Q: What made you decide to join cross-country?
A: I’ve always ran with my dad since I was around nine years old and he actually entered me in a kitty K, which is less than a mile, to compete in that race. I took a wrong turn and ended up running with the adults and actually got second at that race and from then on, I kind of just fell in love with the sport.
Q: What would you say is your favorite memory from cross-country so far?
A: My sophomore year when I ran out of town at state, or out of town meat in South Lake. That was when I ran the two mile school record and just after doing that, I had no idea that I was going to be able to do that and just shocking myself and everyone else. It was really good feeling.
Q: What is somebody that you look up to and inspires you?
A: Sam, he graduated a couple years ago, but he committed to Texas Tech and he runs there now and he’s always been someone that you can look up to and see what he did and what he does and aspire to do that.
Q: What is a motto or saying that inspires you?
A: Something Coach says a lot of the time is ‘Consistency is key’, and that’s really how it is in cross country. You know, it’s not about running one big workout and then taking days off. It’s about putting all the little workouts in consistently and, you can’t really let off the gas pedal.
Q: What is it like being able to compete in state level for the past two years?
A: We ran state cross country this year and we won state for the second year in a row. We’d really like to get to three state championships in a row. That’d be really cool. It felt a lot more comfortable this year because it’s just like another race at that point. You already had been there. You’ve already done it all.
Q: What is the biggest differences this year compared to previous seasons?
A: This year, we had a lot more confidence as a team. We knew what we had to do, and went out there and did it.
Q: What role do you think you play on the team?
A: I try to lead by example, most of the time, I don’t think it’s good to be yelling at your teammates. I think if you’re showing results, and they’re gonna follow your example. They’re gonna follow you because they see the results that you’re producing.
Q: Each time that you run, , do you feel like you’re improving?
A: That’s the thing about running. It’s relatively linear. If you put in the work, you’re gonna see results. It’s not like other sports where it’s hard, to see results you put in the work, and you’re gonna see results on race day. We didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities this season but I’m looking to do good at track this season because tracks a lot more easier to measure.
Q: Do you feel that anybody looks up to you?
A: I think so. That’s why I just try to lead by example, because there’s always someone looking up to you whether you know it or not. As long as you’re doing your best to stay true to yourself.
Q: Do you think you will be incorporating running into your future?
A: I think I want to run in college for sure. Maybe after that, I can try marathon running. I think I liked the longer distances it seemed pretty fun to me.
Q: Did you ever expect to make it to state at all?
A: I did, but in previous years, maybe not. The older I got, the more confidence I got. The more work that I put in the easier it got. This year, we were ranked number one going into the season, so we really did see ourselves going to state so. It wasn’t really about just making state it was really about winning state was the main goal.
Q: Next year, with it being your senior year, what do you feel you are going to accomplish?
A: It’s a bold statement, but I would like to win state not only as a team, but as an individual. I think that would be a really good way to end my senior year.
