After all the training, sweats, tears and loss of breath, Antonio Montoya found his father soon after crossing the finish line at last week’s district cross country meet.
It was time to celebrate with a hug with his dad because they trained so much for this moment.
“It was just that it was an emotional bond that me and my dad have. We finally did it, and we are going up to the next level,” Montoya said. “He was super proud because he ran cross country in high school too and we put hours, a bunch of miles in the summertime and a lot of money spent.”
The Montoyas weren’t the only ones who were emotional. Rider coach Dustin Holly said he got emotional too because Montoya puts in so much work before and after school. He would’ve hated it if Montoya didn’t advance by a few feet or placed 11th.
“The feeling was like, ‘I finally did it.’ I felt relief because all the training I went through paid off,” Montoya said.
Two miles before the finish line, the district runners ran through the woods and Montoya was in 12th place at the time. He came out of the woods in 10th place and stayed there, crossing the finish line with a time of 17:43.27. Granbury’s Bryce Young finished less than three seconds behind him.
Montoya was satisfied with what he placed, while Holly was excited and nervous at the same time before he finished because it was a close race.
It’s a proud moment for the Montoyas, coach Holly and the school because Rider gets one last trip to regionals.
“It’s exciting to know in the last year we get to go to regionals, but AJ does have a chance to get out of regionals as well,” Holly said. “But it’s neat for our team, AJ, me and the school.”
Running cross country means the world to Montoya because he quit basketball to pursue running. Conditioning for basketball made him want to do it more as well as his dad that motivates him. He also said he enjoys winning whenever he goes to the meets.
The way he prepares himself before every race is by listening to music and getting a feel for the course.
As a freshman he was coming out in unfamiliar territory, not knowing what’s going to be at the meets. However, now that’s he’s a sophomore, he knows who’s the best and who’s going to be at the meets this year.
“He can run with the best kids in the district, area and region,”Holly said. “It’s confidence coming in the meets. You see, nothing surprises him anymore, and he is ready to run every time he comes to the meets.”
The Region I-5A Meet is at 9:30 a.m. Monday in Lubbock, and Montoya needs to place in the top 10 among runners who don’t qualify on a team for his season to continue to state.
