Gaston College cross country runner Rein Norton-Small (left) with teammate and NJCAA national qualifier Victoria Perez during a practice session last month.

Posted: Nov 07, 2022

Gaston College's cross country program-builder happy with legacy she's leaving behind

For Rein Norton-Small, who was at "ground zero" in the startup of women's cross country at Gaston College, timing was everything.

A native New Yorker and transplanted Southerner, Norton-Small was taking classes at the school and working at the Lincoln County campus under the tutelage of business and training coordinator Emily Hansley.

Hansley was the first to inform Norton-Small that Gaston College was restarting athletics in the fall of 2021 after a 50-year dormancy. A soccer player at a Catholic high school in West Islip, N.Y., and a semi-serious runner, Norton-Small wanted to know more about the plans for cross country.

At the Rhinos mascot "reveal" party on Aug. 17, 2021, at the Dallas campus Hansley introduced Norton-Small to then coach Jamie Rosser. A day later, as she recalls, Norton-Small met Victoria Perez, another student with an athletic background who was interested in running after a stellar high school career at Gastonia's Highland Tech.

Together, the duo formed the nucleus of a team that added two more runners – Cramerton Christian graduate Sarena Jane Bailey and Forestview alum Meghan Hunt – and ushered in the school's historic return on athletics on Sept. 11, 2021. in Fayetteville.

With a roster of four runners, one shy of the five required to post a team score, Gaston College competed in a series of meets against NCAA Division I opposition.

While the Rhinos were undermanned in their first season, Norton-Small and Perez persevered.

Changes came during the offseason. Rosser exited to take the men's head basketball coaching job at Gaston College and a new cross country coach was hired – South Point High's Kody Kubbs.

A full roster was recruited to join the mainstays and qualify the Rhinos for team competition.

Fast forward to October 29, 2022, at the NJCAA Region 10 championships in Spartanburg, S.C. The two-year meteoric rise of the program culminated with Gaston College runners combining for a second-place team score and Perez claiming third place individually and earning a berth in the national championships Nov. 12 in Tallahassee, Fla.

Ironically, Norton-Small was sidelined by an injury until the Region 10 meet, where she competed for the first time all season.

While the season was bittersweet in some respects for Norton-Small, the sophomore runner can look back with pride at her pivotal role in the building process.

"It's so good to leave it off on a solid footing," said Norton-Small, who plans to graduate at the end of the fall semester with an associate degree. "I am super proud of Victoria. She wanted to make this her best season, and she has.
"All the girls we have on this team have shown such dedication and put their hearts into what they do. And we are really close as a team, truly a family."

Norton-Small decided to come back for her sophomore season even though she could have completed her degree requirements in the spring and moved on to Appalachian State.

But she wanted to "run one more time" and continue in her role as a bedrock for the program and a team leader.

"Half the girls on the team have never run before," she said. "But it has been gratifying to see all the girls improve with each meet and put out better times."

No one is more appreciative of Norton-Small's staying power and support than Kubbs.

"Rein has been a tremendous leader throughout the entire season," Kubbs said. "She is incredibly positive with all the other runners and is really the spirit of the team. Even though she was not able to physically run, she still attended practices and was always uplifting and encouraging and remained very positive throughout the entire episode.
"She worked so hard to be able to make it back and run at regionals and I am so proud that she was able to accomplish what she did. She will leave an enormous void next year both in her running ability and more importantly through her leadership and constant support of all of her teammates. She is the epitome of our program and I am thrilled that she and Vic have laid the groundwork for our current and future success."