TCHS & VHS XC Come Together

Courtesy of TCHS & VHS

On Thursday, the Toombs County High School cross country teams hosted a unique event—a dual meet between county rivals, Toombs and Vidalia. Both teams were scheduled to compete at outof- town meets, but with last-minute cancellations and no other local meets available, Coach Jeremy Moore from Toombs County and Coach Mandy Godbee from Vidalia decided to create a meet of their own.

“These past few weeks have been challenging, to say the least. Families have been without power, some struggling to find food or water, and we have just been trying to provide a place of comfort and familiarity,” Coach Moore shared. “When we were notified late Wednesday afternoon that the meet we were supposed to attend on Thursday was canceled, and realized there was no viable option for us to compete elsewhere, I immediately called Coach Godbee to discuss our options. We decided to host a dual meet here at Toombs and feed the kids afterward.”

Moore continued, “Ideally, we would have loved to travel to an outof- town meet, but what we were able to provide locally was the next best thing. You could tell from watching the kids that they enjoyed competing and having fans there to cheer for both teams. After everything our community has gone through recently and the long, slow road to recovery, it was refreshing to see smiles on the runners’ faces and watch them hang out and enjoy a bit of ‘normalcy’ for an afternoon.”

VHS Coach Mandy Godbee added, “It was such a joy to see these kids come together and race after so much devastation and destruction. The spirit of competition brought us all together to compete as one proving that we are all Toombs Strong.”

The meet provided an opportunity for both teams to race in a more relaxed environment, while also offering a sense of unity and support amidst the difficulties faced by the community. It was a special day of competition that demonstrated the resilience and camaraderie of these local athletes.