Some coaches use running as a punishment. It is not uncommon for a tangible groan to float through the air when an angry coach utters “on the line.” Running as atonement for a failure serves both to correct the behavior and further the conditioning of athletes. The Trinity Prep Boys Varsity Cross Country team is another story—as they make a business of running better, longer and faster than anyone else.
On Oct. 22, Trinity hosted the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class 2A Region 2 District 8 cross country meet… and dominated it. In this meet TPXC took on Lake Highland Preparatory School, Bishop Moore High School (HS), Mount Dora HS, Tavares HS, Montverde Academy, Jones HS and Eustis HS. Trinity’s top seven runners—(in order of finish) senior captain Jesse Millson, senior captain Chas Cook, eighth grader Kayamo Galloway, junior captain Trent Mandato, junior Patrick Salas, eighth grader Mamush Galloway and junior Preston Copenhaver—swept first through seventh place and won the meet with 15 points*. The split between 1st place (Millson) and 7th place (Copenhaver) was just over 20 seconds; the team’s average time was 16:38.
Despite their overwhelming success at the District meet, many of the athletes treated it as nothing more than a tune-up.
“The goal for Districts was to pack-run and sweep, which we did,” Mandato said. “Nobody was going for a personal record (PR) at [that] meet.”
The very next week, on Oct. 31, TPXC continued its winning ways at the Regional meet at the Ocala-Florida Horse Park. Here the team battled the likes of Hernando HS, Eastside HS, The Villages HS, Ridgewood HS, Nature Coast Tech, Citrus HS, Taylor Middle-HS, Newberry HS, Trinity Catholic HS and Keystone Heights HS.
To say the team won would be an understatement, as the team swept first through sixth place as well as having a runner finish in 12th place. For the second time in two weeks, the team received the lowest possible score, a 15. This time around, the split between 1st and 12th place was 41.5 seconds, and the team average was a 16:30.
Again, the team stuck to its motto, “One team, one stride,” as it group-ran and breezed its way through regionals.
At 10:25 am on Nov. 7, Trinity’s top seven took on 24 teams in the FHSAA Class 2A State meet hosted by Florida State University at Apalachee Regional Park. Five kilometers of arduous running later, they were crowned champions. Cook finished 1st with a 15:53.49; K. Galloway 3rd with a 16:02.86; Mandato 8th with a 16:19.36; Salas 13th with a 16:41.43 and Millson 19th with a 16:37.58. The top five averaged a 16:16 and the team scored 40 points. Bishop Kenny took 2nd place with 89 points. It wasn’t even close.
“Every guy went full throttle the whole race,” Cook said. “According to workouts and previous races, it could’ve been any one of our top five guys.”
On Nov. 21, the boys took the course in Lexington, Kentucky for the 2015 Small High School (less than 700 students) Cross Country Coaches National Youth Championships. Due to FHSAA regulations, the team was running as a club team: Avery Creek Running Club (ACRC). Led by Millson—who ran a personal record time of 15:36.26 and won the meet individually—ACRC won the meet with a score of 20 points. Trinity’s high school runners (excluding the Galloway brothers) swept 1st through 4th place, as well as placing runners 10th, 13th and 18th. The team’s top five average was 15:51.50.
ACRC took on the Nike Cross Nationals 2015 Southeast regional meet in Cary, N.C. on Nov. 28 and placed 2nd. They will travel to Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, ORE. on Dec. 5.
Amazingly, the win at States was Trinity’s third state championship in a row. But how could a school of a meager 550 students be so dominant for such an extended period of time?
Maybe we just have better runners. However, when asked if that was the root of their prolonged success, many of the boys responded that it isn’t the runners themselves that are special—though they most certainly are—but the dynamic between them.
“I think our friendship makes us a successful team,” K. Galloway said. “We spend a lot of time together. We hang out after practice and on weekends.”
