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The Wolfe City program is in its infancy with a program effectively built around Thurman. The cross-country team is under the direction of the elite runner's father and coach Tobin Thurman.
Caden recognized his gift for distance races as an outstanding junior high athlete at Gainesville. But COVID-19 and other circumstances kept him home for the 2020 season. Despite the layoff from regular competition, the young man continued a rigorous training schedule and was ready to roll when he returned to the 5K field.
When his father accepted the position of volleyball and track coach at Wolfe City in 2021, a decision was made to add cross country to the athletics fold.
As Caden enters his second varsity season, the coach said he is "primed to go 15:00 or below."
"He understands what he wants to do. He studies running, he studies runners. He is always self evaluating. At the end of a race, he is already calculating how he can do better," said the coach.
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In the 2022 season opener at Pilot Point, Caden captured gold and posted a time of 16:32.52. He was 31/100ths of a second ahead of the second-place runner Miguel Arce, his teammate and a recent addition to the Wolves team.
The dynamic duo have become good friends; they encourage and challenge one another in equal parts while elevating the tone and work ethic for the rest of the program.
"It is not a matter of one individual or another. It's more about the team," said Coach Thurman.
"We made that shift. (Caden) said last year, I don't want to be the only one at state. I want the team to go. I want the team's success. I want them to experience it."
While the team is led by juniors, it is otherwise stocked with sophomores. Angel Olvera, Raul Martinez, Austin Campbell Brodie Hillary, and Anthony Aldana round out the varsity team. Olvera finished ninth at Pilot Point (18:28.11) followed by Martinez (16th, 19:05.42) and Campbell (22nd, 19:59.13). The coach said times are improving rapidly and almost every runner registered a personal best on Saturday.
"Caden and Miguel are very time oriented - where they are, what they are running, how they are feeling. They understand where they are in the season. We don't need to drop 15-minute 5K's right now, but we are moving toward that, knowing they can. We want to be priming and prepping and getting to our fastest about the time we hit regionals," said Coach Thurman.