The guys from Amarillo Tascosa traveled half way across the state to compete at the Marcus I invite this past weekend. The young squad ended up finishing in third, against some tough Dallas area schools. The team is nine time 6A District 2 champs, but they have their goals set much higher this year. Read what coach Hargrove had to say about his teams progress so far this year, and their expectations for the season ahead.
Texas MileSplit: What has training been like with the team to get them to this point in the season?
Coach Hargrove: Very intense. We have such a great group of young athletes who do everything I ask. Our boys continued to train hard after completing the 2014 season, which has allowed us to start our key workouts a month early this preseason.
Texas MileSplit: This was your highest finish at Marcus 1 in the past five years, what did it mean for you as the coach, and the guys on the team? What are some of the other big meets you will be looking to attend this year?
Coach Hargrove: With the level of competition these days in our region, a 3rd place finish is a great confidence builder for such a young team. I let them know the last time we had done this we were in competition for a state birth. We will also be competing in the Nike South Invitational in early October.
Texas MileSplit: For nine years in a row you've been district champs do you/or the team feel any added pressure to continue that streak?
Coach Hargrove: Not really at this point. My guys have bought in to what I preach, which is that we can out-work anyone. When we talk about winning, we only talk about it on the state level, and competing with the Metroplex schools.
Texas MileSplit: What are some of your goals this season? What are some steps the team will need to achieve these goals?
Coach Hargrove: 1) Get our 4,5,6 runners within 40 seconds of our #1 runner. 2) Sweep the top 6 spots at the district meet. 3) Qualify for the State meet. 4) Prepare this season by working toward our long-term goal, which is to medal at state next year.
Texas MileSplit: You have a young squad with no seniors, how have younger guys stepped up and taken on bigger roles to help out the team? How has the addition of Wes McPhail helped add to the team?
Coach Hargrove: It shows a lot of character from my younger runners to get to such a high level of running in such a short time, especially when you consider our district doesn't have cross-country in the middle schools. The time and effort they put forth is awesome, but they have learned that from our junior runners who lead by example. Wes McPhail has helped this team by stepping right into our program and following the footsteps of Briggs Wittlake's example of hard work.
Texas MileSplit: What are some of the biggest challenges facing your team? How can funding help your team/ how can people help you raise money?
Coach Hargrove: The biggest Challenge is not being able to run against high level competition week in and week out. Because of our distance from the urban areas with established cross country programs, it is difficult on our limited budget to consistently participate in meets with high quality large school teams. We do a lot of fundraising to enhance our budget so that we can travel a few times a year to some of the bigger meets. In addition to our boys and parents fundraising efforts, we have a business partner, Brandon Brown, who is a big financial supporter of our program. We host and run of the largest cross country meet in the panhandle in Amarillo, due largely to the efforts of our awesome parent boosters. That meet has become our largest fundraiser, and allows us to make trips to Dallas and Houston for meets like the Nike South Invitational.
Post Race Interview With Amarillo Tascosa
| Team Scores Marcus I Boys Varsity Elite | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times | ||
| 1 | Southlake Carroll | 49 | 2+4+10+15+18 (25+38) | 1:10 1-5 Split | 15:59 Avg | ||
| 2 | Grapevine | 119 | 12+16+28+29+34 (45+52) | 0:47 1-5 Split | 16:37 Avg | ||
| 3 | Amarillo Tascosa | 186 | 6+7+37+54+82 (93) | 1:49 1-5 Split | 16:46 Avg | ||