Mustangs finish second at Comfort

The Marble Falls High School boys squad finished second overall at the Comfort Invitational Oct. 18.

“Everybody did better than we did last week,” head coach Stephen Sanders said. “Everybody decreased their times.”

Jesùs Manzano led the way by finishing the three-mile race in 16 minutes one second for eighth overall.

“He’s running a 5:15 to 5:20 per mile,” Sanders said. “That’s for all three.”

Anjel Guerrero finished 13th at 16:28, while Rene Perez was 14th at 16:45. Robert Vidal was 33rd at 17:30, Isaiah Vidal finished 42nd at 17:45, Ruben Contreras was 75th at 19:00, and, A.J. Berryhill was 76th at 19:05.

The Lady Mustangs finished eighth overall.

“I thought that was pretty good,” Sanders said. “It was a strong meet.”

Marble Falls was led by Sarah Holden’s 13:42 for 35th place. 

“Sarah decreased her times,” the head coach said. “She got knocked down at the start and got up and finished.”

Marissa Williams was next at 38th at 13:49, while Whitney Pittard was 45th at 14:17. Katie Mosher finished 47th at 14:19, while Katy Cooke was 62nd at 15:04.

“All our girls decreased their times,” Sanders said. 

The course had numerous hills, which challenged the runners, Sanders said. 

“We’re getting there earlier so we have time to walk the course,” he said. “(Assistant) coach (Jonathan) Jarrett goes through the course and tells them where they need to speed up.”

More people were on the course to cheer the Mustangs as they ran, Sanders said. 

“We set up more people on the race course breaking down our times along the way,” he said. 

Sanders credited the finishes to the runners’ determination and to Jarrett’s running strategy and his own knowledge of proper nutrition.

“We have early morning workouts,” the coach said. “We’re trying to stay in a better nutritional plan and getting better on hydration. We’re working on our psychological program.”

He has been pleased with the finish-line results, especially since Marble Falls will be attending the District 25-4A meet Monday.

“We’re in pretty good shape,” Sanders said.