High-steppin’ runners Port Aransas High School cross country team members are determined to get some legs up on the competition as they pose for a photo before heading to Round Rock for the state meet where on Saturday, Nov. 12, they took second place for the second consecutive year. STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER Edged out of a gold medal by a mere three points, the Marlins cross country team is still proud of its silver medal from the state meet in Round Rock on Saturday, Nov. 12.

“I felt like they did the best they could for the conditions for that day,” said coach Steve Reaves. The Marlins finished with a score of 75; first-place Boys Ranch had 72 points (in cross country, the lower the score, the better). Third-place Comstock scored 83 points.

At that, the Marlins placed two runners in the top 10. Senior Matt Fries, who has consistently led runners this year, finished eighth with a time of 17:30. Corban Marcantel was 10th with 17:36. Right behind him was teammate Austin Henderson, who clocked in at 17:53.

Go, team! Port Aransas High School cheerleaders cheer on the boys’ cross country team just before the team leaves for the state meet in Round Rock on Friday, Nov. 11. STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER Both were named to the All-State first team of cross country runners.

Alex Groseclose, who would have run but for tendonitis in a shin, was replaced by alternate Chris Eggleston, who had worked up to that point just as though he had been originally set to race, Reaves said.

Groseclose had been plagued by the injury for more than a week, and dropped out of the regional cross country meet on Nov. 5 because of it. He was limping during warmups, Eggleston said.

“Alex went up to coach (Reaves) and was limping,” Eggleston said. “Coach came over to me and told me I was going in.”

But Eggleston’s father, Scott, said there’s a bit more to the story than that.

Real runners Port Aransas High School cross country team members Corban Marcantel, left, and Matt Fries were the team’s top finishers at the state meet in Round Rock Saturday, Nov. 12. Fries came in eighth, and Marcantel took 10th place. COURTESY PHOTO BY ROSEMARY FRIES “(Groseclose and Reaves) talked about it,” he said. “I think coach decided it was best not to risk Alex getting injured any more. Alex came over to Chris and offered him the shoes he had bought to run in the state meet and said, ‘You’re in.’ And then coach Reaves came over and gave him the number that Alex would have pinned on.”

The decision could have cost the Marlins the gold medal, the elder Eggleston said.

“(Chris) worked hard all week to get ready,” Reaves said. “It wasn’t like we just went up to him and said, ‘You’re going to be running a race today’,”

Running hard Port Aransas High School boys’ cross country team members Matt Fries (front) and Corban Marcantel (third from front) run at the state meet in Round Rock. MATT WARD/FREDERICKSBURGSTANDARD Groseclose confessed he was disappointed at the end to his season.

“I wasn’t surprised about how the team did, but I was unhappy that I couldn’t help them out,” he said.

Conditions at Round Rock were brutal for the runners, Reaves said: “It was dusty and windy, with gusts up to 35 miles an hour. One stretch was dead into the wind.”

Collin Barr reported that he was so exhausted, he couldn’t even stand up for 15 minutes after the race ended.

Reaves said top-rank high school runners consistently turn in slower times on the Round Rock course than at other courses.

But he also said the Port Aransas cross country teams from last year and this year – both placing second at the state meet – have left a legacy for future runners to live up to.

Te amwork Port Aransas High School Marlins cross country team member Chris Eggleston runs during the state meet in Round Rock. Eggleston was an alternate who ended up running in place of injured teammate Alex Groseclose. MATT WARD/FREDERICKSBURGSTANDARD “Our four seniors this year have gotten the program going in the right direction,” he said. “They’ve formed a legacy.”

At Round Rock:

Fries, 17:30, 8th, first team All-State; Marcantel, 17:36, 10th, first team All-State; Henderson, 17:53; Randy Borden, 18:31; Barr, 18:51; Andrew Hardegree, 19:20; and Eggleston, 20:53.

Decorated Members of the Port Aransas High School boys’ cross country team are decorated with medals after taking second place at state competition in Round Rock Saturday, Nov. 12. COURTESY PHOTO BY ROSE MARY FRIES
Getting a lift Members of the Port Aransas High School boys cross country team ride atop a Port Aransas Volunteer Fire Department truck as they are sent off from PAHS to the state meet. STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER
Pride Photographed after getting home in Port Aransas on Saturday, Nov. 12, proud Matt Fries shows the trophy that he and the rest of the Port Aransas High School Marlins won by taking second place at the state cross country meet in Round Rock earlier the same day. STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER