The 2016 cross country season was historic for Texas High School Boys. Reed Brown of Southlake TX was the Footlocker National Champion surging away from the lead pack in the final half mile of the race. His victory was the first for any Texas athlete since Reuben Reina in 1985.
Reed was not the only Texas athlete at the front of the national championship races. Sophomore sensation Alex Maier of Flower Mound coached by myself placed fifth overall at Nike Cross Nationals and at Footlocker Nationals. Daniel Bernal of El Paso Eastwood finished not too far behind in 10th at Nike Cross Nationals.
Interesting enough none of the three boys were state champions in 2016. Using his superior speed to kick away from the competition on the slight uphill to a state championship was Sam Worley of New Braunfels. Sam placed second at Nike Cross Nationals and ninth at Footlocker Nationals. A great cross country season for any athlete and especially one considered by many to be a mid distance runner.
With the cross season over in the fall there was excitement for what that would happen on the track in the spring. Setting the stage for a big show down was the Texas Distance Festival in Southlake TX. In previous years the highlight of the meet was the ELITE 5k. This year would be no different with a star lineup that included…
Cooper Teare: California Cross Country State Champion (DIV V), 16th at Nike Cross Nationals
HS PR’S: 1600-3:59, 3200- 8:41
Connor Lane: North Carolina Cross Country State Champion, 8th at Footlocker Nationals
HS PR’S: MILE- 4:10, 3200- 8:47
Noah Affolder: Pennsylvania Cross Country State Champion, 6th at Footlocker Nationals
HS PR’s: 1600- 4:07, 3200- 8:47
Seth Hirsch: Nebraska Cross Country State Champion, 3rd at Footlocker Nationals
HS PR’s: 1600- 4:14, 2 MILES- 8:55
Alex Maier: Texas Cross Country State Runner Up (6A), 5th at both Footlocker and Nike Cross Nationals
HS PR’s: 1600- 4:09, 3200- 8:52
Daniel Viegra: 22nd at Footlocker Nationals
HS PR’s: 1600- 4:06, 3200- 8:59
Daniel Bernal: Placed third at Texas State Cross Country (6A), 10th at Nike Cross Country Nationals
HS PR’s: 1600- 4:15, 3200- 8:54
Luis Grijalva: California Cross Country State Champion (DIV I), 13th at Footlocker Nationals
HS PR’s: MILE- 4:02, 2 MILE- 8:46
Reed Brown: Placed fourth at Texas State Cross Country (6A), Footlocker Champion
HS PR’s: MILE 3:57, 3200- 8:51
With a great field assembled I didn’t have much to say to our Flower Mound athlete Alex Maier before the race. Basically it was something along the lines of get out fast and hang on. He had a big breakout season in the fall going from an unknown athlete to competing with the best runners in the country. During that time we talked very little about the competition and instead focused on running towards the front and finishing hard over the final mile of each race.
On a calm cool night and with nothing to lose the race started out fast with 12 boys going through the first mile in 4:32. At the time I thought this was entirely too fast. These were only high school boys and surely they were going to fade over the second half of the race. They did however look surprisingly smooth and these were the best high school runners in the country…maybe some of them could hold on for something special?
Keeping the pace consistent the pack passed through 3200 meters in 9:08. A slight slow down, but 10 boys! were still on pace for a sub 14:20 5k. Alex was at the very back of the pack and I was shouting at him to hang on and maintain contact. As you can see from the video the track was lined with spectators and at this point there was plenty of yelling/cheering going on to encourage the athletes in the toughest part of the race.
With a kilometer to go Connor Lane, Noah Affolder, and Cooper Teare pulled away from the pack in a bid to win. Cooper Teare made his decisive move with 600 meters to go to take the lead. Cooper ran his last 400 meters in 62 seconds to win convincingly in 14:13. Alex Maier closed well over the last mile to place fifth in 14:25, a Texas high school record.
It was tough to pick out the rest of the top finishers from the lapped runners. I had to go look at the results to fully appreciate what had just happened. The race redefined what high school athletes were capable of achieving and I think helped them gain confidence to do great things the rest of the season.
Texas Running Coach 