Raines Track & Field Recruitment Page

There were some outstanding performances this weekend at the Bale n’ Trail Cross Country Championships at Bartram Trail High School. Here are a few highlights from Raines Cross Country athletes and their early season progress. Boys Zion Lazenberry, who is only a sophomore, ran 18:59.6, 57.5 seconds faster than his 19:57.1 at the 2026 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny the week before. In his first year running cross country, Zion broke 19 minutes in just his second meet and placed 20th in a competitive 9th and 10th grade race. Jordan Sanders ran 20:03.7. After opening the season under 20 minutes at 2026 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny, he is just 11.6 seconds off his 2026 season best of 19:52.1. His Katie Caples Invitational time this year was also about 39 seconds faster than his early-season result at Middleburg XC Invitational last year. Richard Gilliard ran 20:04.9. His 19:54.2 at 2026 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny was 47.8 seconds faster than his result at that meet last year. He is off to a strong start and is close to breaking 20 minutes again. Jordan Middleton ran 21:37.3, improving by 1:22.7 from his first meet last year and by 35.7 seconds from the 2025 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny. His freshman year 400 meter best was 48.95. This fall, he is combining speed training and development work and adding cross country to build a stronger aerobic base. If he continues progressing, a 2–3 second improvement in the 400 is a realistic goal. Girls Calleigh Buchanan ran 23:04.8, improving by 36.8 seconds from 2026 Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny. Her time was nearly four minutes faster than her result at this meet last year a major early season improvement. Maleah Smothers ran 25:03.0, improving by 26.5 seconds from the 2026 Katie Caples Invitational. She has already improved from meet one to meet two, and we’ll continue to follow her progress as the season develops. Team Progress The team has encouraging momentum. Three Raines boys broke 20 minutes at Katie Caples Invitational at Bishop Kenny, and Zion Lazenberry followed with a sub 19 performance at Bale n’ Trail Cross Country Championship at Bartram Trail in just his second cross country meet.  Jordan Middleton has also made a substantial year over year improvement in Cross Country, while Calleigh Buchanan and Maleah Smothers both improved from the first Cross Country meet to the second. These results give us a strong base to build on as the season continues. Great work by all of our athletes. We are the standard.

ANOTHER PROUD COACH MOMENT 🏃🏾‍♀️💙🧡 Jehzaria “Zaria” Middleton — Albany State University I didn’t get an opportunity to watch Zaria compete in her first collegiate cross country meet, but I did get a chance to speak with her afterward, and hearing about her experience made me extremely proud because I know where this journey started. Zaria came to Raines having never run cross country before. She was naturally gifted and developed into one of the top runners in our program, but what makes her story even more impressive is everything she had to balance along the way. Throughout high school, Zaria was heavily involved in cheerleading, and the demands were so high that there were times when she couldn’t even practice cross country with us. There were meets where she would simply show up, get on the starting line, and run. Yet she still found a way to compete at a high level throughout her four-year high school career. She also battled injuries, stayed involved in numerous school activities, and served on the Royal Court. She had a lot on her plate, and cross country was only one part of a very demanding schedule. That’s why I’m so excited about this next chapter. For the first time, she has the opportunity to truly focus on cross country and track, train consistently, and find out just how good she can become. Even though she was sick the week leading up to her first collegiate meet, she still stepped on the starting line and performed at a high level. At the 2026 Julius Johnson Invitational, Zaria ran 22:32.38, finished 28th out of 225 runners, and helped Albany State finish 4th as a team. She didn’t have any meet-day or action pictures from the race 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️😡😡 for me to post so I’ll post what I have. In a way, though, those pictures tell the story perfectly. They show where this journey started and just how far she has already come. And now comes another part of the journey that people sometimes overlook. Zaria is adjusting to a new environment, being away from her family and friends, a new coaching style, new teammates, and an entirely different level of competition. That adjustment takes time. I had the opportunity to talk with her and pray with her on Saturday after she ran, and after that conversation, I felt even more confident about where she is headed. I truly believe she is going to get better practice, every week and every meet. She’s going to continue adjusting. She’s going to continue growing. She’s going to continue learning. And she’s going to continue getting stronger. That’s why I believe we haven’t seen anywhere close to what Zaria is capable of yet. She had never run cross country before coming to Raines. At times, she couldn’t even practice because of cheerleading. She battled injuries, balanced countless responsibilities, and now she’s competing at the collegiate level. Now she gets to train consistently. Now she gets to focus. Now she gets to develop. And now she gets to see how far this gift can really take her. I’m praying that God continues to give her strength, patience, confidence, peace, and the ability to embrace this new chapter. Congratulations, Zaria. First collegiate race in the books. I believe the best is still ahead. 🐏 GO RAMS!💙🧡 RAINES FOREVER.

I make a big deal out of the “small” accomplishments because I know how much work it takes to reach them. Today was one of those PROUD COACH MOMENTS. Seeing these pictures from Bryson Lewis’ first collegiate cross country race at Alabama State University means a lot to me. Bryson finished his first collegiate 5K in 18:11.5, crossing the line as Alabama State’s second finisher. Since I’ve been the head coach at Raines, I’ve watched Bryson help make cross country fun again. His personality, energy, competitiveness, and love for his teammates helped revitalize our cross country program, and that same spirit carried over into helping us rebuild and strengthen our track & field program. Now, here he is at Alabama State, and it already looks like he’s bringing that same energy with him. When you can step into a college program and begin making an impact from your very first race, that says a lot about who you are. A huge shout-out to his parents, Coach Lewis and Mrs. Lewis, for making the trip to Alabama to support him. They have always been tremendous supporters of Bryson and of our entire Raines Cross Country & Track & Field program. I know they are some proud parents today. And much love and appreciation to Coach Beam and Alabama State for believing in Bryson and giving him the opportunity. Coach Lewis, thank you for sharing these pictures and this memorable moment with us. Bryson, you helped ignite something at Raines. Now go help ignite something at Alabama State. This may seem like a small accomplishment to some people. #teamsideline But to me, this is BIG. 🖤💛🐝 Proud Coach. Proud Program. Proud of Bryson Lewis. #explore #teamsideline @talleymama @JStCyrTV @CFreemanJAX @DuvalSports @BamaStateXCTF

Raines Cross Country and track and field alums Bryson Lewis and Jehzaria Middleton will always hold a special place in my coaching journey as my first two TRUE cross country recruits to earn collegiate cross country/track scholarships. I’ve had many athletes earn track scholarships who had to run cross country in college, but these two are the first I truly developed through cross country who earned the opportunity to continue competing at the collegiate level — and neither started running cross country until high school. Today, Bryson runs his first collegiate cross country meet for Alabama State University, and tomorrow morning Jehzaria makes her collegiate cross country debut for Albany State University in Georgia. So proud of how far you both have come. Congratulations, good luck, and keep making us proud! I know your parents are extremely proud. Go Alabama State Hornets! 🐝 Go Albany State Rams! 🐏 Special thanks to Raines Cross Country legends Thomas Mayes and Leslie Lowe and Legendary Hall of Fame Coach Lewis James for your unwavering encouragement and support with this Cross Country journey. @talleymama @FACACoach @FHSAA @flrunners @CFreemanJAX