John Raffel
Sports Scene
Alex Giles wouldn’t mind having a memorable cross country season for Breckenridge as a senior. He’s headed in the right direction.
Giles’ season has been a 17:45.4 at the Gratiot County Cross Country meet. He was first. He was second at a MSAC jamboree in 18:15.
He’s coming off a strong junior season when he had a PR of 17:07.2 at the Alma College Scottie Classic. He was eighth in 17:27.0, at the regional meet and 69th in 17:46.4 at the Division 4 state final.
“We have a system, and we go through that system with training during the summer,” he said. “The hay’s in the barn. Now all we have to do is a little more speed work hard, stay healthy and trust the system, it usually comes through. Trust the coach and the training.”
Giles had also competed at the state finals as a sophomore and was 80th in Division 4. A highlight for him that season was going as a team.
Usually in a race, it’s Giles’ strategy to stay back in the first mile and let the other guy lead.
“I’ll trust the system,” he said. “Using my summer miles, I can push the pace in the second mile. In the third mile, training is all you have. You have to give it everything. The rest is heart.”
He’s been running cross country since sixth grade.
Going to the state finals as a team, “is a very big goal,” Giles said. “That’s something we discuss very often. We’re looking good this year. We have a lot of young talent.
“Individually, I’m being realistic. The state championship seems a little out of reach. Top 20 or top 15 is what I have my sights on.”
Giles also runs the distances in track.
“I prefer cross county,” he said. “I do a lot of trail running at home in the woods and down sand roads. It’s what I’m used to. I like the energy of it all.”
Giles said this Breckenridge team is close to what the Huskies had in his sophomore season.
“Right now, it’s not the best team I’ve been on, but it’s very close,” Giles said.