The magnificent Tradition continued on a cold day that was accompanied by winds, which made you wish for August. Well, almost wish.

The Llano Ladies finished second in state for Class 3A at the Cross Country championships, November 15.

The fivesome who contributed to the scoring included a youngster who did not live in Texas last year, a freshman, two veteran seniors, and another veteran about to graduate— but she was anything but a household name until she began showing dozens of opponents what the back of her jersey looked like, beginning with the season’s first meet, August 30.

Cara Mack, the Kansas transplant, said: “I really improved over last year, and my time at state (12 minutes, 19.26 seconds for two miles) was seven seconds faster than at regionals.” Nervous? “Not at all once we began.” She was 19th overall and the first in Black and Orange to cross the wire.

“We’ve come a long way since the summer,” head coach Dan Hughes stated. “Some thought we couldn’t win district; the kids worked hard and were dedicated, big time.”

The Lady Jackets were crowned 8-3A champions, October 29, and were second to Decatur in the Region I meet, November 8. Decatur and Llano were also 1-2 at state.

Hughes, whose teams were sixth in Class 3A in 2006 and fourth in ’07, may become the most sought-after coach this side of Mike Leach.

“We were told to push through the wind,” freshman Samantha Lopez declared, “and I did, and I passed a couple of girls.” More than a couple—she was 25th, out of a field of close to 110, and about five seconds behind Mack.

Kaily Timmons is the senior who surprised some people when she was the first Jacket to conclude her run at the Llano Invitational, August 30.

Solid performances followed including a gallop of 12 minutes, 30.77 seconds at Old Settlers Park (near Dell Diamond) on Saturday.

She was 29th in the vast canvass and told reporters: “Sometimes athletes peak early, maybe their sophomore or junior years, but I worked really hard in the summer, and this was my best year. I have to tell you, I never saw it coming.” This was Timmons’ fourth, and last, state workout at Old Settlers.

“We ran earlier in the week in the rain,” Lauren Parker observed, “and I believe that type of bad weather helped us handle the wind.” Parker was 41st among the 3A competitors.

“If you have faith and keep training, keep positive, then everything works out for you, and you can go a lot farther than you thought you could.” (And her athletic day wasn’t done—please see the basketball story.)

Dan Hughes often talks about the importance of running in a pack, and Cara Mack noted, “I heard people calling, ‘Go Llano! Go Sam! Go Amanda!’ so I knew we were close together.”

Hard-working Amanda Lopez (Samantha’s twin), and reliable Jenna Farris did not figure in the scoring, but they’ll figure in the future for a school, which won state in 2000 and was runner-up in ’04.

This story concludes with Chelsea Montgomery. Like other members of the squad, for four years, she’s been attacking the running paths, behind the high school, in the dark at 6:00 am. One more step, one more mile, five more miles.

Montgomery had enough injuries and illnesses in ’08 to get a callback for Grey’s Anatomy.

She’s no longer the fastest Lady Jacket, but she delivered her final strides in the middle of the lengthy 3A entry list.

It was her tenth time to tackle Old Settlers with four of those efforts in the state meet, and she was fifth on the Llano roll call, meaning she helped the school claim the Silver Medal.

“Everyone was really on their game,” Chelsea mentioned.

“It is such an honor to be here; it is so much greater to accomplish something like this with a team that worked so hard to get here. It’s a privilege to be surrounded by so many wonderful people.”