ELLINWOOD — In his junior cross-country season, Ellinwood High School’s Pedro Montoya went undefeated in meets right up until the Class 2A state meet at Wamego.
Montoya finished runner-up to Ness City’s Dray Carson.
That was last year.
Now, Montoya is gearing up for his senior campaign, and said he wants to take another shot at a perfect season.
“My goal is to get first in every race and go undefeated,” Montoya said. “I tried that last year. I fell short at state. Hopefully, I can do it this year, and finish it off.”
Montoya said that Carson isn’t really his main concern heading into the season.
“He’s just like any other athlete,” Montoya said. “I’m just trying to look forward to the race, trying to get my mind straight and not worry about much.”
Montoya finished with a time of 16 minutes, 25.1 seconds at the state meet.
Since then, Montoya became Ellinwood’s first individual state track and field champion in 22 years, winning the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:30.98. He won two gold medals at Wichita State University’s Cessna Stadium, the other as a part of the Eagles 4x800 relay team.
While winning an individual state cross-country title is on his mind, Montoya said what he wants most is his team to win the crown for the third straight year.
“We want to try to go for the three-peat,” Montoya said. “Hopefully, with God’s help, we can do this. We’ve got three seniors and we really want this. This is our last year to put in some work for our high school. I’m hungry for another title.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing my team. We’ve been improving a whole bunch. Kyle (Oglesbee) has stepped up a bunch. He’s right there with me.”
Eagles head coach Lyles Lashley said Montoya is as focused as ever.
“He had a great summer,” Lashley said. “His workouts have been going well. We’re looking forward to watching the race this week.
“It’s always nice to see the hard work pay off for him. I always say that each year, and hopefully, he can keep the momentum going.”
Ellinwood opens its season on Thursday at the Great Bend Invitational at Barton Lake. The invite kicks off at 3 p.m. with the freshmen, followed by junior varsity and varsity squads.