The career paths of Griffith seniors Thomas Perez and Trinity Austin have been intertwined from their first days as distance runners.
They both started cross country as sixth-graders, following the paths forged by older siblings. They entered high school when the boys and girls teams at Griffith both struggled to field a full varsity lineup.
And on Saturday, they’ll both look to extend their high school careers for one more week when they compete at the New Prairie Semistate.
“Earlier in the season, I wasn’t as adamant about getting to bed early or eating all of the right stuff,” Perez said. “But I definitely have been in the postseason.”
Austin attributed her success to a similar emphasis on her individual performance.
“I’ve been more focused on myself this year,” she said. “And not worrying about any other outside sources … just doing what I know I can do.”
Perez will be looking for his first state berth, Austin her fourth. That’s one of the few differences between the two athletes who’ve been their team’s top runners since arriving as freshmen.
“Watching them grow as leaders has been the biggest thing,” Griffith coach Shannon Scheidel said. “We had a big team this year. With me being the only coach, they stepped up because, sometimes, they don’t want to listen to me, but they’ll listen to Thomas and Trinity.”
With Austin and Perez leading the way, Griffith had both teams qualify for regionals for the first time since 2010. The program’s steady improvement has been guided by this lead duo, both in and outside of practice.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Scheidel said while burying her head in her hands. “I don’t want my seniors to go.”
Weekly meals and Sunday football games — touch football, they pointed out — have become staples. The boys team has been responsible for the football games, but a new player may be added next weekend.
“I’ve been recruited,” Austin said with a laugh. “I might join this Sunday.”
Those traditions have kept runners coming back each season and added newcomers to strengthen the numbers that were so thin at the start of Austin’s and Perez’s careers.
“Our grade was kind of small,” Perez said. “But we knew the one under us wasn’t. It was just making sure that they all came back.”
But now the focus is solely on this duo as they are the lone representatives of their teams competing at semistate. Austin said she’ll keep a similar strategy to the ones that have resulted in her prior state meet qualifications. For Perez, it’s about adhering to his strengths.
“I’m not the fastest guy off the gun,” he said. “At these last couple of meets, I’ve tried it, but it hasn’t worked out. I can’t change the way I run a race. I have to stick with what I know.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.