Panther Cross Country Takes State Bronze
photo by: Angelica Stamps
They started training in the early summer, they would run from three to 16 miles every day once the season started they started training even harder and all this hard work paid off.
February 11, 2009(by: Laura P. Lara, senior) — The Austin High School cross country team earned the bronze medal at the state cross country meet in Austin, Texas. The team traveled to the state capital for the November 15th meet. “We just wanted to get there and run.” Danny Cuevas, senior, said.
Cuevas said the team was more excited than nervous. “We knew we were as good as any other team at the meet, all we really wanted was a medal.”
The Panthers won the last four meets this season. The meet at Chamizal National Park on October 18 made a loud statement because they went up against every team in El Paso, including all 5A, 4A, and 3A schools. “When you win this type of meet you have really accomplished a lot.” Wills said. The last time the Panthers made it to the state level was back in 2004.
According to Wills discipline is the key to their success. “This is not football or basketball there is no ball involved or time limit. You have to have self-motivation and see the prize at the end. The Austin cross country team has depth, they have front runners and they have leadership.” Wills said
Early on the team was ranked among the top ten in the entire state of Texas. “This year we have a great team we all worked hard to accomplished what we have done. We had our ups and downs in the season but we have managed to get over them and move on to the next race.” Cuevas said.
Both the girls and boys team express much admiration for the veteran coach and attribute the season to his guidance. “Without coach Wills we wouldn’t have got to where we are, he is the best coach around!” Renee Sylvia, senior runner, said.
The season was a total team effort from Anthony Marcial, Danny Cuevas, Cesar Perez, Isaac Spencer, Ramon Garcia, Ben Gutierrez, and Jacob Baca. Finishing out his high school running career, senior runner Cesar Perez says he is not done. He set goals in the season to make it to the state meet and the dream came true for the entire team on November 15 in Austin Texas.
Perez was consistently a top finisher at each meet this season and helped lead the Panther’s to the top. Perez has made it clear that he plans to use his running in his future. ”I want to make a name for myself and continue running in college I am really hoping on getting a scholarship.” Perez said.
