Hobart senior Alex Cordova is looking for a better finish to this season than the one he endured last fall.
While his teammates got to bask in the glory of running at the state meet, Cordova was sidelined with an undetermined illness that might have been attributed either to a nutritional imbalance or simply exhaustion.
“Actually, he left the semistate in an ambulance,” Hobart coach Ty Artherhults said.
Cordova, who finished third in the Northwest Crossroads Conference meet behind Lowell’s Kyle Eller and Munster’s Tom Bolanowski, is enjoying this campaign.
“It’s been real good compared to my disastrous season last year,” Cordova said. “I got sick in the postseason, and I had some really bad times.”
Cordova has been running so well that Artherhults has confidence that Alex is going to be at the top in each race.
“He really goes after it,” he said. “At the conference meet, he knew that he had to finish as fast as humanly possible and everyone does. But I just know that I can count on him to do that to perform at the highest level that he can for his team.”
Artherhults said Cordova has worked hard on his nutrition and being at his best physically. Cordova rebounded well and had a great track season in the spring.
“He’s been our go-to-guy on the team,” Artherhults said. “He jokes about having that pressure, but he embraces it, too. That’s what is so cool about it. He’s matured and embraces that role as one of the top guys.”
Now Cordova relishes the chance of helping the Brickies get back to the state meet.
“Sectional, our goal is to win; regional our goal is to win, and at semistate it’s to get out,” said Cordova, who ran a personal best 16 minutes and 14 seconds at the NCC meet. “I’m happy with where my times are at. I’m hoping my time keeps improving, but my goal is for the team to get down to state.”
The Brickies should have no problem getting out of the sectional and have a shot at defending their Crown Point Regional title. Beyond that, Cordova knows it’s going to take the team running to its fullest potential.
“What we really need is six solid performances,” he said. “We’re waiting for that to happen. When it does, we’ll be successful for what our goal is.”
Artherhults would love to see Cordova get a second shot to run at the state meet.
“Absolutely, more than anything it would be awesome for him to get there, ideally with his team, to get a chance to run there,” he said. “It would be great for him to have that chance this year.”
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