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By Jay Spivey

For the Clemmons Courier

CLEMMONS — Some families are just tied to a certain sport.  

That description fits the Douglass family in cross-country and track and field at West Forsyth.  

The two daughters – Tenley, now a sophomore at UNC Greensboro, and Lillian, a freshman at UNC Greensboro – and son, Gunnar, who is a junior on the cross-country and track-and-field teams at West Forsyth, are part of the fabric of the program.

So, when Gunnar is heard in running circles people know the three children are associated with West Forsyth. But Gunnar, being the youngest child, and the only boy, is trying to make a name for himself.  

“I started running in sixth grade because my sister wanted to try something other than soccer,” Gunnar said.  

Because the three siblings are so close in age there was one year when all three had a chance to compete together on the same cross-country and track-and-field team with the Titans.  

“It was a great dynamic,” Gunnar said. “It was kind of fun. We didn’t really act too much as siblings, but more like teammates and just like we’re all just big one team. And the boys and the girls teams were one together and a lot more connected than usual.” 

Being the youngest child, Gunnar ran with his two sisters on recovery days when they were all at West Forsyth.  

“It was a fun experience,” he said. “We had a lot of fun, and kind of like what I was saying, we were kind of just like one big team. It was just really fun.” 

The dynamic between the siblings began when Gunnar and sisters were children in Salem, Connecticut.  

“I was probably about 8 years old and would just go on small runs with like my sisters,” he said. “And half the time, I’d be running less and a lot slower than them.” 

Their relationship allowed for a budding sibling rivalry in sports.  

“I kind of just ran because of them,” Gunnar said. “I kind of just followed in their footsteps.” 

That rivalry has become more like camaraderie. 

“I’ll run with them, like when in summer before they went off to school (UNC Greensboro), I’d go to Tanglewood with them and run with them all the time.” 

Gunnar started running for his school.  

“My fifth-grade year is when is when I started doing sports for the school,” he said. “And so, that’s when we all did track before we started cross-country. So, I started running with my sisters from before then and then once track started.” 

Gunnar and the rest of the family moved to Clemmons before Gunnar started seventh grade at Clemmons Middle School. And his two sisters were at West Forsyth.  

“During cross-country season I was top on the team (at Clemmons Middle School). And that’s probably, my eighth-grade year, that was like the first time we could play sports at Clemmons after COVID,” Gunnar said. “And at that point then, COVID, couldn’t play a lot of sports, so I was just kind of running. So, it was basically the same deal.  

“I was the top on the team, but it still probably wasn’t the most impressive thing you’ve seen.” 

It all started to change for Gunnar just as he was finishing middle school. 

“My eighth-grade year at Clemmons, I was 21st at championships in cross-country,” he said. “And then, my freshman year at West I was top in the Piedmont as a freshman, and I dropped a bunch of time.” 

Coach Nathan Newsome, the head cross-country and track-and-field coach at West Forsyth, had his first glimpse of Gunnar when he was at Clemmons Middle School. 

“I remember when he was in middle school and he would run,” Newsome said. “I remember seeing him. They live kind of behind West, so not very far away. And I remember seeing him run. He ran in middle school, so I guess he was doing like some training runs, you know. And I remember seeing him run through the parking lot up around the school and what not by himself. But he looked like a runner.” 

Newsome put two and two together with the siblings. 

“I was like, ‘Is that your brother?’ And they said, ‘Yeah.’  

Even though he wasn’t running for the Titans it felt like Gunnar was already part of the team. 

“It was really just, I got to start running with the boys West team,” he said. “And it kind of like, I never really ran with people a lot. And so, with my sisters make up the time. So, I loaded a bunch of miles pretty fast. Probably not the smartest thing, but I just started to run with them because it was fun. Never really slowed down.” 

Newsome sure is glad he has Gunnar on the team. 

“I guess they do have a little bit of a similar gait,” Newsome said. “Yeah, I can tell they’re related.” 

One thing that helped Gunnar was the familiarity to West Forsyth, as well as its cross-country and track-and-field programs before he even walked in the doors before his freshman year.  

