Throughout the entirety of the Regional Meet on Oct. 23, boys cross country coach Chris Elliott was constantly refreshing his phone, alongside parents of his runners. They were waiting for the final point tally to be posted.
The boys had just competed at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie with a trip to the State Championships on the line.
“One of the moms was like, ‘It says third place!’” senior Mark Johanson said. “We were seeded to get sixth. Last year we got fourth. Third place was just beyond our dreams.”
With the top four teams qualifying for the State Meet, all eyes were on the top four spots. The teams in fourth and fifth place were constantly alternating as the last 20 runners crossed the finish line. The Kingwood Park varsity boys, however, held their ground at third place.
“We were solidly in third, like there was no one touching us,” junior Elijah Merino said.
The team secured their spot at state with a one point lead over Longview Pine Tree High School.
“It’s rewarding because you put in a lot of hard work, you put in a lot of time, and you sacrifice a lot of your family time,” Elliott said.
It was an emotional and joyous moment for all of the runners.
“After the race, most of my teammates didn’t think the best just because it wasn’t a great race for all of us and so [the mood] was really down,” Johanson said. “But as soon as somebody told them we just started jumping up and cheering.”
Merino (who finished 6th at Regions), Carson Brown (20th) and Clay White (29th) are all returning to the State Meet for the second consecutive year. Edun Almeida (63rd), Michael Segura (64th), Mark Johanson (68th) and JD McCombs (106th) will be running at State for the first time.
“I don’t know how to express the joy that I have and the fact that my team is going with me,” Merino said. “I’m really really excited to be with them and to be able to experience it all with them.”
Not only has hard work helped get the team to this point but also the connections they have made throughout the year.
“We’re just very close and that dynamic helps us run better, push each other during practices, during the race,” Johanson said.
Senior Clay White was especially motivated by that team dynamic during the race. He finished third on the team and 29th overall.
“Clay, for example, right after he raced he said, ‘Coach, I was really really tired but I didn’t want to let my teammates down,” Elliott said. “So that just kind of shows you how much they care about each other.”
After giving the team some time to recover physically, coach Elliott is ready to prepare the boys for State. Elliott is hopeful they will do well, but also just wants the team to have fun and enjoy the moment.
“I just hope that they run their best times ever – that they go out and compete and they feel satisfied with themselves,” Elliott said. “I think if they do that I think they’re going to be really happy with the outcome.”
The team will travel to Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock to compete in the State Meet on Nov. 3.
“Last year, it was ‘we went to State’ and that’s great,” Merino said. “This year it’s ‘we’re going to State and we’re going to perform at State.’”
