Jamarian Essex placed 106th out of 161 runners in the 1A/2A AHSAA State Cross-Country (XC) Championship race on November 11, 2023. He ran a time of 20 minute and 20 seconds. This time was ten seconds slower than his fastest time this season, but he looked strong on the course running three consistent miles with an aggressive finish at the end. Jamarian is only a 9th grader, and XC is not one of those sports you win at that age. XC is a sport that you begin training for at a young age with the goal of winning by your senior year, because it takes four to five years to become great at XC. Jamarian showed that he’s growing in the right direction as a distance runner who could compete competitively by his junior and senior year after many more miles of training under his belt.
