This past Saturday, the Newman high-school cross country team went to Jackson, Louisiana for the “Battlefield Cross County Festival.”

Everyone was excited for the second three mile race of the season, but unexpected 7 a.m. traffic on I-10 by Baton Rouge delayed the team significantly. Captain Garret McNamara resourcefully joined a chat on the mobile app Waze to discover the root of the problem. Apparently, a crash with an 18 wheeler caused a fire, and the wreck was not going to clear any time soon. The coaches decided that they wouldn’t make it in time for the varsity races: everyone would run in the junior varsity race. There was some confusion among the runners whether the JV race was two or three miles, but they decided to play it by ear. A faster group of boys in front of the race mistakenly took the 2 mile path, while later runners realized the mistake and continued on the 3 mile course. The times weren’t stellar, but everyone had fun and were happy to have run at all. It was an adventurous weekend for the Newman cross country team, and they are all excited for the Newman Classic this Thursday.