Amy Pitzel coached track and field and cross country for 16 years. Her most recent stint was at Katy Tompkins in Katy ISD. She led the Tompkins girls to three consecutive UIL 6A state meet team qualifications in 2017, 2018, and 2019 with a 2017 Region 3-6A team championship and runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019. Pitzel was named Gulf Coast Scholastic Track and Field Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2017.
This season, she will pick Texas high school coaches and athletes throughout the season to discuss a variety of topics.
Coach Pitzel chats it up with Coach Alicia Dutch of George Ranch high school and two of her cross country athletes Sophia Nguyen and Madison Haldiman.
Coach Dutch has led George Ranch in both track and field and cross country to success both individually and team wise and Nguyen and Haldiman are two who could help extend that success this season.
As a freshman last year, Nguyen was 27th at the state cross country meet finishing with a 18:34 PR. She ran 11:12 and 5:04 on the track finishing third in both distance races at the Region 3-6A Championships. Haldiman competed at the UIL State Cross Country meet in both her sophomore and junior seasons and expects to make it back in this, her senior year. Recently, she was runner-up in the 3,000m at the AAU Junior Olympic Games and was 10th in the 1,500m.