No fiddling around: Salado boys run to state
Posted On: Friday, Nov. 13 2009 05:15 AM
By Alex Byington
Killeen Daily HeraldSALADO – Playing second-fiddle to girls for the better part of the last decade, there's a changing of the guard taking place in Salado.
Well, the boys are back in town – or state in this instance – after the Eagles finished second overall at the Region IV-2A cross country meet Saturday at the Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio.
"It feels like a big relief that the guys made it to state without the girls – it's just a big achievement for us guys to know we made it since it's been so long," said senior Jace Peralta, the team's No. 1 runner who powered Salado with a second-place individual finish at region.
Peralta leads a diverse flock of runners, which includes fellow senior Juan Cazares and a trio of underclassmen – freshmen Patrick Murray and Robert Pereira and sophomore Jada Kornegay – when the Eagles take to the trail in the Class 2A state cross country meet Saturday morning at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
This is the first time in Salado's history the boys will be the school's lone representatives. The Lady Eagles had made it a yearly ritual, advancing for seven straight seasons before back-to-back fourth place Region finishes the last two years. It's only the second time the boys advanced to state as a team after both squads advanced in 2005. For Salado coach Cindy Mewhinney, who has been coaching both boys and girls for the last 12 seasons at Salado, the shift is definitely bittersweet.
"This is the first time that I've been here that we don't have a girl in the state meet. So it's a difficult thing for the girls to swallow, but I think it's just going to make them hungrier," Mewhinney said. "But I think this is the year the boys build on the tradition and hopefully they'll have a seven year straight run of their own."
Both Mewhinney and Peralta said it's been the quick emergence of the underclassmen that has been the biggest factor in their success.
"I'm pretty impressed with the freshmen, jumping up from two miles in middle school to three miles in high school – that's a pretty big bump," Peralta said.
Although they didn't qualify to go to state because they weren't among the team's top five finishers at region, Salado has also gotten a lot from fellow senior Max Care and freshman Eric McGregor.
"With the success their having this year, these freshmen want a letter jacket with a state patch," Mewhinney added. "... There aren't many freshmen boys period with a letter jacket, let alone one with a state patch."
Contact Alex Byington at
alexb@kdhnews.com or at (254) 501-7566.