Published: November 07, 2009 11:54 pm      

Huntsville senior runs his way to state meet

LaDay turns in best time ever at Region III meet

Huntsville’s Jeremy LaDay can’t put his running shoes on the shelf yet. He’s got one more race to run before he can start playing basketball full-time.

On Saturday in Humble, the senior ran a personal-best time of 16:33 at the Class 4A Region III cross country meet and finished seventh in the boys race. That earned LaDay a spot in the Class 4A state meet, which will be held Saturday in Round Rock.

“Jeremy was excited, but he was more tired than anything,” Huntsville cross country coach Kathy Lehman said. “He was excited because he moved up a rank and finished seventh.”

LaDay, whose previous best time was a 16:35 turned in on the same course, kept a steady pace Saturday in the 5-kilometer race. He stayed in the hunt for a top 10 finish for most of the race.

“He ran between eighth and 11th place for most of the race. At the end of the race, he moved up to seventh,” Lehman said. “I’m excited for Jeremy. He’s a basketball player, that’s his passion. He does cross country because he’s good at it and he hopes colleges will see what an all-around athlete he is.”

LaDay, a starter for the Hornets’ varsity basketball team, has been pulling double duty the past couple of weeks. He’s been practicing with his basketball teammates in the gym after school. He has also been staying in shape for cross country on the track outside Huntsville High School.

“We’ll have one good workout this coming week,” Lehman said, “then we’ll taper down and get him ready for state. We’ll go over to Round Rock on Friday and run the course like we did at regionals today. On Saturday, he’ll be ready to go.”