BRYAN, Texas — Two Bryan high cross country runners are breaking records and setting a new standard for the Vikings program.
Amelia Sullivan and Diego Duran both started cross country back in middle school and quickly fell in love with the sport.
“It's a physical challenge as well as a mental challenge,” Sullivan said. “I really like that about cross country because it teaches you a lot as well as pushes you to become a better athlete.”
“I think it's really the competition aspect,” Duran said. “We get to like go to really cool places and have a lot of fun, especially with your teammates. I think that's just one of the many things that made me like it.”
Sullivan and Duran made an immediate impact when they got to high school and that’s largely due to their preparation and work ethic.
“They're both just competitive athletes who just understand that they can't be special if they do what everybody else around them is doing,” Vikings cross country head coach Justin Havens said. “You got to be special in your practices to be special in the meets.”
This fall, Sullivan broke the Bryan high record for the girls 5k while Duran currently holds the top spot for the boys along with 6 other top 10 times in school history. Both of their times at the district meet qualified them for the regional championship.
“I'm really looking forward to the experience because it's really fun,” Duran said. “It's a really fun experience so I'm really looking forward to that and I'm also looking forward to the competition because after regional is state and I really want to go. So I'm just looking forward, just keeping my head up.”
“It's really special to me that I can make an indent, on this cross country program and it's really awesome to me,” Sullivan said. “I'm very thankful for my coaches who got me here and my friends who have been so supportive and it just made me really thankful for everything.”
What makes this trip to regionals even more impressive is that most of the runners who make it at the 6A level are juniors and seniors. Sullivan is a freshman and Duran, a sophomore.
“The thing about these two is they understand that that what you get in the season comes from what you do in the off season,” Havens said. ”These two actually have a desire to just get out there and win. Last year, Diego, every time we went to a meet, his question was, ‘what do I do to get a medal?’ as a freshman. This is a 6A level where freshmen don't normally run at the varsity level so it's been a pleasure to have these two around.”
While they’re not looking too far ahead as they focus on their regional meet, they are looking forward to build on their already impressive running careers.
“I definitely want to put in more work now that I know like what I can do and just like with work and dedication to it,” Sullivan said.
“It’s been a great, it's been a great journey and I'm really looking forward to the next two years that I have,” Duran said.
Sullivan and Duran will run at the UIL regional championship Monday morning in Arlington. If they finish as one of the top 10 individuals on a non-advancing team, they'll run at the state meet, November 1st at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
