After successful showings at the District 25-2A cross country meet in Gause, Milano and Thorndale cross country runners have spent the past week preparing for the regional qualifier meet at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
“We’ve been running in the mornings, but we also want to do more running during the daylight hours to get used to running in the light and warmer temperatures,” said Bradley Dickerson, Thorndale ISD cross country coach.
Dickerson had two teams qualify for the race. The Lady Bulldogs won the gold medal in Gause, and the Bulldogs took home the silver. Inspiring runners hasn’t been a problem, he said.
“Late August and September are the times of year when I really have to motivate people,” Dickerson said. “Now we are at the part of the year where hard work and dedication pays off.”
This is also the part of the year when the season changes, and tempatures go from hot to cold, which can present some challenges.
“The cool is welcome,” Dickerson said. “But the rain makes it tough.”
The Milano Eagles have also enjoyed a lot of success this season.
Parker Jones, who won the boy’s district championship with a time of 16:23.49, came in a full two minutes faster than the second place finisher. While freshman Andy Gutierrez placed sixth in district to qualify for the regional meet, along with junior Danni Shaw, who finished eighth in the varsity girl’s division.
“Practice has been going well,” said Jordan Merkord, Milano cross country coach. “Parker and Andy are working very hard each day, pushing themselves to run farther and faster than they’ve run before.”
Tuesday’s morning practice was rained out for the Eagles, according to Merkord.
“The only workouts that may be affected are our speed workouts, but we’ll still try to get them in.”
He said Shaw was sidelined with a concussion and he doesn’t know when she will return to practice.
“Parker and Andy are very motivated athletes. They both take their training seriously and strive to do better each time we run,” Merkord said. “It’s great coaching kids that take pride in doing their best each day. Sometimes they’ll race each other to motivate and compete against each other. Other times they’ll compete against their own personal best time for that workout. It’s great being in that competitive environment. It makes everyone better.”
The meet is scheduled for Monday Oct. 22 at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi.
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