Tyler Legacy senior Nick Knight is just one of many cross country/track and field who saw their 2020 track seasons terminated by COVID.
Knight was just in the midst of taking running seriously after qualifying for the state cross country championships last year. His 1600m PR went from 4:46 as a freshman to 4:29 as a sophomore. Seeing his brother sign to the University of Texas made him see running in a different light and as a way to get an education and the American Dream he has the opportunity of realizing.
With a new motivation, things were falling into place when he qualified for state in cross county last year and finished 68th overall. Knight wanted to go sub 4:20 in the 1600m, as fast as he could in the 3200m, and possibly break his brother's school records. Then, COVID.
COVID has also hampered things this cross county season for some seniors. Although grateful to being able to have a season to run, smaller meets haven't enabled some runners to get the competition level they needed to challenge themselves and attract the attention of college coaches. That same attention that was affected by the loss of the spring track season.
The UIL State Cross Country Championships is that opportunity for Knight and other seniors.
