- - -
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 throughout the season to discuss a variety of topics.
In this 4th edition of Pitzel's Picks, I sat down with Coach Jeremy Dye of Kingwood Cross Country and his runners, Clara Dye, Jenna Carter and Carly Ahrens. Kingwood has a history of being a premier program in the state, but I chose them because of the strong pack running they displayed at the Seven Lakes Invitational. Kingwood girls had all 7 girls in the top 27 in a race of over 130 runners and some of the top teams from the Greater Houston area.
Coach Dye is entering his 6th year over the girls' program at Kingwood and they have finished as high as 2nd in the state under his guidance. He has added weight training to keep them healthy and injury free. Two girls to watch besides the three in the interview are Eliana Contreras and Mary Van Dyke. They have seven Seniors on the team and the best leadership Coach Dye has seen since he has been there. With their sites sets on getting on the podium, Kingwood XC is definitely one to watch.
Related: Pitzel's Picks
As a freshmen on the team and her Dad the coach, Clara Dye is making a statement by finishing in the top 5 this past weekend for the team and winning the freshmen division at the Kingwood Classmate Challenge.
Clara has been raised going to Cross Country meets so she is ready to be a contributing member of Varsity. Jenna Carter and Carly Ahrens are both Seniors and both were on the Kingwood team that finished as State Runner-Ups their Freshmen year.
Jenna has one of the best finishes I have ever seen and she is looking to finish strong and run at the next level. Carly finished 8th in the State as a freshmen and is healthy and injury free and ready to finish top 20 at State again this year. Carly, also, wants to run in college.
Good luck to Kingwood XC this year and I am excited to see what your combination of experienced Seniors and strong underclassmen accomplish together.