By T. Scott Boatright
Many long distance runners call the sport their lifeblood.
That might be true for Ruston High School junior Lily Garrett, but the fact that running is also in her bloodlines doesn’t hurt, either.
Last year Garrett was All-District and All-Region selection in both cross country and track, finishing 16th in the state championship meet while also being a member of the RHS girls’ 4×800 relay team that finished third in the state indoor track and field championship.
She said she started running in the first grade before realizing in the seven grade that it was something she wanted to make a big part of her future.
“That’s when I got more serious about it,” Garrett said. ““Running is definitely a part of me. I would be lost without it. There might be some times I might briefly feel I hate it … but it’s part of my daily routine and I love it.”
Her father, longtime Lincoln Parish coach Bob Garrett, was a runner and football standout at Jonesboro-Hodge High School before moving on to Louisiana Tech, where he played behind center for two years for the Bulldogs football team before his collegiate athletic career was cut short by injury.
Garrett’s mother Karen was also a sprinter in high school, and her mom’s dad, Edwin Davis, was also a track standout at RHS and then Tech. She admits her parents and grandfather have provided inspiration.
“My pop (Davis) running track and being so good at it definitely inspires me,” Garrett said.
RHS Cross Country coach Dustin Cochran realizes that running truly is in Garrett’s blood.
“You know who her daddy is,” Cochran said. “She definitely has his genetics and her mama’s daddy, Dr. (Edwin) Davis, was our school record holder in the 400 at Ruston, too. So she’s got it on both sides. We’ve always looked at her and known that she’s really got a shot to be pretty good. She just had to mature, grow up and start putting it together. She had to realize that, ‘Hey, I’m pretty good.”
Garrett first showed flashes of her running ability last year before opening the 2021 Cross Country on Sept. 11 and taking first place at Episcopal’s 43rd Round Table Run with a time of 18:40.23.
“Last year she got off to a great start and opened up with a run of 19:38,” Cochran said. “So to come in this year and open nearly a minute ahead at 18:40 against some of the best competition in Louisiana shows just how hard she’s worked. We’re pretty happy with it.”
Garrett led most of that race but admitted she wasn’t sure what to expect going in.
“It was a lot of fun,” Garrett said about the race. “I didn’t really know what to expect going into it, but I knew that I wanted to compete and be in the front. But I wasn’t really expecting to go out there and win necessarily. But it was fun to go out there and do that.”
Garrett said she took a minute or two to gauge her competition before making her move in the Sept. 11 race.
“The girl that got second place from St. Joe’s, she took off and led for about half a mile and then I passed her,” Garrett said. “I didn’t want to get out in the front and die in the beginning. So I got out and let her take the lead and then I started realizing I was feeling good so I decided to take the lead.
Cochran said the growth in Garrett’s mental approach toward running has been key in her increasing performances.
“Last year she started to come into her own and realize that she could run pretty fast,” Cochran said. “She had some really good early meets but at the end I think she might have started thinking too much and got ancy about it — nervous. So the year didn’t end as well as you wanted it to. So this year she knows what she needs and wants to do so that when we make it to November, that’s when the fast times come as opposed to October or even September, where in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter.
Before the race at Episcopal on Sept. 11, you could see that she was still a little unsure that she was going to do well. The last thing I told her before they lined up was, ‘Don’t be afraid to go win.’ So when she went to the front, she made a move and just went with it. That’s all it took for that one.”
Now Cochran waits to see what comes next from his budding star runner.
“I don’t know what her ceiling is,” Cochran said. “It’s going to be about keeping things in perspective and taking it day by day, week by week. We’ve got the long term plan put out. Now we just have to get there. By the time she’s a senior I see no reason why she can’t be one of the best ones to come through Ruston High for sure. And if she does things right and we take her to some bigger meets nationally, who knows? It’s hard to say. But the potential is there and we definitely hope she ends up doing very well. She’s on the right track right now.”
Increasing leadership has been part of Garrett’s mental growth according to her head coach.
“She’s evolved every year,” Cochran said. “When she first got here she was very quiet, Very timid and shy. Then last year she was still shy. But this year I’ve noticed that she doesn’t mind pulling along the other girls or telling them ‘this is what it takes’ or ‘I’m doing this, you need to be sure you’re handling your part as well.’ She’s evolving into a leader. They’re really kind of feeding off it.”
Garrett said she’s also excited about the spring track season at RHS and thinking about what her future could have in store.
“I love track,” Garrett said. “My first year we didn’t get to do it because of COVID. But I loved last year and especially the relays because you’re doing it with your teammates. So you don’t celebrate yourself only, you celebrate with your team and that’s a lot more fun. I’m just trying to keep motivated and stay strong for the rest of this season and see just how far I can take it. I would love to run in college, and hopefully be the top runner at state and finish strong.”
Garrett’s next cross country race will come Saturday as she and her teammates participate in the Wallace Martin Invitational at Lincoln Parish Park.
Photo: Amy Vessel
