Allen Community College cross country coach Vince DeGrado didn’t beat around the bush when talking about the importance of the season-opening Tramec Fall Classic cross-country meet.
“They have to let go of high school and thinking you have to run fast at every single event,” DeGrado said. “It is hard for a lot of freshmen to let go of that. You have to be able to run a race and basically not care.”
His team did a workout before the event started and DeGrado was very open before the meet with how little the results of these early season contests mean in the grand scheme of where both his teams could be headed.
“I need to get the volume in and I told them that,” DeGrado said. “We did a workout and it wasn’t anything terribly hard, but some of our girls aren’t in shape yet to handle a workout and a race yet physically or mentally.”
With all that being said, it is nice to win and the Red Devils managed to do that despite the obstacles that their coach put in front of them with the workout.
“Obviously my ego wants them to win, but my ego is different than my realistic coaching side,” DeGrado said. “The coaching side just says let’s get some volume in, get a good workout and get back to training again. My ego wants to win everything.”
The Red Devil men cruised to a win over Cowley College — DeGrado’s former school — in the team race. Ricardo Banuelos and Philip Langmann finished 1-2 as individuals with Banuelos running a 15:50.07 and Langmann finishing with a 16:17.5.
Freshman Paul Becker — sixth — rounded out the Allen top-ten runners.
The women also top the top-two places in their race with Kaitlyn Shoemaker turning in a 14:49.76 and Abby Steinhauser running a 15:25.96.
Vicky Ibarra finished seventh. Gemma Gonzalez and Hannah Johnson to 10th and 11th to round out the scoring runners, but Allen was edged in the team standings by Cowley and had to settle for second.
“It is what it is,” DeGrado said. “That is my former school, I don’t want them to beat me, just as much as they don’t want me to beat them. I’ve basically kicked their (butt) the last five years since I left… I’m not worried. I guess a younger person than myself would be worried but I’m not. It is really early.”
The Red Devils were without one of their to female runners Kristina Silvers with a sore shin.
Red Devil men win home event
