This past week, the Gloucester High School cross country team began training for the 5A Region Meet at Bells Mill Park in Chesapeake. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams are undefeated in regular season as they approach Wednesday’s regional meet. 

The boys’ team is seeded in second place and the girls’ team is seeded in fourth place. The top three teams will advance to the state meet. If the GHS boys qualify for the state meet, it will be the first time since 2007 for the team. The girls’ team looks to return after a similar absence.

At the conclusion of the season, the team will graduate nine seniors total. Seniors on the boys’ team are Josh Shackelford, who plans on continuing his running career in college and has applied to William and Mary and UNC Greensboro; Donald Calder, who plans on attending VMI, has been called a huge leader by the team; Colton Spence, known for his work ethic and humor, has been running for Gloucester since the ei...