Marble Falls distance running duo competes at state showcase

Marble Falls distance running duo competes at state showcase Jennifer Fierro Special To The Highlander Tue, 03/19/2024 - 02:20 Image

• Nick Dahl (left) and Tyler Hamblin, seen here at a past event, are the Mustangs' top distance runners. File photo
• Part of being a successful middle-distance runner is being meticulous at when to be aggressive, a trait Marble Falls junior Tyler Hamblin is fine-tuning. Contributed/Coach Chris Schrader
• Marble Falls junior runner Tyler Hamblin is congratulated by his mother, Jennifer, after he competes at the Texas Distance Festival. His cheering section included his dad, Aaron, and sister Savannah. Contributed photo

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Marble Falls distance runners Tyler Hamblin and Nick Dahl spent the last part of their spring breaks challenging themselves by running the Texas Distance Festival hosted by Southlake Carroll High School.

The event was March 15-16.

Marble Falls High School middle-distance running coach Chris Schrader put Hamblin’s finish in perspective.

“Tyler Hamblin roars into the second fastest 1,600-meter time in Marble Falls history with a brilliant 64-second last lap,” he said. “I told him, ‘You really are running fast. That last lap was brilliant.’” Hamblin's finish of 4 minutes and 23.08 seconds is 11 seconds faster than his previous personal best and put him at 60th in the race that drew 800 runners.

“It was such a big race,” he said. “Everyone there was deserving. There was rain and not a lot of coordination. You’re off the track and the next team is already on.”

Dahl clocked 4:34.28 to finish 142nd to set a new personal best.

Hamblin compared this festival to the Texas Relays in terms of the number of athletes there though running at the Texas Relays and the University Interscholastic League’s cross country state meets are more prestigious, he said.

Dahl and Hamblin are the Mustangs’ top distance runners, and Schrader encouraged they run in this showcase for several reasons. The biggest is because this race teaches athletes how to avoid getting stuck behind others or trapped in a group where they can’t go at the speed they want.

“You have to be ultra aggressive,” he said. “I told Tyler, ‘You have elbows. If you have to go, use them.’You know what they say – nice guys fin ish last. I’m the one who told him he had to run this meet. You’ll see that what I’m tell you is working. He takes care of all the details: how much to drink, how much to sleep, eats smart. He takes care of business.”

Hamblin agreed. “You learn how to race,” he said. “What’s it like to run in a pack or everyone running together? It’s easy to get tripped or fall back. It's definitely a learning experience to learn where to move in a close pack.”

Burnet County happens to rule middle-distance running in District 24-4A. Burnet junior Victor Aviles is the defending Class 4A 800-meter state champion and also competes in the 1,600 and has ran the 3,200 meters. The Bulldogs and Lady Dawgs won the 2023 district cross country championship on the varsity and junior varsity divisions.

But the Mustangs won the district title in 2022 and finished as the run ners-up in 2023 led by Hamblin and Dahl.

At the Mustang Relays in late February, Hamblin finished the 3,200 meters in 9:35 for the second or third fastest time in Mustangs’ history. “That’s what we’ve been working on all season,” Schrader said. “We’re going out there with no excuses.”

The coach commended his runners for their willingness to step on the starting line against some of the best runners around, no matter the classification.

“This is the big distance carnival in Texas,” he said. “Kids come out of the woodworks. They had rain all day but luckily, no lightning. That delayed (the start of) the meet about an hour.”

“It was nice to run against people I’ve never run against before,” Hamblin said. “It was nice to see how others race.”

Jennifer Fierro publishes reports about area youth athletic events on her website TexasChalk-Talk.com. To send her a note, email fierrojenni fer@yahoo.com.