Throughout the country, Texas is known as the state from which star athletes are born. Student athletes who pursue their sports and academics with equal rigor are the epitome of hard work. Dalton Lawing, sophomore, was only a freshman when he made the varsity cross country team, and in the last year he has not ceased to meet everyone’s expectations.

“I honestly couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t run,” Lawing said. “Running to me is more than just a sport.”

A freshman year varsity status is unusual across the board for sports. Dalton reminisces on his accomplishment that impressed coaches, parents and peers alike.

“It felt great to make varsity as a freshman,” Dalton said. “I had trained all summer to be fast, and I was glad it had all paid off.”

Dalton had been running cross country for about six years prior to making the varsity team, and making the team was something he always aimed for, especially after the gains and losses that happened over the past six years.

“I have always liked to run and I do enjoy running for AHS,” he said.  “I wasn’t really inspired to train or take it seriously until I got cut from the cross country team in 8th grade.”

Getting cut from his 8th grade team only added fuel to Dalton’s fire, and despite the fact that many athletes do not come back from such a loss, he was ready to come back even stronger than before.

In addition, there are also personal reasons why he runs. A personal influence is his younger siblings.

“My younger siblings all run, they inspire me to run farther and faster,” Dalton said. “They look up to me and anything I do they will do, and often times they can do it better.”

Having younger siblings looking up at him is an important role. Dalton is a positive influence on and off the track, for teammates and siblings alike. To him, academics are equally or more important as winning the race.

“I balance cross country and academics by staying one step ahead of my teachers,” Dalton said. “If an assignment is due the day of a meet I turn it in the day before and get my makeup work ahead of time.”

Some athletes tend to focus on winning the game, but Dalton has a more important motto for the balance of school and academics. One that is hard to keep up with yet is the key to being successful in both high school sports and beyond.

“My academics come before athletics and I want to be a straight A student,” Dalton said. “Besides pursuing whoever is in front of me, I’d like to pursue a career in the medical field and help my fellow man.”