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This article is the sixth installment of a summer series entitled Sports Rewind. This summer, The Manchester Times will take a look back at Coffee County Central High School’s 2022 Graduates that continued to play their sport at a collegiate level. Rewind the clock and take a look at the CCCHS Class of 2022’s Freshman Year in collegiate sports. This series will run from May 24 to August 2, 2023.

Jacob Rutledge was never technically enrolled at Coffee County Central High School, but he was still brought into the Coffee County family. Rutledge was homeschooled while running both track and cross country for Coffee.

Often seen as the “dad” of the team, Rutledge has continued to support his Coffee teammates from afar whether that’s running with them when home, attending meets, or supporting them from four hours away.

Now, Rutledge attends Milligan University and runs both track and cross country. While there, Rutledge is pursuing a degree in exercise science with a pre-professional concentration alongside a biblical studies minor. After Milligan, Rutledge will go into a physical therapy program.

When asked why, Rutledge shared, “I got injured a lot in high school. Every time I got injured, I was forced to look at why and what was causing it whether mechanical, overuse, or muscle imbalances. Over time I became interested in why injuries happen and ways to prevent them. If I can prevent those injuries, then I can train harder and move better.”

Continued, “And, the only thing I was really interested in during high school was anatomy and physiology, learning about the human body and how it works, what made it fire and what made it not work. Through that process, I realized the only thing I was really interested in doing for the rest of my life was dealing with that to stay directly related to running without trying to be a coach or professional athlete which aren’t a stable job or an easy job to get. So, if I could do PT, I would kind of be directed of dealing with the human body and performance. This was never really like an overwhelming, ‘Oh this is the grand thing,’ it was just, ‘This is the only thing I can see myself enjoying.”

The previously mentioned injury has affected Rutledge’s seasons both in high school and his first year of collegiate running, “The injury I sustained my senior year of high school track was severe patellar tendinitis, a patella alta, and quadricep tendinitis. Essentially my knee was inflamed everywhere. It greatly affected my cross country season my freshman year of school. I wasn’t able to compete at all and was barely able to run.”

However, at the end of cross country things began to change. Rutledge continues, “I took a different approach during track season and took it easy on my body with training and was able to have somewhat of a track season this past spring. At the end of last cross country season my shins also started flaring up with shin splints and stress reactions. I had to fight that all track season and really stay on top of things to ensure I didn’t push my body too far. As of right now I am still having to monitor my shin issues and run on soft surface, which isn’t that big of a deal because old stone fort has a lot of soft surface running and it is quite pretty.”

Despite his ability to race during track season, Rutledge still holds cross country close to heart. He shares, “I prefer cross country due to the culture. Track also has a good culture but there’s nothing like running in a cross-country race with 200+ guys all giving it their absolute all while also encouraging one another.”

“Another reason I prefer cross country is because it enable me to explore more running places such as trails, mountains, etc… whereas track is just a bunch of boring left turns.”

But Rutledge likes the school for more than just its running teams. He says, “One thing I appreciate about Milligan is its location. Johnson City is such a gorgeous area and it has so many good running routes, especially being near the mountains. Milligan is just enough outside of Johnson city that it has the feel of living in the country but it’s close enough that it’s not a hassle to drive to town to get something or go somewhere.”

While talking about his time at Milligan, Rutledge tells his favorite memory from the past year, “My favorite memory as a Milligan runner is when me and my teammate Josh Hale went exploring a trail in the middle of nowhere in the mountains and discovered fresh bear tracks when we were miles away from the car and any civilization…. Let’s just say it was a very paranoid run back to the car.”

But ultimately, Rutledge still holds Coffee County Cross Country and Track dearly. His time with Coffee has forever altered his mindset towards the race. In a final statement, Rutledge shares, “One way running for Coffee County has affected me at Milligan is my appreciation for the sport. I had a lot of highs and lows in high school and looking back on it I really did not appreciate the blessing that is running.”

He continues, “Rather I focused on my performance and an outcome rather than having fun and being grateful. This year I have tried to be much more intentional about being grateful for any opportunities I have been given. Although I have not done that perfectly, it has made the sport so much more enjoyable than it has been in the past.”