Monday, December 9, 2024
Azle students, teachers and coaches were recognized at a recent Azle Independent School District board of trustees meeting. The meeting Nov. 18 highlighted the achievements of the Azle High School cross-country team.
“This particular group, I've always thought they're one of those programs, or one of those sports that if you're willing to get up the way that they do and train year round in the summer months, fall, the winter, the spring, do what they do on a consistent basis in order to be and hit the level of success that they were able to get to this season it is truly remarkable,” Athletic Director Michael Sain said of the cross country team. “If these young people do this right now as teenagers, there's no telling how successful they're going to be through the course of their life. They'll just take that same work ethic into everything else that they do. I so very, very much admire their courage and their dedication.”
Not present were the school’s junior varsity runners. Head Coach Keith Boenisch noted their accomplishment as well, expressing optimism for the program’s future.
“This year, we had an individual girl that was the overall district champion,” Boenisch said. “They gave medals out to the top 20 in both JV races and varsity races. We had 12 girls make the top 20 and we had nine boys make the top 20. So, we took, like half the medals up there. We had a great season with him, 90% of them are sophomores and freshmen, so they're all coming up, and they're going to be with us for another two or three years. So, for us, the future looks very bright. With Coach Sain, I admire and respect what our kids do and what we ask them to do. We train year-round. They're not excited about tomorrow, because we give them three weeks off, and tomorrow we start back to work.”
Boenisch described the students running from Monday through Friday at 7 a.m. for two hours every week of the summer. AHS has a tradition of great runners going back to the 1970s and the school still holds its own against bigger 5A and 6A schools, he said. The boys’ varsity team placed second in its district and 17th at its regional contest. The girls’ team was also runner-up at district and placed sixth at the regional contest.
The Marching Green Pride was also recognized for achieving a unanimous First Division rating at its UIL region marching contest and placing seventh at the Area 5A finals. Azle ISD Fine Arts Director David Wright introduced student leadership of the high school’s Marching Green Pride to the school board, noting their accomplishments in making it to the area competition this season.
“The success of our program is a direct result of the unwavering support of our parents, teachers, administration and the entire Azle community. Your encouragement and your support have made it possible for our students to achieve at such remarkable heights,” Wright said.
