By Ken Hansard
Coach Josh Kristalyn, in his eighth year as the head coach at Caney Valley, is understandably optimistic about the prospects for both his girls and boys’ teams this season. The boys are coming off a season that saw them win the Tri-Valley League championship. The Bullpups lost Eli Burk to graduation. Burk, who is planning to run hurdles in track at Oral Roberts, is someone who Coach Kristalyn describes as a vocal leader and someone who modeled great workout etiquette, and he will obviously be missed. But Caney returns two All-League runners and has added another key runner or two to this year’s squad, so there is good reason for optimism.
Key returners for the Bullpups include Cash Brown, who as just a freshman a year ago, was All-League and the individual TVL Champion. Brown was also a State Qualifier, placing 53rd overall – and 5th among all freshmen. Johnny Sproul, who was also just a freshman last year, was an All-League honorable mention. Helping to offset the loss of Burk, the Bullpups landed an unexpected windfall with a couple of move-ins, “Simeon and Reuben Sanchez just moved here and are helping us out. Simeon is threatening our school record and set a new course record at our home meet September 17th.”
On the girls’ side, Maggy Moyer was an All-League Honorable Mention nominee as a sophomore. And as for that optimism, Coach Kristalyn also has reason to be excited about his girls’ team, as he explains, “We didn’t have enough girls last year for a team score, but we do this year, so we are really excited about that.”
Coach Kristalyn, like most good coaches, takes a very pragmatic approach to his coaching philosophy. He emphasizes the journey over the destination – the approach over the results. “We really preach just staying consistent. We need to stay hungry, focused, and healthy. There is no secret ingredient – we just need to put in the work, day in and day out. We tend to shy away from too many outcome goals. Obviously, we want the medals, PR’s, and records, but we know our value as competitors and people isn’t necessarily defined by our outcomes.”
To this point in the season, the team seems to have taken that notion to heart, and the results are a testament to the validity of Coach Kristalyn’s message. At their first meet in Girard, the Bullpups had a total of 23 athletes (boys and girls – high school and junior high) compete. 20 of those runners set new PR’s, and 16 of them medaled. That number includes 11 runners earning top five individual performances – five of those in the top two. The boys placed second out of 16 teams.
At the 3rd Annual Caney Valley “Sprint” Cross Country Meet on September 17th, 22 out of 25 competitors for the Bullpups set PR’s. Caney had 21 medalists, including nine runners who placed in the top five of their races. Luke Heater set a school record in the boy’s cross country one mile event, with a 5:42. Simeon Sanchez set a new course record in the 1.5 mile event with a time of 7:31. The girls placed second overall, while both the junior high and high school boys placed first.
And as for his philosophy and his goals, Coach Kristalyn made certain to reinforce what he really considers a successful season, “We have all won as underdogs and lost as favorites. We just want to be thankful for the opportunity to compete, be in the moment, and enjoy whatever successes we can achieve. Honestly, we just want to work hard together as a team, have fun, and make some memories.”
