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In cross country competition, there is always a known, challenging path ahead.

For Carman Jones, the path that led to her to being part of the Montcalm Community College (MCC) Centurions team was an unexpected one.

In her earlier years, running, to the MCC freshman, meant only one thing – chasing a soccer ball. The 2024 Belding High School graduate, back then, dedicated herself to only one sport, until, in her freshman year, her friends encouraged her to join the cross country team.

“Throughout my middle school, our high school coach, John Carlson, kept asking me to join the team. I said, ‘no way,’ I’m not running all the time,” Jones laughed. “But one of my best friends was on the team and she said it was fun. So I figured I’d do it so I could keep in shape for soccer.”

Getting in shape for cross country running was harder than Jones was expecting in the beginning.

“At first, it was really hard because it was hard for me to stay motivated,” she said.

But Jones began to realize motivation was in the form of her finish time, her personal record (PR).

“When I started seeing those numbers drop with my PR, it got me excited because I never been able to track my improvement so much as I did with cross country,” she said.

From there, she was hooked, and competed in cross country all four years of high school.

After graduating high school, Jones figured her cross country competing days were behind her as she planned to attend Grand Valley State University and begin pursuing a degree in sports management. But just when she thought her path in life was laid out, it suddenly took her in another direction.

Jones decided to forgo attending GVSU owing to expense and the fact she wasn’t ready to be away from family just yet. So she decided to enroll at MCC, since she dual-enrolled with the college while she was in high school.

She remembered at one high school meet, she met with MCC cross country assistant coach Penny Dora, who offered her the chance to join the new Centurions team at MCC if she enrolled at the college after high school.

She kept in contact with Dora and Head Coach Kevin Sweeney and took a visit to the campus earlier this summer. It wasn’t until school began that she decided to join the team.

Because Jones is getting a late start in training, she most likely won’t compete with the team until next season.

“It usually takes a couple months to work your way back up to where you can compete,” Jones said. “Had I started in June, I would’ve been on track, but I didn’t start back up until August. You need to keep running every day and the miles you run in the summer are the foundation for the fall. So I’m preparing now for next season.”

Though she is only gearing up this season, Sweeney said Jones has been a great addition to his team and has been contributing in many ways.

“She’s amazing,” he said. “She’s a really, really hard worker. She goes above and beyond what you ask her to do and she has a very positive attitude.”

With MCC reestablishing sports only last year, the Centurions sports teams, including cross country, are considered start-up programs, which means each team is on a probationary period with the Michigan Community College Athletic Association until next year, according to Sweeney. Though it is no longer on probation with the National Junior College Athletic Association, Centurion teams this year can compete in MCCAA events but will not be eligible for postseason competition until next year.

Thus, having Jones be a part of next year’s team will be a huge boost for the Centurions cross country program, Sweeney said.

“Next year, we’ll be losing a sophomore, so I expect Carman to step into a leadership role by then,” Sweeney said. “I think she’s getting better each week and is making that next step. Now we’re seeing real improvements with her. Her times are getting faster and she’s making more contributions.”

Jones already has a goal for next season, and that’s to PR under 20 minutes. Her career best is 22 minutes, 2 seconds, and in college, so far, it is 24:26. But she believes she can find that extra gear to reach her goal by next fall.

Being part of a team again has Jones excited and highly motivated to be ready to compete next fall, however, being one of the trailblazing members of a new collegiate sports program has made her feel honored, too.

“I love our team and it’s so exciting to think we’re just starting this team out,” she said. “I think the best part of being new is that there’s not a whole lot of people involved in it yet, so it’s been fun to help build this team up and reach out to others to join the team.”

Jones said she has been promoting MCC cross country to her younger friends who are still in high school.

“I have a lot of friends who are about to graduate so I talk to them a lot about coming to MCC and joining me on the cross country team,” she said.

Whether she recruits friends or not, Jones said she is enjoying promoting the program and will continue to field interest in it.

Jones’ parents are William and Heather Jones of Belding. She has a 12-year-old brother named William.