After surveying his cross country course the past few days in Texas, Juris Green doesn't feel that two of his more important meets in late September and November are in jeopardy of being cancelled due to poor conditions caused by Hurricane Harvey.
Over two feet of rainfall has hit The Woodlands alone, while the Houston region continues to endure one of the worst natural disasters in its history.
The Woodlands High coach is scheduled to host the Nike South Invitational from September 29-30 at the Bear Branch Soccer Fields course, just 30 miles north of Houston, and then the NXN South Regional in November.
The NXN South Region hosts a majority of Texas teams, but also historically brings in teams from Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas
"Right now, we feel really good that it's going to go ahead," said Green, whose school is 40 minutes north of Houston and has been inundated with more than two feet of rainfall. "It drains really well. And a lot of that course is out of water already. The top end of it is fine. There are some low places on there, but it drains so quickly and having four weeks essentially from that, we feel really good that it will be runnable."
While the mile loop course was underwater during the worst part of the storm, Green said, the quick drainage is aiding in its recovery. He said it should rebound well in time for the Nike South meet in September.
"There's a portion of the course that's on a frisbee golf course that's lower and I drove by that and it's out of water," he said.
But portions of the course that weave into the woods with 'S' turns are lower than most sections.
"If anywhere will have water, it's there," he said of the S turns. "But we have time. That's a great thing. In between now and then we'll have some sunny days and some rainy days, but we feel really good about it.
"It's cross country," Green said. "There's supposed to be some mud and challenges to it."
The last time Green endured a similar storm to his course took place just two years ago, he said, right after the UIL Championship meet.
"A week later we were here and it was similar," he said. "The bottom opened up, right when the races were starting. It made for some memorable conditions.
"Right now, I feel that would be a comparable situation."
What also helps, though, is that The Woodlands girls and boys teams are the only programs to run on the course, Green said. The Nike South and NXN South Regional are the only scheduled races on the course, too.
"People won't be running on that thing and getting it trashed," Green said. "It will be in as good a shape as it can be, all things considering."