McKinney North senior London Culbreath has been MIA all season long. It doesn't seem all that long ago that she was just a freshman busting onto the scene in the first meet of the 2016 season.
Back then, Culbreath ran early and often taking down some of the best upperclass runners in the state. As the seasons passed, she would open up later and later into the seasons.
Under the direction of McKinney North coach, Jessica Richards, her running slate has been monitored and mapped out for success, but this weekend, she made a statement in her opening race of her last high school season.
"I learned how important it is to love running and fall in love with the sport and know what you're doing it for."
London Culbreath - McKinney North seinior
Richards and Culbreath chose to open up at the infamous California Woodbridge Cross Country Classic. The 3 mile course is known for drawing the top competition and producing fast times. The senior ran toe to toe with California's best girls and got a fast time along the way, "I think it went really well, I was super proud of how I performed."
Culbreath has carried outside as well as in house expectations and pressure with every race throughout her career. After a less than favorable finish to her junior cross country season, this year could carry even more scrutiny and opening up late could bring more pressure on the star Texas distance runner.
However, her approach was different and those expectations didn't seem to matter much, "I was just kind of coming into it with no plan having fun and seeing what I can do and run fast and I think all of those things were achieved," Culbreath said.
In a race that saw 17 girls run 17:00 and under for 3 miles, the Texas star finished third overall and she was also able to run a 16:22.90 PR, but she did it in a different manner than normal for her. "It was super unusual because usually I have everything from the minutes to the placement to where I'm supposed to be, but this one I wanted to go in with no expectations my first race back and just remember why I enjoy it and why I do it and Glorify God, I'm proud of the time I ran."
