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By Art Dlugach

Identical twins. Not quite identical on the race paths of Central Texas, but awfully close. They’ve advanced from freshman upstarts to the leaders of the cross country team. They are just juniors, but there are no seniors on the squad, and they might be at the head of the class, or first to the wire, in any case.

Samantha and Amanda Lopez are impossible (or nearly impossible) to tell apart and, more important, tough competitors to outrun.

"We tried to push ourselves this summer," Samantha said. "We ran six days a week." Her greatest triumph was winning district in the 3200-meter run at Burnet in 2009. The twins were part of the 2008 cross country team which was second at region and second in the state championships.

Amanda ran well in the distance events as a freshman and was a formidable challenger in the 400-and-800-meter races this past spring. "The confidence I gained in track should really help. I want to get to where I can last two miles and compete."

Amanda’s cross country campaign in 2009 was a mess, messed up by injuries to her legs. She still went out there and battled to the finish, and always waiting for her at the end of the journey was Samantha.

"I wanted to make sure she was okay," said Sam. Yes, they’re best friends, and, yes, "We think the same things, come up with the same answers. We have a great relationship," declared….oh, I can’t remember who said that, but I guess that’s not going to get me in big trouble.

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"Samantha has high expectations for herself," head coach Shaun Carter stated. "She has the right work ethic." How has she matured? "Sam came in awfully mature as a freshman. One good thing is it’s hard to improve on how much she works in preparing to put on a strong performance.

"Amanda is showing good signs that she’s feeling a lot better than she did a year ago. She’s responding to this longer distance, and she has the right attitude. It was painful watching her in cross country in ’09, but hopefully, that’ll be forgotten in 2010."

Each school’s top five girls contribute to the team scoring in this sport. It appears right now the twins will run 1-2 for Llano, so, "Being a leader makes me excited," Samantha noted in her usual enthusiastic manner. "I want to know all the girls and their personalities. This is a year for all of us to step up." The team lost Cara Mack to graduation and Midwestern State, so that might make them run faster.

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The Twins’ Angle—Again

Samantha: "She says she’s seven minutes older than I am, but I think it’s really five." Amanda: "We have some disagreements, but we get over that quickly (in, say, five to seven minutes), and we end up being best friends."

Amanda: "People have a tough time telling us apart, but we’re okay with it." Samantha: "Yes, we have some tricks planned when we’re seniors."

This summer and fall, though, coach Carter and LHS supporters believe the Lopez athletes won’t need any tricks to overtake their challengers. They should simply do their best—that will be sufficient, and their foes will receive double trouble.