Junior Carter Floyd was able to make it to the State Meet for cross country with hard work, motivation, dedication and, of course, the support from his team.

“It’s your ultimate goal to see your athletes run in the biggest stage that they can,” boys cross country coach Chris Elliott said.

Although the team wasn’t able to make it to State, Floyd is turning it into something positive. He is proud to be representing his team

“It’s unfortunate our team didn’t make it,” Floyd said. “But hopefully I’ll be able to represent us well.”

Running cross country for KPARK for two years has helped Floyd learn to better strategize before entering each race.

“I’ve gotten more experienced,” Floyd said. “I’ve been able to push myself in races.”

Floyd has a passion for running, it’s not just something to do. Cross country gives him something to strive to continuously be better at by working to beat previous times and building himself up stronger through every hard workout thrown at him.

“It gives me something to look forward to,” Floyd said. “It gives me a reason to wake up.”

Getting to State took a lot of mental and physical preparation.

“It takes a lot of waking up early in the morning in the summer, they come to practice everyday at 6:30 in the morning, they also come after school to run,” Elliott said. “It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to reach this level.”

Floyd’s teammates are excited for him as he moves onto State. They are also excited that next year may be even more successful for the team with Floyd running alongside them.

“He’s a fast runner.” teammate Justin Maynard said. “He can help us go to State next year.”

Floyd continues to practice and work as hard possible in hopes of winning the upcoming State Meet he worked so hard to reach.

“I’ve put so much into it,” Floyd said. “And I want to keep working toward reaching my goal.”

Floyd pushes himself to be his best, putting everything into his skills as an athlete, and he hopes to continue running for as long as it makes him happy.

“I’ve put too much into it to quit now,” Floyd said.