The cross country season for Llano High School runners Townes Smith and Jordan Hussion ended at the Class 3A Region I meet Oct. 22 in Lubbock.
Smith, a sophomore, finished 30th overall on the 5K course in 17 minutes and 54.8 seconds, while Hussion, a junior, came in 42nd in 13:41.02 in the two-mile race.
Head coach Jay Parker said Smith set a new personal record during the race.
“He surprised me,” he said. “I didn’t think we had a good two weeks of practice. I wasn’t expecting him to run that well. He goes there and competes. He hit the first mile, and he was around 30th.”
Once the race ended and Parker saw the Jacket was 30th, he knew Smith “had a shot” to qualify for the Class 3A state meet depending on the finishes of the 29 runners who were ahead of him. The top 10 finishers on non-advancing teams to the state meet qualify as individuals. Smith barely missed the cut.
“I was really proud of him,” the coach said. “I didn’t know if he would go and compete. He ran extremely strong. I thought he represented us extremely well.”
What makes the course at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock so challenging is the first hill.
“That’s a sign of how you’ll run that course,” Parker said. “Attack that hill and push through it.”
The course narrows. With little space to move, runners who can separate from the pack quicker at the beginning of the race can dictate the pace the rest of the way.
“You get caught and put yourself in a spot where you don’t want to be,” Parker said. “It dictates the race. That’s what I think happened to Jordan.”
Because of how the course is laid out, coaches can see their runners near the first mile marker. At that point, the Lady Jacket was 60th.
“She had a lot to gain,” Parker said. “That first mile, she was at 7:20. Her second mile was considerably quicker. I thought she ran as good as she could. I was still proud of her.”
The constant wind in the Texas panhandle was present during the meet. But Mother Nature showed she enjoys cross country.
“It was a beautiful day,” Parker said. “In this region, you run in all types of stuff throughout the season. Those runners have to adapt.”
Llano sophomore Townes Smith set a new personal record at the regional meet.
