For Warren Central runners Michael Mann and Paul Hancock, running at the new cross country venue at Bovina is a lot more fun than having to run around the WC campus.

On Thursday, the Viking runners and their female counterparts, will host the Division 3-5A cross country meet near the Warren County Youth Soccer Association’s complex.

&#8220I like the Bovina course a lot better than running it here,” said Hancock, a junior, who has also been the Vikings’ top performer this fall.

Mann, a senior, likes the Bovina course, too.

&#8220It’s not boring. When we ran here, it was around the school. At Bovina, it’s a reasonably flat course, but there are some hills,” Mann said.

The girls will run first at 4 p.m. and will be followed by the boys. Rain, however, is in the forecast for Thursday.

&#8220Unless it’s lightning or stuff, we’ll still run it in the rain,” Hancock said.

Vicksburg cross country coach Jason Bennett is another fan of the Bovina course which is located just past Clear Creek Golf Course.

&#8220They’ve basically used a layout running around the Link and Mlaker soccer fields. It’s a pretty good course.”

In addition to WC and Vicksburg, defending champion Madison Central and Greenville will run. WC was second in last year’s division meet and VHS grabbed third.

The results of the division meet have no bearing on qualifying for next week’s Class 5A state meet at Choctaw Trails in Clinton.

&#8220Everybody can run in the state meet,” Bennett said.

The Gators’ coach describes both his boys and girls teams as being young and somewhat inexperienced.

&#8220We have a lot of young runners, mostly from the junior high. Reed Rogers, though, has been doing really well for us. We also have a lot of youth with our girls,” Bennett added.

The top Missy Gator this season has been Chanice Cotton. Cotton has been a consistent mainstay as a distance runner on the Missy Gators’ three-time state runner-up track and field team.

Hancock says WC has been a middle of the pack team when running in the big meets this season.

&#8220This will be our ninth meet. In one of the bigger ones we were 17th out of 30 teams. St. Andrews has been one of the best teams we’ve seen,” he said.