Coach West has high hopes for his Cross-Country team for this upcoming season. His plans for this year's season is to decrease his runners time and take his men and women’s team to state. Coach West knows what it takes to get his runners where they need to be to succeed as he has coached 11 years at Heavener. He quotes, “ I feel like we have a long way to go, but as the season goes, we will maintain the same success we have done for the past few years.” 

         Cactus Shipman, a cross country runner who has been running for 3 years, quoted this when I asked what his plans were for the season, “I want to be the best that I can be and improve while beating my personal records.” He knows that it takes time to improve and has no problem putting in the hard work it takes to make it to state. In his 3-year running career, Cactus has made it state 2 of the 3 years he has competed. His advice to the new cross-country runners is, “Listen to Coach West”

LIz Chitwood is on the ladies’ side of the cross-country team. She has been running for 2 years and has accomplished going to state once and hopes to make it again this year. Her plans for the upcoming season are to improve and get to where she needs to be. She is not afraid of putting in the hard work and dedication it takes to beat her own personal records. Her advice to the new cross-country runners is, “ Stay hydrated, listen to Coach West, and when you practice actually run because you will regret it if you don’t. Don’t do anything halfway and it’s always good to show off.” She is optimistic about the cross-country team and claims, “We can do it, we are going to make it!” 

Coach West has coached many athletes in his years at Heavener High School. He wants to see his runners succeed and meet their goals, especially in their senior year. Seniors can get scholarships by running this sport. Coach West is all about wanting to help his seniors further career by going to college and running on a scholarship. One example is a 2019 senior graduate Maliek Lira who signed with Carl Albert State College. Maliek ran all 4 years of high school and accomplished going to state all 4 of those years. He chose to run cross-country simply because all his friends were doing it at the time. When I asked Maliek what he does to train for cross-country during the season, he said,” Just run during practice, run extra miles after practice, drink milk, and eat cookies.”  Maliek is an example of what can come of working hard and running this sport. His advice to the cross-country team now is, “ Stay in shape, practice, and keep your pace. Stay committed and remember to drink lots of water. Real athletes stretch five times a day. Don’t eat too much McDonald’s after every run. Most of all, believe in yourself and your teammates and push them to do better.”