Story

Ethan Miller

Cross Country is sprinting towards success. Recently a Cross Country District meet involving Del Valle, Austin High, Anderson, and Bowie took place; Akins runners were scored alongside competitors from these schools for a chance to participate in an upcoming Regional meet. The team had some impressive success.
The top three scoring teams earn a place in Regionals as a whole; the team did not make the cut, but came very close.
“In the district meet Akins finished with 85 points, just one point behind Anderson’s score of 84. Had we gotten that one point, because it’s all based on the top five runners’ scoring positions, we would have tied or beaten them. We missed going to Regionals as a team by one place,” Cross Country coach Heather Cuthbertson said.
Despite falling short of third, two Akins runners did qualify for the Regional meet: Sophomore Evan Ortiz and Senior Eddy Gonzalez.
“In District the top ten individuals in the race qualify for Regionals. Eddy Gonzalez finished second, so he qualified, and Evan Ortiz finished fifth, so he was also able to qualify,” Cuthbertson said.
The two were happy with their rank.
“Placing in the meet feels good because I’ve been running all my life,” Ortiz said.
While their score is impressive, they still wish to improve.
“I would have liked to place first, of course, but that didn’t happen,” Gonzalez said, “It’s (the Regional meet) going to be a lot of fun.”
Cuthbertson is a new to athletics in Akins.
“This is my first year of coaching here, so I don’t know what they did previously, but I think the team has really been consistent with workouts this year,” Cuthbertson said, “I ran track for the University of Texas, and I did a short stint of coaching at my high school when I was home for a semester. This is my first official high school head-coaching job.”
The two runners have had other awards for athleticism.
“I wasn’t really involved in it (Cross Country) my sophomore or junior year, but during freshman year I placed third in District,” Gonzalez said.
They’ve worked hard for their sport.
“I [ran] summer track and I made it to nationals in the Junior Olympics,” Ortiz said.
Cross Country will continue to work hard.
“Dell Valle won the meet with, I think, 67 points, Austin placed second with 72, and Anderson placed third with 84,” Cuthbertson said.
It can be a great opportunity for all participants.
“It’s a lot of fun and, of course, a lot of work. It’s all about effort. The coaches are great, they’re willing to work with you any time,” Gonzalez said.