All the hard work and training has built up to the penultimate event of the season for the Sul Ross State men's and women's cross-country teams.

The Lobos will make the 648-mile trip to the eastern edge of Texas to compete at the American Southwest Conference championship in Marshall.

This year's conference meet is hosted by East Texas Baptist University. The meet takes place near the Marshall City Arena on Saturday, Oct. 29.

The women's race begins at 9 a.m. followed by the men's race at 10:15 a.m.

>> IT TAKES A VILLAGE: It has taken an entire village to help raise a team.

Student-athletes have been pulled from soccer, softball, football, baseball and basketball just to help the cross-country team have enough runners to compete throughout the season.

"It's been a whole effort. That's impressive to me because not everyone can go out and do that without any training," said first-year head coach Elena Cano.

As the season has progressed, runners have steadily improved and have become more acclimated to the demands that the sport of cross-country requires each meet.

Early in the season, runners weren't able to run an entire race without stopping and walking. That has all changed now.

Runners have gained more confidence and are now aiming high to improve their times.

"They are now built to the point where they can run the whole race without even having to stop. They've done so well," added Cano. "We find a way to get it done every single time. We're excited for this last meet. Everyone has improved tremendously."

>> MOST IMPROVED: For the women, junior Reagan Ramsey has been the top runner by posting the best times at every meet.

Ramsey recorded her best finish of the season by placing 27th overall at the Saints Invitational in San Antonio on Oct. 7.

One runner that has seen a tremendous turnaround from start to finish is freshman and Alpine native Kylie Garcia.

As for the men, sophomore Logan Farris has paced the Lobos each meet. Each competition, Farris has been gradually climbing the leaderboard.

Senior Chris Bell has also shown a lot of improvement.

This weekend the main goal for the Lobos is to have fun and give it their all.

"Logan has some big goals. He's trying to go under 30 minutes for the first time in his 8K. He is so close," said Cano. "This weekend I want to everyone to go out, have fun and make their best effort.

"They have been working hard at practice. It's going to pay off. I'm excited to see where everyone ends their season."

>> FROM ATHLETE TO COACH: Cano, a 2016 graduate of Alpine High School, excelled in everything she did whether it was track or volleyball.

That hard-working mindset translated to her time at the University of Alaska-Anchorage, where she competed in track and cross country.

Cano earned All-American honors after finishing 12th in the heptathlon during the outdoor 2021-2022 track season at the NCAA Division II championship. She ran a school record in the 100-meter hurdles portion of the heptathlon.

Prior to nationals, she won the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference heptathlon title.

Now, Cano gets to see things from a different perspective as a coach.

"I like the dynamic of what it is. In a way I feel like I'm still a teammate," she said. "I'm close to the age of these kids, and I feel like that's a good thing because I can relate to them on a lot of different levels.

"I've learned so much just in these past two months. I'm grateful for the opportunity, especially being in my hometown."

Cano has mentors at Sul Ross like her former coaches Troy Canaba and Hugh Morrissey. Having a good support staff and people to lean on has made it easy for Cano to transition into becoming a coach.

She also gives a lot of credit to athletic director Amanda Workman.

"It's good to have someone I can trust," she said. "Everyone here is willing to help. Amanda is a great AD. I love her. She cares about her students, athletes and her staff."

>> BUILDING UP THE PROGRAM: The sport of cross-country has struggled across different levels with participation issues and is usually neglected during the fall as it hides behind the large shadow cast by popular sports such as football, volleyball and soccer.

Cano hopes to help the program grow at Sul Ross.

"There are kids that genuinely love to run," she said. "If there's someone in the position that is going to care as much as the kids do then it's only going to grow from here."

2022 ASC CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP MEET
WHERE: Marshall City Arena (3310 Poplar St., in Marshall, Texas)
WHEN: Women's 6K – 9 a.m. | Men's 8K - 10:15 a.m. (Saturday, Oct. 29)
RESULTS: https://my.raceresult.com/224023/