Andrew Ketchings began his first day on the job on Friday as the new cross country coach at Trinity, meeting with prospective runners. And despite it being his first day, Ketchings isn’t hiding his high expectations for both teams.

&uot;I would hope we could be in the top five in Class A for sure,&uot; said Ketchings.

That could be a tough task for Ketchings, as only 14 runners showed up for the informational meeting. A lot of athletes that signed up were young, he said. But Ketchings is hoping some more runners turn out as the days lead up to the first meet if the season on Sept. 4.

Ketchings, who ran track at Trinity, said most Saint runners are using the cross country season as a way to get in shape for other sports, such as basketball, baseball and track.

&uot;This will help with every sport,&uot; Ketchings said. &uot;Speed is the name of the game.&uot;

Ketchings earned the cross country position almost by accident. Earl Hefley, a long-time coach at Trinity, moved over to Cathedral for this season. That left athletic director David King with an opening.

&uot;I was talking to David king and he mentioned that Earl Hefley was going to Cathedral. He knew I was a runner, and we just talked, and before I knew it, I’m the coach,&uot; Ketchings said.

The boys team has three top returnees. Marcus Archer, Will Godfrey and Stewart Mophett are the top three runners for Ketchings as of now. The girls team is in its first year.

Last year, Trinity ran in meets that consisted of A and AA teams. Most invitationals this year will hold only A schools.

Ketchings has the option of running every meet on the schedule, which has one meet every week from the first week of September to the state championship meet on Oct. 29 at Mississippi College.