Marble Falls distance runner Jordan Wright going to A&M-Corpus Christi

JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF

MARBLE FALLS — Marble Falls High School cross-country head coach Anthony Torns admitted some irritation with senior runner Jordan Wright.

Two years ago, Wright was more concerned about getting a job to pay for a car and said he would try to make time for summer workouts for the cross-country team.

“My main focus wasn’t on running,” Wright said. “(Torns) made my focus be on running.”

That paid off for the Mustang as family and friends gathered to celebrate his signing a national letter of intent to run for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi on March 25.

“It’s a cool experience, it’s a great thing,” head track-and-field coach Kyle Futrell said. “His best days are in front of him. We’re not going to set any limits.”

Shortly after Wright placed fourth overall at the Class 4A state meet, Torns emailed 15 different universities about his runner.

“I was upset he wasn’t getting looks,” he said. “Within the next 20 minutes, I had 15 emails (back.)”

Wright will graduate with his name atop the program’s record books. At the Class 4A Region IV meet, he finished the race in 15 minutes and 10 seconds, which was 10 seconds faster than Marble Falls graduate and Olympic silver medalist Leonel Manzano.

“It’s pretty awesome knowing that,” Wright said.

Even when Wright isn’t on the track working out, he said Torns is working on his behalf by texting him the times of the state’s top runners. That shows neither are resting on what they’ve already accomplished.

“I can’t say how much coach Torns has done for me,” he said. “He never let me sell myself short.”

Other Marble Falls High School seniors to sign letters of intent include:

• Football: Zuri Buchanan, Keith Jerome and Chace Fry to Cisco College; Jason Lenior to Montana Western; Garrett Gray to the University of Texas-Austin
• Softball: Tyler Oppenheim to Texas A&M University-Commerce; Amanda Thomas to the University of Texas-San Antonio

jfierro@thepicayune.com