Walker St. John competed in his first meet of the 2021 cross country season over the weekend. He opened up at the GARMIN MILESPLIT TX XC INVITATIONAL with a win thanks in part to his kick which led to an outstanding 14:57 performance.
The last time we saw St. John compete on Texas soil was at the UIL 5A State Track and Field Championships where he won the 1,600m with just one shoe. This meet didn't have the drama or flare to that extent, but it was the MileSplit meet and it was still the race first of his final high school cross country season. In that aspect, it was big and as St. John expressed, "it was really fun, it was a great time."
Although this was essentially a rust buster personally for St. John, he faced as good of competition as a state champion would want to open up with and then some. As he said, "the competition here was really awesome, most of the south region heavy hitters were here, so it was great to be able to compare ourselves against them."
For the Grapevine team, overall the day was nearly perfect, but it's hard for a team oriented guy like St. John to focus on personal gain.
"There is always something different; I think being able to trust my training because I know that I'm faster than last year really helps."Walker St. John - Grapevine senior
However, he has a target on his back being the defending UIL 5A state champion in cross country and it's hard not to notice how he handles situations.
Despite the target and pressures, St. John continues to keep focus, "there is always something different; I think being able to trust my training because I know that I'm faster than last year really helps," he shared.
The runner once viewed as an up and comer is now in the driver's seat. St. John has both team and individual goals to accomplish by the end of the 2021 cross country season. They include a lot more winning!
