4A Cross Country State Champion & 3200/1600m State Champion Carter Blunt is the fastest returning cross country runner in Texas. With PRs of 4:14 (1600), 9:03 (3200) and 14:57 (5k) as a sophomore, Blunt aims to defend his state titles and qualify for trips to NXN and Foot Locker Nationals.
Three state titles, a 14:57 5k and a 9:03 3200. All as a sophomore. Carter Blunt is the one to beat this upcoming cross country season.
Blunt made his debut in 8th grade, as he watched his brother run high school cross country and decided to follow in his footsteps. Unaware of his potential, Blunt had low expectations as he entered his freshman year of high school.
“At the beginning of the years my goal was to qualify for regionals, but I noticed improvement and decided to change my goal towards making it to state.” Blunt met his goal after finishing 4th in his regional meet, and continued on his path to success by qualifying for state in the 1600 & 3200 during track season.
After his freshman year, Blunt was hungry for more. Blunt shifted his focus from qualifying for state to winning state.
“It was the goal that I had been working for since the day after my track meet my freshman year. I knew that there was going to be strong competition and a couple of guys that also had a chance, but every state meet I came into I raced to win.”
Blunt’s determination led him to win the 4A State Cross Country Championships, 3200m Championships and 1600m Championships. Once Blunt let go of the self-imposed stress of winning, he was able to deliver phenomenal results.
“A huge shift that I found that really changed me as a runner was stress. Through all of my races I would put so much pressure on myself. After a few tough meets, I decided to not put so much pressure on myself and suddenly my times started to drop and it really helped me throughout track.”
While it may seem Blunt has already reached the highest point, he continues to raise the standards and set bigger goals for himself.
“My goals for this season are to win state again, and compete to earn a time that would win in the 6A division as well as 5A. I want to qualify for NXN and Foot Locker, and get my mile time down low enough to qualify for the Adidas Dream Mile.”
Blunt missed out qualifying for NXN last year after running in tough conditions against big-time competitors.
“Last year I feel like I didn’t have the best race I could have had, but I feel like I have really grown as a runner and can’t wait to see if I can earn a spot and go to Oregon.”
Blunt doesn’t let the extra pressure of defending his state titles affect him-“I think a little pressure is good and it pushes me in my runs and workouts.” With a summer of quality training, including cross-training for a triathlon, and big goals in mind, Blunt will be a tough one to compete with next year.
