S-E sending three to State XC Meet in Round Rock
The Springlake-Earth cross country teams will be sending three individuals to Round Rock for the State Cross Country Meet next week.
Regional Champion and freshman, Taytum Goodman, along with sophomore, Kani Holmes, will be representing the Lady Wolverines, while junior, Josh Samaron, will be making his third trip to state in as many years.
Samaron talked about what he’s been doing to get ready for the State Meet, saying, “I’ve been training a lot more than I did for District and Regionals.”
Having been to the State Meet twice before, he offered up some advice for Goodman and Holmes, saying, “Don’t think about the race that much, just think about what you need to do to help yourself succeed.”
Head Boys Cross Country Coach Scott Royal talked about how he has seen Samaron grow from last year to this year, saying, “He has gotten continually better. We had a plan on how we wanted to work out, based off of the results of what he did last year and he has met every mark. Last week was his best week of workout; we actually met all of our goals. He has done fantastic and I expect him to do well next week at State and to improve on his time.”
Samaron talked about the goals he made for himself heading into his junior season, saying, “At first we weren’t really confident about having a team this year, so my only goal was to beat my times and hopefully make it to state and make it three years in a row.”
He added, “To be honest, I wasn’t confident that I made it because at Regionals I didn’t have the best race of my life, so I was frustrated with myself. But, when I was told I made it to State, I told myself I was going to do better.”
Goodman talked about the goals she had set for herself coming into high school this year, saying, “I just wanted to come out here and work hard and try to make it to State since I am in high school now.”
She also talked about making the jump from junior high competition to varsity competition, saying, “Everyone just seems like they want to do this more, than what I saw in junior high last year.”
Holmes also talked about the goals she set out for herself at the start of her sophomore season, saying, “I really came in expecting to do better than what I did last year, because last year as a freshman, I didn’t make it to State. So I was really looking forward to making to State this year. That was my goal.”
Head Girls Cross Country Coach Jeri Been Goodman talked about how she has seen the girls improve from last year to this year, saying, “They’ve all just grown up every day. Taytum and Kani, the whole team, sets goals every day when we run to beat their last time that they did in that distance. That is their goal every morning to improve over their last time.”
She added, “I think that is what has benefited both of them. The week before Regionals, every single girl on the team improved their time every day we ran.”
Holmes and Goodman reflected on their reactions to finding out they were heading to State, with Holmes saying, “It was a close one. I listened to Coach Been at the end and caught who I could and finished strong and that is what got me here.”
Goodman added that her reaction when she crossed the finish line was, “I’m going to State.”
They talked about what it means to them to be able to represent their school and community down in Round Rock, with Holmes saying, “It means a lot to be able to go down there and represent the Wolverines in such a big place. I know I’m going to go out there and do what I can and do my best and see how it goes.”
All three athletes are excited about getting down to Round Rock and running at the State Meet.
“I’m just looking forward to running,” Samaron said. “I’m not really running for anything this year, so I’m just going to go all out and if anything happens, well I have to at least say I did my best.”
Holmes echoed the sentiment, saying, “I’m really looking forward to running down there, since it is going to be my first time. I’m at least going to try and place up there and just do what I can.”
Goodman stated that she is ready to go see what she can do.
“I just feel really good about it,” she stated. “I’m just looking forward to seeing what I can do against the best competition in the State of Texas.”
The Coaches talked about what it means to them to be able to coach these kids at the State Meet, with Coach Been saying, “It’s priceless. To get to go with Kani; she works hard and then to also get to go with my own daughter, that is awesome. I really wish we could of got both teams down there. But for all three of these guys being this young, and to have this opportunity. The future is bright for our cross country program.”
Coach Royal added, “It is fun. To watch these kids work hard, succeed, and achieve what they set out to do at the beginning of the season; it’s a blast and I have a lot of fun doing this.”
The State Cross Country Meet will take place on Nov. 23rd and 24th at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. The girls will run Monday, Nov. 23rd at 9 a.m. while Samaron will run at 9:45 a.m. on Monday.