Jake Sutherland

Coming to Argyle halfway through his high school cross country career hasn’t stopped senior Jake Sutherland from making an impact on the cross country team.

“We have a legit shot of making state this year so it’ll be cool trying to get there to Austin to run,” Sutherland said.

Sutherland finished fourth at district and placed the highest of any boy from Argyle.

“My first hope is that he would kind of help lead us as a team to the state meet,” varsity cross country coach Lance Sutton said. “If for whatever reason we can’t achieve that, I hope he has enough success on his own to where he can qualify as an individual at state.” 

Sutherland has been a leader on the team since his junior season, when he qualified for the regional meet in both cross country and track.

“He’s always there to talk to,” sophomore teammate Colin Hamilton said. “He’s fun and nice, he’s always around and he’s always participating. He just seems to make everyone feel welcome.”

Since June, the cross country team has dedicated their time to 6:30 am practices and weekend runs at the school. 

“He definitely puts forth a lot of effort,” Hamilton said. “He makes sure he’s doing the best he can do. He just always tries very hard.” 

 The team has finished well against 5A and 6A teams and hopes to bring home another state title.

“We’ve got a lot of good seniors on this year’s team,” Sutton said. “He’s one of the main ones that help set the tone for everybody else.”