In August, SBP student Will Faulk was not very interested in running. However, things quickly changed as Faulk discovered he had a special gift on the cross country track. He recently competed at the varsity level with a 12th place finish in the State Cross Country Meet at Jesse Owens earning him All-State recognition. The eighth grade student at St. Bernard Middle School, quickly admits his mom was responsible for encouraging him to try out for the team. “I didn’t know I would be so excited about running when I started. It’s so hot in August and I wasn’t sure I was up to the task,” Faulk said.
During competition Faulk said his greatest challenge was to be in front of whoever he was trailing. “I could remember hearing the crowd say ‘pass that kid’ and I didn’t know if they were talking about me or to me, so I would say to myself ‘push it, push it’ to run faster too.”
He trains at the school on Boniface trail which is about two miles of rough terrain, and the paved perimeter road at St. Bernard. Faulk said most of the tracks we run are gravel so training on the Boniface trail is more difficult.
Since there is not a middle school competition, Faulk stepped up to the challenge of competing in the varsity division. Competition was harder and the runners were larger than me. However, not easily intimidated, the 5’4 featherweight set goals for himself and trained daily to run quicker than the guys in front of him. Faulk finished the three mile in 12th place with a time of 18:33; and the two mile in 11:43. Oscar Perez, a 7th grade student at SBP, finished in 41st position out of the 107 participants.
Cross Country Coach, Jeff Taylor, said he is very pleased and excited with these boys. “They broke every personal record they set for themselves, and represented our school well. Will is to be congratulated for earning All-State at the varsity level.”
Faulk plays tenor sax in the band and is currently taking a break from running to play basketball. He is the son of William and Paige Faulk of Cullman.
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