by Malcolm Butler
In late March, Toni Martinez took over the reins of the Cedar Creek varsity track and field program.
At that time, there were only nine participants; five girls and four boys.
Fast forward just over a month and the Lady Cougars won the District 1-1A title and the boys finished fourth with a combined total of 31 competitors representing the school.
“You have to have something special inside of you to be apart of the track team,” said Martinez. “It’s a mixture of grit, guts, and whole lot of heart. These athletes showed up everyday with a championship mindset! And it paid off dividends in the end.”
With the district title in girls track and field, the Cedar Creek female teams ended quite the athletic year with basketball, powerlifting, softball and track and field all securing the crown.
“These athletes have such a fun vibe around them,” said Martinez. “It started to become contagious. Week after week more people showed up to the track. They wanted to be a part of what was happening.
“That’s a tribute to their work ethic and positive energy. Against all odds, we started with nine athletes and ended with 31 in the district meet.”
And take it a step further and a number of the Lady Cougar competitors earned a spot on the podium at the state Class A meet late last week.
Junior Taylor Martinez finished second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:27.73, less than a half second behind St. Frederick’s Bradie Eppinette.
Junior Caroline James earned a third place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 8-11.50, trailing only a pair of Highland Baptist Christian School competitors.
And the Cedar Creek 4×400 meter relay team comprised of Martinez, James, Ella Robinson and Gabby Smith finished third with a time of 4:14.83, behind only teams from Southern Lab and Hamilton Christian.
