bennett is the elder stateswoman for the Warrenton girls this season.
On a team of seven that includes four freshmen, Bennett said she will work just as hard to help the younger girls as she will on herself.
“One of my main goals this season is just to improve my physical health,” Bennett said. “It does feel great so far with the girls on the team to see everyone cheering for each other and rooting one another on.”
Warrenton Coach Jeremy Collins said that, after the loss of several runners from last year’s team for a variety of reasons, he’s had to rebuild for the 2026 season.
He pointed to freshman Reese Keith as someone with plenty of potential headed into the season.
“Reese did a lot of conditioning throughout the summer,” Collins said. “Once we start doing race-specific workouts, I could really see her taking off.”
With Bennett established and Keith full of potential, Collins said he is optimistic about the season.
“I think we should expect to see a lot of growth and progress throughout the season,” Collins said. “It’s great to have Sophie out there. She’s a three-year runner, and she possesses a lot of leadership qualities that will only help the younger girls. She’ll work hard on herself and compete. I would expect to see a good amount of improvement over her first two cross country seasons.”
Bennett said progress is what she hopes for this year, both for her final competitive season and for the rest of the young Warriors.
“I just love cross country,” Bennett said. “I want to keep competing because it proves I can do hard things. My PR is around 24 and, this season, I want to work hard to get it into the low 20s. It’s been a lot of fun to run together like we have so far. I think when (meets start) we’re really going to go out there and help each other do our best.”
Warrenton will open the season August 29 at the CoMo Kickoff at the Gans Creek Course in Columbia.
