Neighbor runs his way to state meet
Squad members Logan Neighbor, Tyson Denton, Matt Breneman, Garrett Rowe, Ivan Palacios, Andrew Nylander and Matt McCrae ran impressive individual and team tactical races in the Nov. 8 event, head coach Stuart Dixon said.
“All of them gave all they had to try and qualify for the state meet as a team,” he said. “The runners either ran their best times or equaled their best times of the season. By placing seventh, they finished in the top third of teams competing. With only seven districts in the region, one can view this finish as an accomplishment for a team that placed second in its district competition.”
Neighbor led the Bulldog contingent. He placed 10th out of 138 competitors and as a result qualified for the state meet slated for Saturday in Round Rock. The sophomore sensation finished in 16 minutes 38 seconds, which shattered his previous personal best by 30 seconds.
“He put together a smart and tough strategy to run that fast and place that high,” Dixon said.
Neighbor’s physical drive and mental preparation propelled him to become one of the state’s elite runners, the coach said.
“Logan went to a distance-running camp this summer and put miles on his legs and bike, which was the key factor that helped him this season,” he said. “Lastly (is) his mental toughness. He just made up his mind that he was going to make it to state and pushed himself into another pain threshold to run that fast.”
A three-year all-district varsity runner, who was competing in his third regional meet, Denton finished 19th in 17:08. The senior was followed by Ivan Palacios at 55th, Breneman at 56th, Rowe at 58th, Nylander at 60th and McCrae at 105th.
“Breneman and Rowe started running cross country last year and were very helpful in contributing to our success the past two years, and they are great kids on top of that,” Dixon said. “McCrae started running this year and did good enough to make the top seven for our district and regional team, which allowed us to make regionals this year. ”
He said the course was quite challenging at the beginning, where runners had to traverse a ditch and then ascend a hill for about 200 meters. Afterward, they had to make two loops that had a hill they traveled over twice. The weather, however, was ideal at a sunny 65 degrees and calm. With the season concluding for all the runners with the exception of Neighbor, Dixon expressed his appreciation to his athletes but particularly the seniors for their efforts.
The top three 3A teams in region 1 — Burkburnett, Lubbock Cooper and Clint — along with the top 10 runners from the race advanced to the state meet. Fredericksburg and Liberty Hill, two other members from District 8-3A, placed fifth and 10th respectively.