Life’s Flavors ~ Cross Country the Other Fall Sport by The Oaks Bed and Breakfast
The sun slowly starts to breach the horizon, and the sounds of the nighttime insects and animals are slowly dwindling down, only the soft inhalations and footfalls of fellow runners for company in the incoming dawn. Early mornings when the weather is cooler, well before the sun comes up, teenagers are already awake and making their way on the course to get in an early run before the Texas heat becomes unbearable. This early morning routine was the routine for many students this past summer break so that they could hit the ground running, when school started and the cross country season began.
Over the past ten years, Ross Hicks has been the head cross country coach forSulphur Springs High School and has influenced the program to be more than just putting in the miles. He is teaching the students to pace themselves and push themselves to deliver their best performance each week of the season, with the ultimate goal of making it to the State finals.
The top four teams are moved from Regional competition to State level competition, while individual runners can advance on their own if they place in the top ten. Last year Coach Hicks had the privilege of taking two female runners to state and hopes that this year will be even better. He hopes for the boys team to continue showing strong results and end up in the top four teams, as well as have several individual runners also attend from both the female and male side of the race.
Cross Country while a team sport is also about the individual. How hard you work in the off season affects the season as well as how much effort and time allotted to practice during the season. As with all athletes finding that balance between good sleep and nutrition plays a role, but so much of the race depends on the individual. That internal push to do better than the last time and push ahead of the runner just in front of you as you move along the course, is part of the self determination each individual has to develop.
In both cross country and track as a spectator you can see the students who are doing their absolute best and pushing themselves to the limit. I’ve had that sports “tingle” more times than I can remember watching students push themselves towards the finish line more often at a cross country meet than in any other sport. Sure, there is that great shot made that tied up the game or that amazing save the kept the team in the game. But the experience and feel you get from seeing a person push all the way to the end at a race, evokes more emotion than almost any other sports moment. And believe me, I’ve experienced a few.
The Sulphur Springs Cross Country team has five more meets before district. Including a home meet on Friday, September 5. This works out to be a great sporting weekend for the Wildcats with Homecoming festivities and fans all around that cheer the team on. Their meet is in the morning so grab a sun hat, a bottle of water and some sunscreen to come out and cheer on your Wildcats to victory.
Both Varsity teams are being led by some strong Juniors and Seniors, with multiple Freshmen and Sophomores to help fill out the team. Typically, only seven runners are allowed to be slotted onto the Varsity roster, some meets hold exceptions, where Coach Hicks can add one or two more. Either way, the students’ performance the previous week helps to set the roster for the next meet. Right now, both teams are doing well, Varsity boys and girls won the local meet at Coleman Park last week and this week in Kaufman the Boys were 3rd out of 16, and the girls were 8th out of 19 teams.
Come cheer these student athletes on while they compete against themselves to do better every week. My hope for my runners is that they find a love of running and will continue to do so even after graduation as a way to stay healthy and fit. Let’s Go Wildcats!
By Allison Libby-Thesing
