by JASON GORDON
The Hays High cross-country team traveled to Burnet’s Reveille Peak Ranch over the weekend to compete in its first event of the season.
The format was unique, as it was a relay-style event with each runner embarking on a 1.5-mile trek before handing off to a teammate. There was no junior varsity division, just one division for boys and girls runners.
“The idea was to have a low-key event to start the season off where the race distance for all runners would not be overly long, because some runners have just started out training and aren’t used to the true three-mile distance,” said Hays head coach Cliff Buckley.
Hays ran several boys and girls teams.
On the girls side, the Lady Rebels’ top team consisted of Marissa Sigala, Jennifer Colonnetta and Rose Hyak. The trio worked their way up into the top 10 and were able to finish in sixth place overall, out of nearly 40 teams.
On the boys side, Hays’ top team consisted of Jason Peed, Esteban Villalpando and Ryan McSpadden.
The top Rebel boys team battled and was able to finish in fourth-place overall, out of more than 40 teams.
“We actually had a total of 11 teams compete on both the boys and girls side, so we obviously brought a lot more runners than some of the other schools,” Buckley said. “About half of our runners had never run a cross-country race before. It was exciting for me as a coach to watch them react to the environment, but you could tell some of them were really nervous. I thought our experienced runners and coaching staff did a great job of showing all the newbies how a meet works and got them all in the right places and ready to go.”
Buckley said the first race of 2012 turned out to be a great experience.
“The best part of the day honestly was to see each new runner after they finished,” he said. “After they had a chance to catch their breath, almost all of them had a smile on their face and I could tell they realized that they could race. I know some of them were worried that they would come in last, but all of our teams were finished up long before the last teams were across the line. It was a really great day.”
Hays will head to Lockhart Saturday for a 3-kilometer race. It is the course where the district meet will be held later in the year.
“We have a nice progression from here to ease into the season,” Buckley said. “Our next meet will be at Lockhart, where we will run 3,000 meters (a little under 2 miles), but the competition will be very strong. Teams like Lockhart, Lehman, Luling, Smithson Valley, Canyon and Llano will all be there, so it will really give me an idea of the kind of Hays team we are working with this year. It will also give some of our top runners a chance to test themselves out against some elite and see how they can compete.”
