If given the opportunity to choose between sitting in classes all day long or doing something else, many students would select the second option. If they were to find out, however, that the “something else” was running over 3 miles, they might reconsider their decision.
Fortunately for Lisa Baucom, the head cross country coach for Connally High School, there are still enough students in the Waco area that are willing to accept that “something else” even though they know what’s coming.
Connally hosted its annual cross country invitational meet on Wednesday, September 20. Students from a variety of junior high and high schools in the Waco area traveled to the course split between the Connally Junior High and Connally Primary School campuses to compete for the chance to improve their times and take home a medal.
“We’ve been running this meet for a long time,” Coach Baucom said. “I love that it gives our cross country athletes a chance to perform at a home venue. It’s a great opportunity for them to race for their fans who might find it convenient to not have to travel as far.”
This year’s invitational was scheduled to be held a week earlier than usual to accommodate Connally’s homecoming festivities. It was also moved from a Saturday race to a Wednesday one to help fit the needs of students and coaches who are unable to travel on weekends due to conflicts with work or other extracurricular activities.
“Moving the date of our cross country meet was a decision that we made to best serve our students,” CHS principal Hermann Pereira said. “Participation from other schools will ebb and flow every year based on outside factors, but our top priority is ensuring that our students here at Connally have access to great competition opportunities as often as possible.”
There were a smaller number of entries in this year’s meet than usual. A combination of the changed date of the Connally Invitational and a rescheduling of Round Rock ISD’s Invitational, which is run on the same course as the UIL State Meet, caused local teams to make tough decisions. In spite of those challenges, runners and coaches were pleased with their decision to come to Connally.
“Even though it isn’t the case this season, Connally has been the host for our district meet for many years,” China Spring High School cross country coach Kristi Mize said. “The course is really tough, maybe one of the toughest we run each year. We come to run this course to better prepare for our run at district each season.”
Connally’s course is not an easy one. While many host sites elect to hold their races in parks or on golf courses, Connally uses a map that takes advantage of the vast areas of open grassland on the campuses in Elm Mott. The flat ground and lack of sight-seeing opportunities can make the race just as challenging mentally as it is physically.
“The fact that runners have to do two laps around the final loop on this course is pretty brutal,” varsity cross country runner Cesar Toriz said. “This was the first time I’ve ever medaled at a meet. I wasn’t super proud of my time, but it showed me that I have what it takes to stick with the front of the pack.”
While this year’s meet was smaller than usual, the performances by the student athletes were strong enough to reaffirm why Connally works so hard to provide this competition opportunity.
“Hosting this meet is a great opportunity for our students to run against their competition in our district,” CHS assistant cross country coach Tristan Marshall said. "It’s an awesome chance for our community to take pride in hosting a major event for other schools, and a chance to generate funds for our athletic programs.”