For the girls’ cross country team, it is not just the beginning of a new school year, it is the beginning of a new coaching era.

    Heather Hall, who also teaches psychology at Shores, was named coach over the summer.

    "I have always thought about coaching cross country, but my family schedule would not allow it when the position had been open in the past," said coach Hall, who has three young children. "This year when I saw the girls’ position open up, I was immediately interested."

    Coach Hall’s father is also the coach of the boys cross country team.

    "My dad (John Swinburne) is the boys’ coach, and we really enjoy coaching together," coach Hall said. "We have coached track together in the past and did very well."

    Coach Hall is not new to cross country or coaching. She ran cross country and long distance track in high school and college at Taylor (Ind.) University, and she held the cross country school record at Shores.

    Coach Hall also holds the freshmen cross country record at Taylor University with a time of 18 minutes and 30 seconds and the 3,200 meter record for Shores track with a time of 11 minutes and 30 seconds.

    Since 1995, coach Hall has been coaching track on and off for a couple of different schools, including Shores.

    "As a track coach, I specialized in distance coaching, so cross country is nothing new to me," coach Hall said. "I have the girls working hard, and we have been practicing every morning since the season started."

    Last year, the girls finished the season with a third-place finish at the OK Black conference meet and a ninth-place finish at the regional tournament.

    "I would like to make a good showing at the City, conference and regional championships," coach Hall said. " If we could send a few girls to state after that, it would be a big accomplishment."

    Coach Hall has a lot of returning talent, including seniors Sara Jones, Kathleen Grace, Liz Rich; juniors Jamie Barnes, Hilary Rohlman; and sophomore Jamie Kuziak,

    "I’m looking forward to a great season.  I am blessed with a wonderful group of girls," coach Hall said. "My goal is for the girls to peak at the end of the season, so we work hard throughout the first part of the season."