For a number years, Jenkins County High School has hosted an invitational cross-country meet at Magnolia Springs State Park. Four years ago, our cross county coach asked if she could name the meet the Ray Miller Invitational. My first question was, "Do I have to die?" She assured me that I did not have to die. Since I started cross-country at Jenkins County High School way back in 1979, she wanted to use my name. So I agreed. Coach Bratten sent out a number of invitations and the race was a great success.

Coach Bratten left us after the first year and the new coach was Bobby James. I've known Bobby all his life. He graduated from JCHS and he was on the 1988 cross-country team. Bobby's first year, he kept the invitational going. His second year, we decided to add junior varsity races for the boys and girls who were not on the varsity. The J.V races were really well received by the coaches and athletes.

Near the end of the 2004 school year, I got an interesting email from Andy Carr. Andy explained that he was a community coach at Milton High School in Alpharetta. Andy is very familiar with Magnolia Springs. Andy works at the Atlanta Track Club and he has been running in our 4.8-Mile USATF Cross-Country Championship for a number of years. He was interested in bringing his team to Magnolia Springs for the Ray Miller Invitational. I told Andy I thought it would be great to have his high school team come to our race. Then Andy asked me to check the availability of the group camp. This kind of took me by surprise. The group camp? You can sleep well over 100 people back there. Andy replied that is what he was looking for, he thought Milton would bring around 80 - 90 people. I was floored! They take cross-country seriously at Milton. I told him I would check with the folks at Magnolia Springs and get back to him. A couple of days later, I emailed Andy the price and the phone number for reservations. In a couple of days Andy emailed me and said that his team would be staying at the group camp the Friday before the RMI. Wow! Cross-country is serious at Milton.

In September of 2005, Andy brought his team in on two chartered buses. Did I tell you that cross-country is very serious at Milton? We had a football game that Friday, so I didn't see Andy until Saturday morning...race day. The group from Milton was easy to spot. They had three tents set up near the starting line. There must have been over 100 kids, all dressed in the red and white of Milton, they were everywhere. I guess the last time there were this many uniforms of the same color in the park was back in 1864. That is when Sherman's troops moved in to liberate Camp Lawton near the end of the Civil War. Cross-country is very serious business at Milton.

Four races were scheduled that morning. In the boys race, Hephzibah edged the Milton boys by a few points. In the varsity girls' race, Milton ran away (no pun intended) with the championship. In the junior varsity girls and boys races, Milton dominated the field. I told you, cross-country is very serious at Milton.

One of the lighter moments happened near the lake during the girls junior varsity race. One of the Milton girls turned her ankle and was unable to finish the race. I was near the lake and I offered to drive her back up to the park in my car. As we drove to the Milton campsite, she said, "Can I ask you something?" "Of course", I replied. She thought for a moment and asked, "Where are we?" I couldn't help but chuckle. I guess Magnolia Springs is just a little different from Alpharetta.

Later that morning, I relayed the story to Andy. We both had a good laugh. We talked about what a big responsibility it is when you take a large number of high school students on an overnight trip. Andy said that Magnolia Springs was the exception. He said that when the sun went down the night before, everybody stayed together. A few of the kids brought flashlights and pointed them at the lake. The students could see the green eyes popping up in the lake, Andy explained that those green eyes belonged to alligators. After that, the kids stayed really close to the adults.

Milton had a very successful trip to the RMI in 2005. The Milton girls won the 2005 team championship and the Milton boys finished 2nd to Hephzibah.

Before I knew it, it was spring and the school year was winding down. In March I received an email from Andy checking on the date for the 2006 RMI. I confirmed the September 16th date. Andy reserved the group camp and said that his kids couldn't wait to visit Magnolia Springs in September.

I talked to Andy a couple of times during the year. In almost every conversation, Andy would mention how much his kids were looking forward to coming to Millen to race. I remember one conversation when Andy asked me if Hephzibah was coming back. I could sense that the Milton boys wanted another shot at Hephzibah. They take cross-country seriously at Milton.

The night before this year's race, we had a road football game. I didn't get to talk to Andy until Saturday morning. When I arrived at the park early Saturday morning it was obvious that Milton was in town. I saw the familiar tents and there were red and white uniforms all over the place. I stopped by the Milton tents and mentioned that I was a little hungry. One of the parents said that I should have joined them for breakfast. And the good thing is, if I had been able to join them, I know I would have been more than welcome. Since I missed breakfast, the lady offered me some snacks. When she opened the case, they had more snacks and fruit under the Milton tent than our local Zippy Mart. It looks like they take cross country...and eating....seriously at Milton.

