Farmersville junior Breelynn Pollard poses for pictures at the District 13-4A cross country meet. She placed second with a time of 13:34. Submitted photo
By David Wolman
Breelynn Pollard has always been one of the fastest runners on the Farmersville girls cross- country team.
Last year as a sophomore, Pollard clocked the second fastest time on the team at the District 13-4A meet, placing 11th with a time of 15:34 – a performance that played a key role in helping the Lady Farmers earn third place and clinch a team berth in the Region II-4A meet.
And her efforts came despite a limited practice schedule.
While balancing cross country and volleyball, Pollard practiced just once or twice a week with the cross-country team while also fulfilling her role as a setter and defensive specialist for the Lady Farmers’ volleyball team, which took up most of her time.
That’s in addition to playing softball.
There were many weekends that she would run by herself to keep up with the workload for the cross country team.
Head cross country coach Sandra Hoge said there was rarely a time when she had to ask Pollard about her training or the number of miles that she ran.
“Breelynn is a self-motivator and once she decided that she could do very well in cross country, she put more time and effort into it and began showing up to more practices that fit into her schedule,” Hoge said. “Her parents have also been helpful in the process…they will push her and encourage her to work out as well as work out with her sometimes.”
Pollard said after a successful spring season in track and field season— in which she qualified for the regional meet in the 1,600 and 3,200 – that she was going to put more time into plying her craft as a long-distance runner.
This year, Pollard practices with the Farmersville cross country team at least two or three days a week.
Pollard is the top runner at every practice but trying to find someone that could keep up with her pace wasn’t easy.
The solution that Hoge came up with was to have Pollard run with the boys’ team.
“It was tough at first because they were running so much faster,” Pollard said. “I try to stay with Kenson (Briscoe). He’s a good practice partner. He tries and stays in front of me, but I’m able to hold my own.”
Pollard noticed every week that her times were getting faster.
The first time she noticed her improvement was at the Celina Invitational where she ran to a personal best time of 12:41.
“It was the first true two-mile race that I ran, and I ran a PR,” she said. “I had a little more in me than what I thought.”
Less than weeks later, everything came together for Pollard at the district meet where she placed second with a 13:34.
“Breelynn got out to a great start and held her position near the front of the pack throughout the entire race,” Hoge said. “I really liked how confident and composed she looked. She attacked the course with focus and determination from start to finish.”
Pollard will look to cap off her junior season by becoming the first Lady Farmer to qualify for state since Aubrey Varner made back-to-back appearances in Round Rock in 2022 and 2023.
“I’m hoping to run a PR,” Pollard said. “I know what schools that I have to keep pace with. At the end, cross country is all in the head.”
Her focus is also set on leading the Lady Farmers’ volleyball team to an 11th consecutive playoff appearance.
Farmersville went 3-2 in the first half of district play and was in third place.
The Lady Farmers are out to erase the memory of a tough loss to Pleasant Grove in three sets in the bi-district round of last year’s Class 4A Division II playoffs.
“I feel like that we’re doing pretty good but feel like that we need to work on a few things like communication,” she said. “We’ll do good once we’re in the playoffs.”
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