Texas stars Connor and Sveinsson add course record wins to NXN haul
They say everything is bigger in Texas. Maybe that would explain the size of Reed Connor’s heart.
How else do you rationalize a runner who regards himself as slow consistently getting to the line first?
He doesn’t have that classic finishing kick. But, he is a determined finisher.
Connor did it again, this time emerging from a quartet of runners, who had traded blows for the majority of the race, to win the Nike Cross Country Championships in a course record time of 15:13.
Heartland Regional Champion Jakub Zivec, who showed impressive closing speed in running down and passing Joesph Manilafasha over the final quarter mile to win the Foot Locker Midwest Regional a week earlier, finished five seconds back.
Connor’s victory was hardly a surprise. He entered the day as one of the favorites. Still, the ascension to greatness is not bad for a young man who admittedly got his start in the sport after running a local 5k as a kid, and stayed because he was a huge fan of the free t-shirts.
That’s right – the t-shirts. He’s not ashamed. After all, he’s a simple guy. They dominate his wardrobe. In fact, he still has most of them, quite a collection.
The haul for running Nike was a bit more substantial. Complimentary spikes, shoes warm-ups, shorts and a singlet and long sleeve shirt - all of which they got to keep as long as it was in accordance to their state association rules - carried a retail value of $375. But Connor wasn’t here to shop. His reasoning for running has changed; a transformation that began as a sophomore, when he was shown the road to stardom.
“My breakthrough season was my sophomore track season,” Connor said. “Alex Neff was training to run sub-9 [for 3200 meters.] I did every single workout over the season. Basically I was a parasite. I just hung onto his back. ‘Stick with him.’ That was my one thing. Ever since then I’ve been doing my own workouts. He definitely got me started thinking about I could be great.”
That road to greatness took Connor to Portland Meadows where he would challenge the top runners in the nation, while attempting to lead his team to a National Championship in what is longtime coach Dan Green’s final season.
As a team, The Woodlands placed a very respectable fourth for the second consecutive season. Though, with 300 meters to go, the individual title was still in flux. Connor, Zivec, Joash Osoro and Joe Rosa all maintained their individual aspirations, before Connor made one last decisive move.
Connor admits not knowing exactly where the finish line was, or when he should begin to kick, but said when he made the turn onto the final straightaway, he knew it was time to giddy-up. Drawing on his experience, he was confident he could get the job done.
Connor said: “Really what helped me with the kick, which was the defining point of the race, was last year at the Texas state track meet in the 1600, when I out kicked Blake Shaw. He’s a 1:49, 800-meter runner. I run 1:57. But for some reason, whenever I get down to that kick, I can dig deeper and get a little extra strength. That’s what I was thinking about at the end. I told myself, ‘You did that last year, you kick in a cross country race.’
“I don’t know. I guess I should be running faster in the 400 or 800, but when it comes down to it, it’s all about your heart in the last 800 meters. You just can’t give up.”
Truth be told, referring to Connor as slow is a slight exaggeration, after all he has fashioned a trio of sub-15 minute 5k’s this fall. But talk to Connor or his coach and the phrase lack of foot speed gets bandied about quite a bit.
“The thing about Reed is he’s not fast, like great speed, but he can come after your buns that last quarter or 800 meters,” said Green, in an interview earlier this season. “He’s just a very good closer.”
Another Texas runner quickly garnering the reputation as a finisher is sophomore Chelsey Sveinsson, who won the girls’ championship race in a course record time of 17:26.
“I thought I had a chance,” said Sveinsson, who heads to the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships as a legit challenger to the big three – defending FL champs Jordan Hasay, Ashley Brasovan and Kathy Kroeger. “Before the race I was trying to focus on myself and getting myself ready, and not focus on the other competitors. Last year I was getting too nervous about how other people were going to run, and not how I was going to run.”
Considering her performances of late, it is a good bet that Sveinsson will be the one other runners will worry about when they take to the line.
The Woodlands’ junior Sarah Andrews, one of the top runners in the nation this year, can certainly attest first hand to Sveinsson’s prowess in the late stages of races.
The Texas 5A champion, Andrews held the lead in the waning moments of last Saturday’s race just as she did two weeks earlier at the Nike South Regional. Both times she had to settle for the runner-up finish to her Texas rival.
Photos by Timothy Fulton, ArmoryTrack.com