The boys race began and Andy and I took our familiar spots down by the lake, about 3/4 mile from the finish. When the boys came out of the woods, Andy started yelling. Here comes Milton, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 10th. Almost a clean sweep. No doubt, they were the champions of the 2006 RMI. Cross-country is very serious at Milton.

Then the girls race began. Down by the lake, it was easy to score first place. Milton had five of the first six places. Of course they won the championship for the second year in a row. Yes Virginia, the girls also take cross-country seriously at Milton. Next came the junior varsity races. We only kept track of the top seven junior varsity boys and girls. You guessed it; all 14 athletes were from Milton. Even the junior varsity kids at Milton take cross-country very seriously.

During the girls race, a member of the boys team joined us near the lake. I later found out that his name was Ryan. Now Ryan was easy to spot. He was playing a mandolin. Yes I said he was playing a mandolin. But there is more, he was carrying a toy monkey.....tied to a ceremonial stick.....and the monkey was wearing a Milton XC singlet, of course it was Ryan's singlet. Man...even the monkeys take cross-country seriously at Milton.

While we were waiting on the girls to come out of the woods at the lake, Andy introduced me to Ryan. I found out that he had a great race. He finihsed 4th and he is only a sophomore. Andy asked Ryan how he had done last year at this race. He said that he won the junior varsity race in 2005. Then he smiled and said, "I got to chest bump Ray Miller last year." I can't believe I forgot that.

Ryan's enthusiasm was unbelievable. Every time a Milton girl would come out of the woods, he would strum his mandolin with a great deal of gusto. He was a great supporter of his teammates. After all, who wouldn't run faster when you have a mandolin player and a monkey cheering you on? Yes, cross country is very serious at Milton

Andy and I talked about what a great time the Milton kids had the night before at the group camp. He said that they built a big bon-fire and that the seniors gave a little speech about what running cross-country had meant to them. The seniors know how serious cross-country is at Milton. Andy told me about the new cross-country course at Milton and how the course is designed to prepare his team for the different types of cross-country courses they will encounter during the season. Now that's serious.

After everyone was finished, we made our way to the park for the awards. You could hear the cheers all over the park as the athletes heard their names called out for their awards. The loudest cheers are always for the team awards. But the most noise, by far, was when anyone from Milton received an award. And the two loudest cheers went up for the 2006 Boys Champion - Milton and the 2006 Girls Champion - Milton! They take cross-country seriously at Milton.

We had a great meet this year. I'll remember the athletes laughing and playing before the race. I'll remember hearing coaches and parents cheering for every athlete who finished, no matter what the uniform. That's what we do in cross-country. You hear, "Way to go Milton", "Let's go Statesboro", "Go Tigers" "Push It Eagles"; and the great thing is these cheers are coming from fans of other schools. At your next football or basketball or softball or baseball game, count the number of times people encourage or cheer for the competitors. Never! No, this is not Friday Night Lights, I guess we can call this Saturday Morning Sunshine. This is high school cross country! In our sport, we cheer for each other, and after the race, we usually wait for the next runner and shake their hand....then we go find the guy or girl who finished just ahead of us and congratulate them. That's what I love about our sport.

After the awards, the athletes and coaches were beginning to make their way to their buses. As I was walking across the park, I saw the Ryan walking towards me. I knew what was coming. He carefully placed his mandolin on a picnic table and started running in my direction. I took a deep breath.......jogged towards him.......jumped as high as I could (about 2 inches off the ground).....and we chest bumped (or bumped chests)!

So where am I going with all of this? Take another look at the title of this article. Without question, cross country is very serious at Milton. But before the race and after the race, these athletes conducted themselves just like the young ladies and gentlemen they are. The seniors gave motivational speeches, they laughed and joked with each other, they cheered for their teammates, they hugged their coaches and some of them even took a few minutes visit with an old (whoops, I mean former) cross country coach from Millen.

And what about Ryan? Ryan is a winner. I don't mean that Ryan might win a region or state championship. He is a winner because of what he gives to his teammates and to our sport. On this morning, Ryan ran as hard as anyone, but after he finished his race, he went back to the lake to cheer every single one of this teammates. How many of us do that? Ryan knows how to be serious and when to have fun! That's a great combination that will serve him well for the rest of his life. And Ryan has one more thing in his favor, he runs for Milton High School where cross-country is very serious.

So Coach Carr, and all the coaches and parents from Milton, thanks for bringing your athletes to Millen. I enjoyed meeting members of your team and I really enjoyed watching your team run, because they are a TEAM!!! It was a pleasure to have you compete in our race. Your student-athletes are a credit to your school and to your community.

Good Luck Milton in your Region Meet and in the State Cross Country

To keep track of the Milton Cross-Country Teams.....check out Milton Cross-Country

See Ya, Ray