Hard work pays off for Galindo

Jesus Galindo has been the first runner to arrive at Springdale High’s 6:30 a.m. cross country practices most of this season.

He is often early and helps Bulldogs coach Godfrey Siamusiye get water ready for the morning run.

“Before, I used to be like, ‘Oh, it’s a morning run, I’ll skip it,’” Galindo said. “But since I started focusing more, I show up.”

Galindo hasn’t missed a practice this year. The impact has been evident in the senior team captain’s rapidly-improving 5k times.

He ran 17 minutes, 49 seconds to finish second in his first meet of the season, then clocked a personal-record 16:17 just a few weeks later to score his first career win at an Elkins meet. He then ran a 16:25 to win a Siloam Springs meet last Saturday.

Galindo was initially a little surprised by the two wins, which came against runners he competed with last year.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to run as fast as them,” Galindo said. “But all you’ve got to do is practice. They were faster last year. I’m not saying I’m faster than them. But I’m with them.

“I saw touching 17s coming, but I didn’t think I would be way below that. But summer practice helped me out a lot.”

He was one of Springdale’s top two runners last season before injuring an ankle outside of cross country. He returned later in the year, but wasn’t in the same shape and slid to the fifth-or sixth-fastest on the team.

“He didn’t have enough time to come back,” Siamusiye said.

But Galindo is healthy this year.

His leadership and improving times have been key to a young team, one that differs greatly from the squad Siamusiye inherited for his first year at Springdale, when the boys team finished eighth and the girls 10th at state.

“He’s taken the leadership role pretty good,” Siamusiye said. “He goes hard at every practice we do. He gives 100 percent. Most of the team now is pretty much like sophomores or juniors. We are a very young team right now, which is good for me because it gives me time to implement my system.”

It’s a system and collection of talent Siamusiye hopes can translate into a pair of top-five finishes at state this year. And his long-term goals are even loftier.

“My goal is, if I live long enough, I want to be a power nationwide,” Siamusiye said. “And of course that’s a lot longer in the future. But this year the goal is, if not anything else, we want to be the best team in Washington County. Which means we’ve got to be able to compete against Fayetteville, Shiloh and Har-Ber.

“And so far, we haven’t achieved that yet. But we are still working toward it. I want us to be right at the peak at the right time.”

And Galindo has high expectations, too, leading up to the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival on Oct. 5.

“Since I got 16:17, my goal is to touch 15s, break 16, by Chile Pepper,” Galindo said.

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