From flippers to spikes
Lady Tiger runners added swimming to training
When the A&M Consolidated girls missed the state cross country meet a couple of years ago, it hit coach Rodney Wellmann hard enough to make him contemplate jumping into the deep end of the pool.
That is what the Lady Tigers did, adding a heavy dose of swimming to their training regimen. Wellmann believes that is one of the reasons his young team qualified for Saturday's state meet in Round Rock.
Consol's girls will run in the Class 5A championships that start at 10 a.m. at Old Settlers Park. It is the sixth trip to state in eight years for the Lady Tigers.
Wellmann, a former Consol distance runner, made some changes in his coaching philosophy after his 2005 team failed to get past regionals. Wellmann added swimming to the training methods and put more emphasis on rest and diet.
"This group of girls kind of went through some changes with me," Wellmann said. "I kind of got stuck in the mentality that some things had always worked, and it always will work. The fact of the matter is we were having too many injuries, too many stress fractures, and it wasn't working."
Consol's girls too often competed in regional and state meets without some of their fastest runners, whose bodies had broken down under the constant pounding of training and competing.
The Lady Tigers began to swim twice a week, usually swimming laps for 45 minutes. They added the pool work to their summer workouts for the first time this year.
"This year, we have everybody healthy, and - fingers crossed - everybody's going to be well," Wellmann said. "Another thing we've really talked about, especially this last year, is taking care of your body, getting plenty of sleep. We have girls that are in the top 10 percent of their class who stay up until midnight or 1 a.m. doing homework. We've really talked more about time management, where they have to get sleep, stretch more and eat healthy. I think it's finally sinking in and the girls are buying into it."
The Consol girls earned their trip to state by finishing third at the Region II meet last weekend. The Lady Tigers scored 75 points, 11 behind College Park and one behind The Woodlands.
Consol will take a young team to state, with Kenda Carroll the only senior. The other members of the top seven - Jordan Bettiol, Sally Hays, Keri Wood, Morgan Hartmann, Katy Williams and Jenn Barrick - will be back next year. Consol's top finishers at regional were freshman Bettiol and sophomore Hays.
"This team has the whole package," Wellmann said. "They've got the dedication to running, the love for the sport and the camaraderie. You can coach for a long time and not get to be a part of something like this.
"They're the most consistent team I've ever had. Also, this is the smallest gap we've ever had between 1 and 5. It was 24 seconds at the district meet. That's amazing."
Cross country observers expect the girls 5A race to be wide open. Wellmann said Kingwood, Cinco Ranch and Keller are considered favorites to claim the team medals, with Consol among a group that includes Southlake Carroll, Clear Lake, College Park and The Woodlands that could battle for fourth or slip into medal contention.
The Lady Tigers finished seventh at state last year.
"I believe a fifth-place finish or better would be great progression, and next year I think it would be feasible to talk about winning a medal," Wellmann said.
The other Brazos Valley teams at the state meet will be the Brenham boys in 4A and the Cameron girls in 3A. Both teams finished second at their regional meets.
n Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.