Kennedale always has a number of students willing to get up early in the morning to begin the day pounding the trail. For some this may be the only sport that they participate in for the year but for most this is just one of their sports. They come from golf, track, softball, basketball and soccer. {{more}}All of them see it as a good way to keep in shape, increase stamina and meeting the challenge of ?hitting the wall? and pushing past it.
By definition, cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race over natural terrain. Surfaces include grass, dirt, wooded trails and open country. A good venue runs include both hills and flat ground. According to Texas Mile Split, ?The variability of courses in the state of Texas is extreme – not only the differences in length (2 Miles, 3 Miles, 5K) but also the differences in terrain and difficulty.? In the DFW area teams usually complete at large parks such as Vandergrift and Veterans Park in Arlington.
Cross-country is a fall sport. When football, volleyball and even marching bands begin practice, cross country runners are the first to hit the field or the trail. For Kennedale runners, pre-season practice times have varied but they all require early morning runs. This week Tuesday and Wednesday practices started at 5:30 a.m. During the school year, practices start at 5:15 a.m.
The girls program has a new head coach, Katrina Pytel. Coach Pytel graduated from Southwestern Assemblies of God and played softball at Western Texas College. She is an avid runner and currently training for the Boston Marathon. Coach Pytel started teaching/coaching last spring at KHS. She also coaches softball for Kennedale High School.The head coach for the boys program is Michael Strange, who coached cross country last year.
Coach Strange is also the head coach for boys and girls soccer as well as physics teacher at Kennedale High School. He came from Mansfield ISD two years ago.
This Friday night the team will be running under the lights at the Friday Night Hawk Invite sponsored by the Hebron High School Hawks Cross Country Booster Club. It is billed as a night run with a fully lighted 2 mile course at McInnish Park, 2335 Sandy Lake Road, Carrollton, Texas. Kennedale will be competing against 5A teams. First races begin at 7 p.m.
