Marble Falls cross country starts August with timed trials

While most fall sports programs will begin preparations for the 2024 season Aug. 5, the Marble Falls High School cross country program will conduct timed trials.

And those trials will begin as the sun is making its ascent to begin a new day.

That’s because they’ve had organized workouts for several weeks, new head coach Brenda Gonzalez is looking to see how far her runners have come.

“(We’re) trying to figure out who’s going to run what,” said Gonzalez, who is returning to Marble Falls Independent School District after a five-year hiatus.

The first Monday in August signals to fall athletes the time has come to begin practices, so Gonzalez believes the team may get two more runners.

Currently the Mustangs have nine.

“If we can get three more boys, I’ll have two teams,” Gonzalez said. “I’d like to have a varsity and junior varsity.”

The team is led by senior Tyler Hamblin, who attended a running camp in Colorado during the offseason. He has competed at cross country and track state meets as well as showcases across the state, and Gonzalez believes he is positioning himself to add more appearances.

“He’s a leader,” she said. “The boys follow him – I like that.”

Owen Martin returns and she has high hopes for the freshmen.

“I feel like I’ll have good surprises,” the coach said. “We’ll have some good support for (Hamblin). My goal is to take a team to state.”

The Lady Mustangs look to have six on the team to start the season. Gonzalez said the runners are pairing up as they’re learning to work together. They perform their warm-ups, practices and post-run workouts as a group, which illustrates their bond as teammates.

“They’re doing exercises to maintain their strength and mobility,” she said. “These six girls are the start of something.”

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