Photo by Jennifer Reynolds
From the Galveston Daily News' Jim Levesque:
Teel, Mustangs chasing cross-country conquest
FRIENDSWOOD — Ryan Teel is the defending Class 4A champion in cross country, but he has a bigger goal in mind for this Saturday’s state meet.
“Our goal is, as a team, to win a medal at the state cross-country meet,” the Friendswood senior said.
The Mustangs made a giant stride toward achieving that goal last week by winning the Region III-4A meet. Teel won the boys title with a time of 15 minutes, 39.9 seconds and hot on his heels was teammate Levi Kessler.
“Crossing the finish line in first place felt good, but when I got to see (Kessler,) one of my best friends, finish second, that was emotional,” Teel said. “It was exciting because it was something we had talked about, but we weren’t sure if we would be able to do it. Now, our goal is to win a medal at the state meet.”
In all, the Mustangs placed four runners in the top 18. Along with Teel and Kessler, Friendswood will send Troy Richardson, Ryan Oliver, Michael Otto, Robert Anselmo and Austin Cline to the state meet.
“We were excited to win it and get our chance to go for a medal” Friendswood coach Steve Haffelder said. “It’s been our goal for a long time. We’ve been really close and we’ve never gotten it.”
Though Friendswood has been a local cross-country powerhouse, winning 10 region titles in 17 years, the Mustangs haven’t won a medal at the state meet since the early ’80s.
“If we run as good as we did last week, we’ve got a shot at a medal,” Haffelder said. “If we can run the same at the top and middle and get the guys on the bottom to go a little faster, we can do it.”
Teel will be leading the charge, and though he is the defending state champion and also holds state track titles in the 1,600-meters and 3,200-meters, he said, like last year, he is not the odds-on favorite to win.
But, that doesn’t bother him at all.
“I kind of like being the underdog,” he said. “It gives me something to motivate myself.”
The state meet will be held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
“It’s fairly hilly, especially compared to the courses where we get to run here,” Teel said.
The hills themselves are not an issue, he said.
“Hills are all mental, because everybody has to do them,” he said. “If you just treat the hill like something you have to attack, the faster you go up it, the quicker it is out of the way. Then you get to go downhill, which is something I enjoy.”
Cross country will likely be in Teel’s future. He has drawn attention from many schools and Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M are the front-runners at the moment.
Teel said he hopes to study chemical engineering and that will figure largely in his choice of college.
“Academics are equally important, if not more important, than running,” he said.
Teel has several qualities that could help him continue his running success after high school.
“He takes good care of himself,” Haffelder said. “He eats right and he sleeps more than any high school kid I know. He does the right things and he is a fierce competitor. He doesn’t like losing, no matter what it is. The combination of those two things makes for a very good runner.”
“Our goal is, as a team, to win a medal at the state cross-country meet,” the Friendswood senior said.
The Mustangs made a giant stride toward achieving that goal last week by winning the Region III-4A meet. Teel won the boys title with a time of 15 minutes, 39.9 seconds and hot on his heels was teammate Levi Kessler.
“Crossing the finish line in first place felt good, but when I got to see (Kessler,) one of my best friends, finish second, that was emotional,” Teel said. “It was exciting because it was something we had talked about, but we weren’t sure if we would be able to do it. Now, our goal is to win a medal at the state meet.”
In all, the Mustangs placed four runners in the top 18. Along with Teel and Kessler, Friendswood will send Troy Richardson, Ryan Oliver, Michael Otto, Robert Anselmo and Austin Cline to the state meet.
“We were excited to win it and get our chance to go for a medal” Friendswood coach Steve Haffelder said. “It’s been our goal for a long time. We’ve been really close and we’ve never gotten it.”
Though Friendswood has been a local cross-country powerhouse, winning 10 region titles in 17 years, the Mustangs haven’t won a medal at the state meet since the early ’80s.
“If we run as good as we did last week, we’ve got a shot at a medal,” Haffelder said. “If we can run the same at the top and middle and get the guys on the bottom to go a little faster, we can do it.”
Teel will be leading the charge, and though he is the defending state champion and also holds state track titles in the 1,600-meters and 3,200-meters, he said, like last year, he is not the odds-on favorite to win.
But, that doesn’t bother him at all.
“I kind of like being the underdog,” he said. “It gives me something to motivate myself.”
The state meet will be held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
“It’s fairly hilly, especially compared to the courses where we get to run here,” Teel said.
The hills themselves are not an issue, he said.
“Hills are all mental, because everybody has to do them,” he said. “If you just treat the hill like something you have to attack, the faster you go up it, the quicker it is out of the way. Then you get to go downhill, which is something I enjoy.”
Cross country will likely be in Teel’s future. He has drawn attention from many schools and Arkansas, Texas and Texas A&M are the front-runners at the moment.
Teel said he hopes to study chemical engineering and that will figure largely in his choice of college.
“Academics are equally important, if not more important, than running,” he said.
Teel has several qualities that could help him continue his running success after high school.
“He takes good care of himself,” Haffelder said. “He eats right and he sleeps more than any high school kid I know. He does the right things and he is a fierce competitor. He doesn’t like losing, no matter what it is. The combination of those two things makes for a very good runner.”
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