Cookeville Cross Country Coach Bill Wrasman Sets New Goals For 2019

Goals. Every athletic team at every level has them, but only a coveted few reach their goals every season. Whether it’s winning a championship, making the playoffs, or just being competitive, every team has a mountaintop they wish to reach.

Some continue to set new goals as they achieve their initial ones. That is exactly what Cookeville Cross Country coach Bill Wrasman has done. After a season in 2018 that saw both his boys and girls teams win the region and finish 15th at state, Wrasman believes that this year’s team could go even further.

“We still have one goal; we want to get into the top 10 in the state,” Wrasman said. “We haven’t done that yet. One thing that was a huge plus was one of our female runners was the state runner-up, so that’s great.”

And what a plus it was. Now-junior Landri Wilcox finished as the regional champion and her finish at state gave her team a lift in the standings. She was only the third runner in Cookeville High School history to finish on the medal stand at state, and the hope that Wrasman has is that she’ll be even better this coming season.

“She came in as a ninth grader, running really fast,” Wrasman said. “She has a lot of endurance, and on top of that, she works really hard … you never know until the season gets going. We hope she’s a little faster this year.”

Wilcox won’t have to carry the burden alone, as senior Austin McCowan, juniors Annie Kate McDermott, Maddie Long, Keith Wiley and sophomore Jacob Sparks are all also expected to be key runners for Cookeville. With all the talent coming back, it is easy to see why Wrasman believes his team can take the next step this coming season.

“I believe having a realistic goal and working for it is important,” Wrasman said. “Gradually over the years, our goals have gotten higher. The past few years, our goal has always been to win the region and then place as high as we can at the state meet.”

“When we get into the top 10, we will set another goal. You keep raising your goals as you accomplish things.”