October 27th, 2011
SMA cross country team wraps-up season at state

San Marcos Academy Coach Adrien Thom with students Rebecca Cox, Carl Rindahl, Caroline Roberts and Aliah Ridge. All four students posted personal best times at the State 3-A TAPPS meet in Waco on Oct. 22. PHOTO via SAN MARCOS BAPTIST ACADEMY

All four members of the San Marcos Baptist Academy cross country team posted personal records at the State 3-A TAPPS meet at Baylor University in Waco Oct. 22.

Freshman Carl Rindahl of San Marcos finished in 28th place in the 4800 meter race with a time of 18:06, which was 30 seconds faster than his previous best time. In the field of 133, Rindahl was the fourth fastest freshman in the race and the seventh fastest freshman in all of the TAPPS state meets (1A-5A) this year.

“Last year, my time would have put me in 7th place overall at the state 3A meet,” Rindahl said. “The competition was really strong this year, but I exceeded my personal goal, which was to get below 18:30.”

For the Lady Bears, junior Caroline Roberts of Port Aransas had the highest finish at state, coming in 39th place, while junior Aliah Ridge of San Marcos also finished in the top 50. Junior Rebecca Cox of San Marcos also had a personal best in the 3200 meter race.

Rindahl has run well for the Bears all season. Competing on the junior varsity level, he finished in the top five in four different meets, including a first place finish at the Lexington ISD Small School Showdown Sept. 10. He also had a 13th place finish in one varsity-level meet.

“I’ve always enjoyed running,” Rindahl said. “I started competing at SMA in 7th grade by running long-distance races in track and then competed in cross country when I was in 8th grade.”

To improve his form, Rindahl said he has worked with Olympic gold medalist Charles Austin at his So High Sports & Fitness Studio. Rindahl also credits SMA cross country coach Adrien Thom with helping him learn how to pace himself and when to break out of the pack in a

With the cross country season behind him, Rindahl said he will now concentrate on basketball, another sport at which he excels, and he will compete in the two-mile run when track season begins in the spring. Rindahl also stays busy in other areas of SMA student life, serving as vice president of the Freshman Class and vice president of the National Junior Honor Society. He is also the highest ranking freshman cadet in the JROTC program.

If Rindahl senses another Bear runner close on his heels one day, it could very well be his younger brother, Matthew, a 7th grader at SMA, who has had his own success in cross country this year. Matthew recently finished in eighth place individually at the CALSA district tournament, in which the SMA middle school took this year’s championship trophy.