Two members of the cross country team qualified and competed at the state cross country meet in Round Rock on Nov. 5. Senior Yosef Abdulrazeq placed 41st out of 152 competitors and junior Ava Crisfulli placed 59th out of 152 competitors.
Crisafulli has run on the cross country team since her freshman year and qualified and competed in the state meets for three years.
“I did feel more prepared and knew what to expect [at the meet]. I think this helped my racing strategy and kept me calm,” Crisafulli said.
Despite the challenges of training with COVID-19 protocols last year, the team persevered and worked to improve their previous records this season. Crisafulli plans to commit to a D1 college to run track and cross country before her senior track season.
“Training this year compared to COVID was very different, but in a good way. I loved being back at practice with my team and not having to worry as much about the COVID protocols,” Crisafulli said. “I hope that my senior year is my best year. I hope that I place the best I have and run my best times.”
Abdulrazeq has run on the cross country team all four years and this was the first year he competed in the state meet.
“The feeling of qualifying for state for the first time was amazing, having achieved this goal is one of my biggest achievements while running for Legacy,” Abdulrazeq said. “I wanted to make sure that I pushed myself to the limit no matter the result [of the meet]. All my hard work over the years was leading up to this very moment.”
Although Abdulrazeq will graduate, he believes the team will remain strong. With a promising incoming freshman class and the instruction from Coach Lindsey, Abdulrazeq is confident in their ability to continue to be successful.
“I owe my success to my coach for believing in me and always wanting me to put 100% into what I do and my teammates also played a factor for my success for always being there for me and supporting me along this great season,” Abdulrazeq said. “I think this program will bring more success to this school. Our juniors are ready to lead these kids as seniors next year and [we] also have a great coach that can really make this team an elite program.”
