Farmersville junior Landen Ware will look to improve on a ninth-place finish from last year’s District 13-4A meet. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
When Farmersville junior Landen Ware ran in the prestigious Hoka McNeil Invitational in Round Rock on Sept. 18, he viewed it as a great opportunity to run against some of the top runners in Class 4A.
To his surprise, he showed that he was one of the top cross country runners in 4A while also validating what has been the best season of his high school career. He finished in 18th place, clocking a time of 16 minutes, 54 seconds — just two seconds slower than his personal-best time of 16:52.
“When I heard them say that I placed 18th, I was in shock,” he said. “I thought that I was in the 100s. It definitely opened my eyes and showed that I’m right there with the top guys. With more training with Coach (Jon) Nordin, I feel like I can get past regionals and go to state.”
Ware got into running because of Nordin. Initially, Ware didn’t want to run, but Nordin insisted that he give it a try. Ware is glad that he listened to his coach.
Nordin said Ware was good at running but nowhere near the level he is now. Ware wasn’t finishing near the top of races and wasn’t Farmersville’s fastest runner, but he loved to run.
“You could tell that he had a shot to be good at it,” Nordin said, “and when he started having success, he became obsessed with it. It’s been fun to see him grow.”
Success has become more frequent for Ware.
Ware has been at his best at the most important meets.
At last year’s District 13-4A meet, he posted the highest individual finish for Farmersville, taking ninth place in 17:54. He helped lead Farmersville to third place in the team standings and its third straight team appearance in the Region II-4A meet.
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