OF THE VARIOUS SKILLED RUNNERS ON COACH KIERSTON DUTTON’S BOYS CROSS COUNTRY PROGRAM, AMANI ARZU IS PERHAPS THE MOST HIGHLY REGARDED.
Rightfully so, as he excelled in district a year ago prior to reaching the UIL-5A Region III Meet.
Surprisingly, however, cross country wasn’t always something Arzu saw himself committing to, long-term.
“Initially, I started off in this sport just to stay in shape,” he said. “But, I’ve really come to love it, the competitive nature of it. It’s more fun than people might think. Of course, it’s also a great source for conditioning as an athlete.”
Additionally, Arzu competes for Lee’s basketball and track teams throughout the school year.
Naturally, being a tri-athlete comes with certain responsibilities.
“I’d say it takes a lot of dedication,” said Arzu. “It’s Texas, so it’s no secret that it gets hot out here and that makes you want to miss practices. But, you’ve got to stay with it and go out there every day. The weather isn’t an issue during basketball season, but it still requires that same level of commitment year-round for me.”
As previously mentioned, Arzu was among the eight Ganders who advanced to Regionals last Fall. He was the second Lee athlete to cross the finish line in the 5K race, with a time of 19:10.51.
Now that he prepares to lace up for one last year, he has distinct plans in mind for the future.
“I just want to get some new PRs (personal records),” he said. “I’m trying to finally go under the 19-minute mark, and hopefully make it back to Regionals alongside my teammates.”
Despite the fact that his schedule is clearly going to be completely booked well into 2025, that doesn’t mean this Lee senior won’t have time to enjoy the final stretch of his high school career.
“I’m definitely going to be busy,” Arzu laughed. “I’ll still make time to hang out with my friends, play games online and I’ll always be watching some anime. My favorite has got to be One Piece.”
For those unfamiliar with that particular anime show, One Piece is one of the longest running of its kind, first airing in 1999, with over 1,100 episodes and counting.
Arzu wasn’t joking when he said he was dedicated.
Now, he’ll let his performance do the talking in the coming months.