Heart racing, breathing fast, and the steady sound of running shoes hitting the pavement – this is what senior Josh King loves. King is on the boys’ varsity cross-country team, also known as Boss Cross, at Steinbrenner, and recently broke one of Steinbrenner’s records.
On Sept. 28, King participated in the Don Bishop Invitation and ran in the 5k, which is a very challenging race.
“We had a good start and the conditions were good, it’s really tough running a 5k, and very mentally challenging. So I just set myself up for success in my mind and did it,” said King.
King actually didn’t start out in Boss Cross. His first year he joined the track team after moving here from Kentucky, then switched over to cross country sophomore year.
“Summer mileage really helps build a base for training. For me, it’s staying healthy,” said King.
King has had multiple injuries such as stress fractures in his freshman and sophomore years, so making sure he remains healthy is a key component to breaking the school record, and running towards a state championship.
King broke the 5k record, which was formally held by Matt Mcgee by six seconds, running a 15:50. However, King would not be surprised if someone else on Boss Cross broke his record before the end of the season.
Even with all the work he puts into cross-country, he makes time for his academics.
“You need to time manage, but the practice is a lot of fun and I like it, we were the GPA state champions last year, so Boss Cross, we really show that you can have time management skills,” said King.
King shows by setting this school record that he can manage school and sports. King continues to succeed and can possibly break even more records this season by staying healthy and continuing to train hard all year round.
Savannah Rude // Staff Writer