Antonio with mentor Colby Lowe. Photo courtesy of Arturo Florcruz.
Carroll seventh grader Antonio Florcruz broke the seventhbrgrade record for the mile last month. The record stood for 13 years, according to his father, Arturo. Antonio ran the mile in 5:11.87, a mere .64 seconds faster than the former record holder, Colby Lowe's time.
Just recently elected to the Southlake Hall of Fame, Lowe was there to help Antonio accomplish the milestone.
"I just think it's such a great example of mentoring, sportsmanship, and how the Southlake community helps each other," Arturo said.
Antonio began training to accomplish this feat in mid January. His training included running the mile each Sunday, as well as sprints before and/or after school. He also did a tempo run of 2-4 miles at a 6-6:30-minute-per-mile pace.
"It was really hard (but enjoyable) work," he said. "There were days where Ibrdidn't feel like running, but I kept telling myself if I wanted to break thatbrrecord, I had to keep practicing."
Lowe and Antonio met at the Luke's Locker 9 to 5 training group about 6 months ago.
"When track season rolled around, I looked at the board of records andbrsaw that his name was on the mile record, set back in 2003," Antonio said. "When I went back tobrLuke's Locker, I told him that I was going to try to break his record."
During spring break, the two met at Carroll to begin the preliminary stages of working on breaking the record.
"Hebris a wonderful young man with a bright future in running and in life," Lowe said. "What setsbrhim apart is his determination to succeed and be the best he can be thatbrday. After watching him run a few timesbrI know he could do anything that he sets his mind to. I thought to myself, hebrwould be the one to break the record and set the new standard for other runnersbrto follow."
Lowe, who went on to set many college records and took a run at the Olympic trials, was at the record-setting meet, where he encouraged Antonio from afar. With a lap to go, he made sure Antonio had the motivation to finish strong.
"I was looking at the time and I knew it was going to bebrcloser then I wanted it to be, he had to turn on the jets that last 100 meters," he said, "and Antonio found that last gear and finished the race strong breaking thebrrecord with one second to spare."
Antonio (bottom left)
with friends: Brice
standing next to him,
Michael upper left, and
Matthew upper right.
Photo courtesy of
Arturo Florcruz.
Antonio hopes to break the eighth grade record of 4:49 next year. He enjoys active hobbies, like riding bikes, playing basketball, swimming and hanging out with friends.
"I would like to thank Colby Lowe, my friends and teammates, CoachbrAnderson, Coach Williams, Coach Leader and Coach Rodgers, and my parentsbrfor rooting me on during training and while running the mile," Antonio said.
"Also, I wouldbrlike to thank Luke's Locker's training program in help me get faster,brespecially Mr. Hague, who paced me through some of my earliest races andbrpractice runs.
"My Dad motivated me to get better because he always usedbrto tease me when he'd beat me. I started beating him about 2 yearsbrago. Now I tease him to get better. He takes it pretty well."
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Antonio with mentor Colby Lowe. Photo courtesy of Arturo Florcruz.
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