As the cool, autumn air slowly flows over the land of Cistercian Prep and its fields, trails, and buildings, there should be one and only one thing that crosses the mind of each and every Cistercian student—IT’S CROSS COUNTRY TIME, BABY!!
This year, the Running Hawks are preparing to soar to “new heights” and are implementing new and improved training programs (courtesy of your favorite coach, Coach Harris) with the end goal of carrying hardware through the halls from the Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships. This season, the Hawks look to their fourth year coach, Coach Harris, who has been scheming and implementing new and improved training programs and work ethic ideals, as well as instilling unbreakable spirits in the runners.
Last year they did great, but were not able to achieve full glory, greatness, and splendor. But when I looked back, there were some great memories made, most notably after our North Zone race, when we decided to have a post-race-team-lunch at Jason’s Deli. Now on this very day, Jason’s Deli had an offer we couldn’t refuse: free, unlimited soft-serve ice cream.
And so, we did what any high school male specimens would do: we all ate a bit too much, resulting in a so-called “food coma” that made its way around the entire team. To say the least, it was quite difficult to remain awake for the remainder of the school afternoon.
To maximize training this year, Coach Harris has been searching for the edge to defeat our rivals, mainly by implementing a more routine training schedule. By incorporating bike rides, lifts (kudos to Coach Drago), hills (oof) and extra mobility and recovery work, the team is going to be flying this season. The heavy reliance on cross training will allow us to not only achieve our goals, but also break them, something that gives even non-runners a proud smile and sense of achievement.
Returning this year are our Senior Captains, David Fernandes and Marc Maalouf. These two men motivate the team before every practice and meet, which is definitely a big asset due to their waking up at 5:30 to run 7 miles on a regular basis. These men live, eat, and breathe running and are prepared to defeat the new 3A teams, St. Andrews and John Cooper. After a brief hiatus, our star and short-king Ben Brittain of the Junior class is back and is looking to forge Cistercian greatness with a school record in the 5k distance. Along with Ben from the Junior class is well… no one!
But the Sophomore and Freshmen classes are certainly where it’s at. Returning Sophomores Will Oliver and Rishi Gopal look to clamp down on the field, taking down elite Varsity runners from schools all throughout Texas. And that’s a wrap, except for the freshmen: Henry Litton, Anderson Lee, and Joseph Roquebert (to name just a few) look to cement victory at SPC by blazing across the field in the front pack. Yeah, they’re quite fast.
This year, Coach Harris’ motto is “master the practice, conquer the meet.” With a heavy emphasis on strength, technique, and endurance training, this should be a year to remember for the team, as this motto will remain sturdy in our hearts until the line is crossed at SPC. You may have seen or will see 15 slim guys run around campus at 7 in the morning. Just know, we’re bringing back that chip. Bang!