“It might be intimidating to a lot of other freshmen,” Gunnar said. “For me it was just kind of like a regular experience. And it kind of felt like I was already one of the older kids.” 

Gunnar also had some knowledge of what to expect from Newsome. 

“There’s all types of different coaching styles,” Newsome said. “And he’s a very mild-mannered, calm kind of kid. So, that’s kind of how we coach. And so, I think if we were more brash and vocal, screaming type coach that may not be a great fit. So, yeah, I think he kind of knew what the environment was like coming in.” 

According to Gunnar, he ran 17:58 in his first 5K (3.1 miles) as a freshman. He lowered time to 17:18 by midway through that season at the adidas XC Challenge at WakeMed in Cary. He also competed in the NCHSAA Class 4-A regionals and state championships as a freshman, both at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville and ran 17:22 in the regional and ran 18:30 in the state championship after getting sick. 

“It was just a good course and like that whole season I was just kind of pushing myself because after breaking 18 (minutes) without much struggle I kind of realized I could be good at this sport,” Gunnar said. “So, I started practicing a lot more intense and kind of tried to keep up with the top group a lot more.” 

He started to hit a growth spurt last year and gained 20 pounds. According to nc.milesplit.com, had a 10:08 early in the season in a 3K at Croatan. At Friday Night Lights last year at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, Gunnar ran a 17:42 in a 5K. Last year, he said he contracted the flu again before the NCHSAA Class 4-A regional championship, but still ran 17:45. He didn’t qualify for the state championship.  

Not qualifying for last year’s NCHSAA Class 4-A state championship wore on Gunnar the past 10 months, plus all through indoor and outdoor track and field.  

“It was interesting, but I kind of prepared for it in a way because after freshman year we lost about half of our varsity with about eight seniors leaving us,” he said. “A big change right off the bat. I mean I didn’t have that high of hopes. I mean it would’ve been great, but my season, I just, I ran 17-flat at the Adidas meet my sophomore year and after that I kind of had the curse of the 17s and just couldn’t break it. I ran 17-flat about like three times that year.” 

Early through this, his junior year for West Forsyth, Gunnar is faring quite well. Two weeks ago at the Norman Trzaskoma Invitational, which is the City-County Championship, at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex, Gunnar finished sixth in the 3,200-meter race at 10:30.90, which was the best time of any runner for the school. Tate Shore of Reagan won the meet at 9:43.40. 

“I’ve kind of focused on my training,” Gunnar said.  

He also had the help of past runners at the school like Wesley Haggstrom and Brandt Doty, who both broke records there. Gunnar, who says he’s 5-foot-11 and 145 pounds, also wants to break the school record, which, according to him, is held by Haggstrom at 15:34. 

“He had a big breakthrough and I would anticipate you’ll see that confidence escalate through the season,” Newsome said. “His demeanor, I think he’s very cautious to not write any checks he can’t cash.” 

This past Friday at Friday Night Lights at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex, Gunnar ran 16:33. So, the school record is possible. 

“Boys, you don’t really know,” Newsome said. “Because typically they get older, they get stronger, they get better. So, I would be shocked if he doesn’t get better. How much better, man, you just don’t know. He PR’d by a good bit (at Friday Night Lights).” 

The NCHSAA Class 4-A Regional is scheduled for Oct. 26 at Ivey M. Redmon Sports Complex in Kernersville, and the Class 4-A state championship is scheduled for Nov. 2, also in Kernersville.  

“From now until states a realistic goal for me, I think, I’m kind of doing it in baby steps,” Gunnar said. “But I think the end results is (as) close to 16-flat as I can. I think if I push hard enough, I think I can hit 16:30 to 16:20 realistically.” 

The question is what are Gunnar’s plans after he graduates in June 2026. 

“I know I want to run in college for sure,” he said. “I haven’t thought a 100% where I want to go, but a good idea on the table for me is to follow my sisters’ footsteps and kind of go to UNCG with them.” 

The Douglass legacy will always be a part of West Forsyth cross-country and track and field.  

“They’re all good kids. They’re all really smart kids,” Newsome said. “And they wanted the program to be better and they wanted to be a part of a good program, so all of that feeds together.”