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By Art Dlugach

WIMBERLEY-- It’s a start—a real good start for Marcos Vallejo, the Llano High junior who may be the only athlete in Texas upset with an All-State year. And he was just that in 2009, but he didn’t achieve the triumphs he thought he should garner, and others questioned him, too, about his drop-off from his freshman campaign.

So, with the prologue behind us, we’ll tell you Vallejo finished a fine fifth in a field of 114 talented youngsters—numerous Class-4A or 5A or private school students—at the Wimberley Invitational, August 28. It was the first cross country meet of the year.

"I think I could have done better," Marcos mentioned. "I was among the two or three leaders for about half the race, but I didn’t hold on. I need to believe in myself more."

The best belief about this performance is Vallejo, the two-time district champion in two tries, and third in state in cross country in 2008, had trouble completing—in style—the two-mile races in the spring on the track. That was not an issue at Wimberley on a three-mile course. "I’m not tired," Marcos assured his listener after the event. He rushed home in 15 minutes, 22 seconds, in the usual heat of a late-summer Texas morning, and no one from a 3A school or below beat him.

"He’s worked hard since the end of school and this month in official practices," head coach Shaun Carter said. "He’s mad at himself, actually, but fifth is remarkable against state-level competition. He was running against some beasts." Well, we won’t tell the moms that.

Marcos: "I’m trying way harder to get better, and that’s the answer. I can’t have another season like I had last year."

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There are other boys to talk about, and the news is real good here, too. "All four of them improved on their times posted at Wimberley in 2009," Carter declared.

Zach Curliss was the fastest of the quartet. He delivered the mail in 17 minutes, 10 seconds, a whopping three minutes quicker than his showing in ’09. "I was happy the team did well," Zach pointed out. "I was a little nervous but not too much," and he had been in Comanche the night before with the Black and Orange band. He probably got four hours sleep—not your standard training number.

"Curliss is getting the mindset he can do it," Carter continued. "He’s a great athlete, and he’s got to know that—that’s what’s been missing."

Brooks Lewis, who is all smiles whether he establishes a PR or beats darkness, had to be beaming even more after 17-33 eclipsed his Wimberley pastime by a minute. "I couldn’t relax at the start," Brooks noted, "but I settled down as the race got underway."

Five boys contribute to the team total, and that’s how many Jackets were in uniform long before the sun took over the day shift from the moon. Jake Rodriguez (18’44") and Trevor Parker (19 minutes) were the sophomores who met the challenge, and the team was third among Class 1-2-and-3A entries.

"We stress to the guys to beat one more person in front of you," Carter explained, "maybe one more each week. We want to build that competitive nature, and we’ll be prepared for district in a couple of months.

"All the boys are doing the right things, and that pays off in the end."