STARKVILLE — Cross country demands consistency.
Ever since Kate Mattox started competing with the Starkville High School team as a seventh-grader, she has been nothing but steady.
The amount of time Mattox dedicates to training every week has been consistent and has been designed to help her compete at a high level.
That work has paid off this season, as Mattox won a third-consecutive Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A state championship with a time of 18 minutes, 40.50 seconds in the 5,000-meter run on Nov. 10, 2015, at Choctaw Trails in Clinton. Mattox’s performance helped the Starkville High girls finish third as a team.
On Nov. 28, 2015, Mattox finished 32nd (18:25) in the seeded girls race at the Foot Locker South Regional in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mattox’s accomplishments in those races helped her earn the Gatorade Mississippi Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year for the third-straight year last week.
For her efforts, Mattox is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“She goes the extra mile and will do more than I ask her to do,” Starkville High coach Caroline Woomer said. “She’s just very consistent about that. I know if I ask her to do something, she’s going to do more than that. She’s going to run faster, she’s going to run harder, and she’s going to run longer.”
Mattox was humbled to win Runner of the Year award for a third time. She remembers camp friend Elisabeth Gaillet, who is a junior at Ole Miss, of St. Andrew’s Episcopal winning the award for the 2010-11 season. Since then, it has been her goal to win the award.
“I always have it in the back of my mind before my races, especially before state meet,” Mattox said.
Mattox remembers early in her career getting really nervous before every race, shaking, and having a million thoughts racing through her mind. She said she also put a lot of pressure on herself, which played into the nervousness. She said she still gets nervous about races and puts pressure on herself, but her consistent performance and preparation make it easier for her to shake it off.
“Doing it over and over for years, it’s helped,” Mattox said. “Doing it over and over, I’m more calm about it. I just remind myself, ‘It’s a race, go hard.’ ”
Mattox said consistency has made her a leader. Entering her final year with the Yellow Jackets this fall will be bittersweet. Her experiences in the sport and her attitude about it have set her apart. She said many of the younger runners on the team already look to her, so it is a responsibility she takes seriously.
“It makes them less nervous and shows them if you work hard every day it’s going to pay off in the races and it’s just going to make you a stronger runner and person altogether from the work ethic you put into it,” Mattox said.
Mattox said her teammates motivate her. Recently, several of her friends joined the team, which has lightened the mood in practice and Mattox’s training. She said that was something she needed after working every day since the seventh grade to prepare for races.
“I know I went through one phase where I was getting tired of running,” Mattox said. “I knew I wanted to do it because I loved it deep in my heart, but I was tired of it and tired of training. It became a lot more fun. Working hard with them, it made it more worth it than it already was.”
Mattox’s career competing in cross country races won’t end when she graduates from Starkville High. She is already thinking about her future and becoming a student-athlete at a Division I school.
Woomer said Mattox can go anywhere she wants to.
“She has a strong mind and a strong will,” Woomer said. “I feel like she can go as far as she wants to go. She has the determination. She has the talent to do so.”
Mattox’s consistency has paved the way for her to receive a scholarship and to compete at the next level. She said she plans to use all five of her official visits to colleges. She also hopes her consistent attitude and work ethic will help guide her in the search for a new home.
“I want to be able to connect with the team and like my coaches,” Mattox said. “I want to be able to trust their workouts and their reasoning behind it.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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