Coming off a trip to the state cross country meet last fall, junior Bailey Hughey and the Warner Eagles are looking for a return trip this coming fall. Bailey herself was a runner-up at regionals and placed in the top 10 at state. But running is just one of several activities that occupy Bailey’s time. She’s also in FFA where she does cattle grading and is in leadership activities, softball, cheer and track with most of those picked up later in her life except for softball. “I’ve been playing softball since I was three and that’s the sport I like best,” she stated. “My oldest brother was a runner in high school and so I decided I would follow in his footsteps, and I’ve been doing competitive running since middle school. Cheer is something relatively new. I just watched it and thought it would be something I enjoyed so I tried out for the team last year and made it. It’s a little new and different and gets me out of my comfort zone a little.” She and Brooklyn Girty are among a group of juniors that all started cross country at the same time, so they all push and encourage each other. “Brooklyn pushes me all the time and we’re pretty close and we push each other,” said Bailey who is also a class officer. “This will be Bailey’s third year to run, and she’s improved steadily every year,” said assistant coach Charlie Parks. “I think she’ll be one of our top runners this year though she’ll get pushed by some incoming freshmen and sophomores, but I think that will just help her get better.” Obviously going to state last year was a highlight for Bailey and she’s ready to go back. “I think this will be an exciting year for us as we have most of our team back and we’ll feed off that feeling of making state last year, My PR so far is 14:30 and I’d like to get that down to 13:30 by the end of the season. I’ve been running more in the hot weather, so I’ll be pretty well acclimated to the weather at the start of the season.”
