Littlefield senior Brandon Marines signed on May 16th to continue his running career for the Pioneers at Wayland Baptist University.
“I was really excited to get the opportunity to run in college,” Marines said. “And, I’m proud that I get the chance to.”
Marines signed during a small ceremony in the Littlefield High School Commons Area surrounded by teammates, friends and family.
Marines stated, “It was probably the beginning of my high school career when I decided that I wanted to continue running in college.”
As a senior at Littlefield High School, Marines earned THSCA Academic All-State Honorable Mention for cross country. He also earned THSCAAcademic All-State 2nd Team honors for track.
Marines talked about being able to run close to home, saying, “It’s a blessing to me.”“It’s great because I get to see my family still and they can come and watch me run,” he explained. “Also, my friends I still have in school at Littlefield can come and watch me run. It’s just a great opportunity for me to have family and friends still come and watch me and have a great supporting network.”
The former Wildcat talked about how his coaches have helped him improve over the last few years, saying, “They’ve helped me by giving me the correct training and workouts. And a big shout out to Coach Thomas, who has just always been there for me since sophomore year. He’s always been there to help me with anything running related.”
Marines talked about the recruiting process, saying, “They messaged me one day and we started talking. I called one of the assistant coaches and we talked and set up a meeting. I took a visit and after that I knew that is where I wanted to go.
He added, “It felt amazing when they offered me to run for them. I knew that all of the hard work I’ve put in over these last four years paid off and I get to accomplish my dream of running in college. I’ve talked a lot with Wayland Baptist, and the main thing is that they’re just a really close group of guys and that is what I liked most. I just really wanted a team that I could be close with, and I feel like I’ve got that at WBU.”
Marines talked about what he’s most looking forward to about running at the next level, saying, “I’m just looking forward to getting better and running against better competition. I want to always improve myself and I’m happy to get a chance to.”
He talked about how his family has supported him throughout his career, saying, “My family has always been there to help me work out and give me tips about what I can do. They’ve always been there as my support group.” Marines gave his expecations for next season, saying, “My expectations for next season are just to always do the best I can and always give my all every day.”
Marines stated that It’s been great representing Littlefield over the last four years.
“It’s been a great four years of running for me,” he added. “I’ve seen myself grow from going from being more closed off to being more of a team leader and helping everyone else out. I want to help everyone else get better and in doing that it helps me get better.”
The former Wildcat said that his favorite memory from his time at Littlefield was his junior year when we they second in district and went to Regionals as a cross country team.”
Marines will be majoring in Computer Information Systems.
“I just want to thank Coach Clarkson and Coach Thomas and all of my coaches for everything they’ve done for me over the years,” Marines stated.