Gatesville Senior Carlo Martinez Is A Completely New Runner

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The 2022 cross country season for Carlo Martinez is going well. How well, you ask? I'd say extremely well. The Gatesville senior is winning, running fast, and opening eyes.

So far this season, he is undefeated, he has PRed a lot and by a lot, and runners and coaches around the state know his name and are fully aware of his times.

A season opening run of 15:39 over 5,000m at the Hillsboro Invitational surpassed his previous 15:56 PR; and then came the race that made him famous. On August 31, 2022, he ran a 14:45 at the Brownwood Invitational. It was initially listed as a 5K, which made him the top runner in the state. It has since been changed to a 3 mile course, which Martinez and his coach have their own thoughts and feelings about; nevertheless, it is still his fastest race no matter the actual distance.

Despite the back and forth about that race, Martinez isn't letting neither outside distractions nor situations get in the way of his focus and the purpose of his senior season. Reason being is because he is a completely different runner physically and mentally. Not only will his competition get a new and improved competitor, but in the uncommitted senior, some lucky college coach will be getting a reinvented and more mature runner. 

One of the ways he is improved is with his confidence. "My confidence it has gotten better compared to previous years. I can walk onto the field and tell myself that I have a chance to win rather than being scared and seeing how the race is going to go," Martinez said.

"My confidence it has gotten better compared to previous years. I can walk onto the field and tell myself that I have a chance to win rather than being scared and seeing how the race is going to go," 

Carlo Martinez, Gatesville senior

That is also some of the credit that has led to his fast running. The 2021 UIL 4A Cross Country State Championships eighth place finisher has his eyes set on competing for a state title. In order to win that title, he'll have to overcome five returners from the state meet who beat him including Angel Sanchez from Fort Worth Diamond Hills-Jarvis and Hudson Bennett of Burnet who have both also run sub 15-minute 5Ks this season.

Martinez isn't dismayed and what they do won't shake his newfound confidence. He knows people are also looking at him and that is something he self-engineered. "There has been a lot of people following my progress, not only over the summer, but during the school year," he said. "Compared to last year, I have improved over a minute this year," Martinez pointed out pertaining to his drop from 15:56 to 14:45. At his last race, at the Waco Midway Hewitt Inv, he also dropped his time on the course, saying, "I ran this course a minute and one second faster than what I did last year."

Sharper workouts are key to the progress, he admittedly focused on quality training over quantity, "I ran 30-40 miles a week all summer that's what got me to this point right now and I'm really happy about that."

As a leader at Gatesville, he isn't just trying to reach heights alone, he is trying to take his teammates along with him. "I can also feel my confidence in the workouts and I feel my teammates in the workouts. I feel like I have to be a leader there and show them what hard work is and never let off the pedal."

This transformation didn't come over night nor was it easy and the journey isn't compete for the Gatesville harrier. "Not only am I physically stronger, but i am mentally stronger as well and I worked hard for that."