State XC champion signs to Notre Dame

Sanchez+completed+the+signing+ceremony+to+Notre+Dame+on+Wednesday

Sanchez completed the signing ceremony to Notre Dame on Wednesday

Isabel Young, Editor

If senior Kevin Sanchez could be any superhero, it would be The Flash– an unnecessary wish, considering that as of Friday, he’s already been crowned the fastest runner in the state.

But Sanchez’s ambitions don’t end there. After winning the UIL state championship with a time of 15 minutes, 41 seconds, he’s looking to his future: running at Notre Dame.

“It feels amazing to win,” Sanchez said. “We’ve all worked so hard as a team, and then individually, it’s a great way to go out in senior year.”

Sanchez had multiple top-tier colleges show interest throughout his high school career. He has consistently been an athlete to watch– this is his second year as state champion. However, the culture at Notre Dame particularly sparked his interest.

“As soon as I stepped on campus, it just felt like home,” Sanchez said. “It just felt right. And then meeting the team, meeting the new coaches and just getting to really know what Notre Dame is all about really just sold it for me.”

The recruiting process is a lengthy one, and starts long before most students begin applying to colleges. Sanchez committed to Notre Dame in the fall, and signed officially this past Wednesday.

“It’s a really fun process where you get to talk to a bunch of coaches throughout the country,” Sanchez said. “But it’s also just as nerve-wracking as any college decision is. I really had to weigh my options.”

Although Sanchez makes breezing into first place time and time again look easy, it’s anything but. The cross country team is a tight-knit one, and have worked through a multitude of challenges to secure their second place standing at state this past week.

“The COVID year was definitely the biggest challenge for all of us in training,” Sanchez said. “You think of running as a very individual sport, usually, but with cross country and track you really do need your team. It wasn’t until we were all able to meet up again that I really got back into the swing of things.”

Going forward, Sanchez and the rest of the team have the rest of the year to look forward to.

“It doesn’t all end after state,” Sanchez said. “We have the national circuits to go through and then for track it’s essentially just going all out. See what you’re really capable of and try to shoot down some state records while we’re at it.”