The cross country team’s friendships were forged in foreign ways to the pedestrian onlooker. Their bonds were forged not by similar taste in music or video games, but by miles run and strengthened with every step.
“To me this team is my family,” senior Dylan Havlicek said. “The team is really a family of brothers pushing each other to be our best. They have had a significant impact on my life.”
Maybe it is the coaching that makes the team so successful. Chaplain “Chappie” Ken Vinal has been coaching cross country since 2000 and has won classification coach of the year three times and state coach of the year twice.
“I spent my first four-five years learning about coaching distance runners from books,
seminars and from other coaches,” he said.
Vinal not only coaches his team to perfection, but also inspires his athletes.
“Chappie is a great coach, and we would not be where we are without him,” Millson said.
A large chunk of the team’s success can certainly be attributed to how Vinal has built an experienced and cohesive unit in the cross country program. This year’s team is lead by three well-seasoned captains: Millson, Cook and Mandato.
“I am fortunate enough to coach a team that continued to work hard,” Vinal said. “I am proud of how the captains and seniors lead a somewhat young team, the majority of which are 10th grade or younger.”
The outstanding knowledge of these three long-time competitive runners has rubbed off on the rest of the team because of the extensive amount of time they spend together. Millson, a Trinity runner since sixth grade, acknowledges that the team spends almost every day of the year together.
“I became a successful coach when I changed my attitude to be positive, enthusiastic and that I was blessed by God with the best bunch of runners a coach could ever want,” Vinal said.
Despite the formidable stature of the three in-place leaders, captaincy on the cross country team—while still of key importance—does not work the same way it does in many other sports.
“The role of captain is not anything super special because everyone on the team can be a leader,” Mandato said. “However, I do believe that one of the reasons why we are so good arises from having great captains and leaders year after year.”
While all of these factors play a role in the making of a championship-level program, it is the combination of them that puts TPXC over the top.
“I guess it’s just how we go about doing things that separates us from the crowd,” Millson said.
Astonishingly, even with all of this—the back-to-back-to-back state titles, the exceptionally talented runners, superior coaching and wealth of experience—Trinity’s cross country team seems to go under the radar all too often. How?
“Why do we not get talked about as much as other teams?” Mandato asked. “I guess the answer is a question. Has anyone ever turned on ESPN and seen the highlights of a big race the night before? Running is a sport that does not get much publicity at any level, and we are fine with that.”
Our runners know that they will likely never get the glory some other athletes enjoy, but that does not affect their competitive drive. They run for themselves and for each other.
A trademark of the cross country team that also lends itself to their seeming anonymity is the humility of the runners. You will not hear a runner running his jaw about how spectacular his times are; you would be more likely to find him talking quietly with his team about the events of the school day.
Even the individual state champion Cook does not fall into this trap of showmanship.
“I can only accredit my win to the guys who helped me through the past months of training,” Cook said.
And they aren’t done winning. Though Trinity loses four seniors this coming year in Millson, Cook, Havlicek and Jacob Goldberg, the future is bright for TPXC. The team currently has three juniors and two eighth graders rounding out its top seven beside Millson and Cook.
“We will lose two of our top seven,” K. Galloway said. “They are both captains, but I believe that Trent, Patrick and Preston will fill their spots perfectly.”
Next year’s top seven looks to be composed of Mandato, Salas, Copenhaver, the Galloways and sophomores Ricky Woodruff and Trent Turbyfill.
“The goal of a captain is to leave the team better than you found it and make sure the team will be able to win once you leave,” Millson said. “There are so many great runners on this team and that will be very clear in the next couple years. TPXC is just getting started and will only get better.”
Cross Country Scoring*
A cross country meet is scored in a very simple way. Each team sends out its seven fastest runners and their top five 5k finishers are awarded points. 1st place gets 1 point, 2nd place gets 2 points, etc. Judges then tally up each team’s five-runner point total, and the team with the lowest total is declared the winner.
