West Wake News

Catawba Valley Community College issued the following announcement on December 7.

Catawba Valley Community College announces the addition of cross-country to its athletic line up starting in the fall 2022 semester.

Red Hawk Cross Country

Cross-country becomes the seventh sport offered by the Red Hawks, joining baseball, bass fishing, esports, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and court and beach volleyball.

“We are excited to grow our athletic department with the addition of cross-country,” said Nick Schroeder, executive director of Student Life and Athletics. “Just in the greater Hickory area there are so many talented runners, and we are excited to bring them to Catawba Valley Community College and Red Hawk Nation. These student-athletes will have opportunity to earn an education for a fraction of the cost compared to other institutions and compete at a high level.”

The Catawba Valley Community College Board of Trustees unanimously approved the addition of cross-country during its quarterly meeting held this past week.

“This is an opportunity for our athletic department to grow smartly,” said CVCC President Dr. Garrett Hinshaw. “There are other sports we’d like to do add, but they are cost prohibitive at this time. Cross-country is a low cost addition, and the whole program will bring approximately 30 to 40 student athletes — both men and women — on our campus who probably otherwise wouldn’t be here.”

Leading the new Red Hawk cross-country team will be head coach Shawn Fountain.

Dr. Fountain has been coaching and assisting sports programs in Catawba County for more than 20 years. He brings a passion for running to the athletes from years of experience competing in 5K, 10K, half and full marathons, as well as being a varsity athlete at Lenoir-Rhyne University.

In addition to his coaching experience, he is a lifelong educator. Fountain worked in education for 25 years — 10 at Newton-Conover and 12 at CVCC.

“It is an honor for us to start a new program at CVCC,” Fountain said. “Catawba County has a wealth of talented runners that can team together to compete in the junior college ranks. Red Hawk Nation is about creating champions. CVCC has shown this in athletics with volleyball, baseball, softball, basketball, esports and bass fishing. Our goal is to continue that tradition of excellence. We are already working to ensure that we put our fastest-foot forward to coach this program. We need to grow together to be the best students, athletes and citizens in our community. We can run together to make a positive difference.”

For more information about the new cross-country program at Catawba Valley Community College, please contact Shawn Fountain at sfountain@cvcc.edu or call 828-327-7000 x 4463.

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Original source can be found here.