Latexo Cross Country 2016

Latexo Cross Country Seeks Return trip to State Meet

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

LATEXO – Last year, the Latexo Tigers Boys’ Cross Country team qualified for the State Meet in Round Rock. This year they are hoping for a return trip and a better finish. They are also hoping to bring the girls’ cross country team along and if Latexo CC Coach Jessica Cutshall has any say in it, both teams will have hotel reservations outside of Austin in early November.

I started running in junior high. We were made to run if we wanted to play basketball under Coach (Don) Tullos in Lovelady. Actually, our AD now, Coach (Ray) Stanfield was my coach in junior high for Cross Country. Now, he’s my boss,” she said.

Not a bad boss to have if you’re a cross country or track coach, considering Stanfield has coached Olympians, All-Americans and NCAA Champions.

One of the reasons for her optimism is the returners from last year’s team. “I have all my kids coming back from last year. There were no seniors on the team, although, I lost Evan Ivy and Trevor Stewart. They both moved. We had a move-in last year at the end of school who had been homeschooled through eighth grade, so I gained him as a freshman which means we have nine boys going out for varsity and we only need seven for a team. It hurt me to lose those two but I’ve been very lucky because the kids are working hard to replace them. I had so many freshman last year that I still have four sophomores who were in my top five,” Coach Cutshall said.

I told the boys I didn’t want to just barely qualify for state this year. I didn’t want to go to state and get second to last. That was acceptable to me – last year – because the first time you go there are a lot of nerves. I just wanted them to take it all in and enjoy it. This year, I told the boys everyone knows about us know. The reason I know this is because teams as far away as two or three hours away are coming here for our cross country meet. I want to see us get first or second place at regionals and when we go to state, I want to see us actually compete there,” she said.

As far as training, the coach said, “The kids – on the boys’ side – they put in about 45 miles per week, depending on what level they’re on. The girls put in between 30 and 35. At the junior high, we try and keep it under 30. I try to put in about 30 miles a week, but I push a baby stroller about three fourths of the time I run. I usually have to run in the mornings and get a run/walk in during the afternoons.”

Cutshall added, “We have a designed practice for the week. We don’t do the exact same thing every day, but we do the exact same things every week. We have a long run which is always double or a little bit more than what they do in a meet. This past Tuesday, we had a long run so the boys ran six miles, the girls did four and the junior high did three. Throughout the week, we trickle in other things. Yesterday we did intervals where they did a warm up mile, a cool down mile and in between they did 10 – 400m laps. The purpose is to make them tired but to push them further than they think. Then we do easy runs, but we don’t do it at a race pace. The other days we do hills and strides and time trials.”

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