By Lee Davis
For many teenagers, being a freshman in high school means having to endure a year of getting lost in the hallways and generally being at the bottom of the totem pole in most situations.
For Will Stone, his first year at Homewood was much closer to being at the top of that pole. He probably even had an easier time finding his classrooms.
As a standout runner for the Patriot cross-country and track and field teams, Stone made an impression that would make even the most hardline senior stand and take notice. In the Alabama High School Athletic Association Cross Country Championships last year, he finished fourth overall, helping Homewood claim the Class 6A crown. Stone was the second-fastest freshman runner in any classification.
Stone also had an outstanding indoor and outdoor track season, highlighted by a fourth place finish in the 3,200-meter run at the state outdoor meet, where he broke the 10-minute barrier.
“I was just happy to help the team,” Stone said last week. “Although I have to say that running the 3,200 meters under 10 minutes was probably my biggest thrill. As far as this year goes, I hope I can help our team win another championship.”
Stone looks totally capable of fulfilling that goal. He opened the cross-country season with a 15:55 effort against national competition in a Memphis meet. Stone followed up in the prestigious Chickasaw Trails event, where he broke the 16-minute mark again and finished as the top Alabama runner.
Homewood cross-country coach Lars Porter said Stone’s greatest asset won’t show up on a stop watch.
“Will’s work ethic is tremendous,” Porter said. “He doesn’t get discouraged, and he’s not afraid to race anyone. Will has that competitive spirit that you can’t teach.”
Porter said Stone might be the ultimate self-starter.
“I’ve realized that my job is not to motivate Will,” the coach explained. “Instead, my job is to give him the tools to be successful and get out of the way while he does it. Will is a joy to coach and I’m excited to see where his talent will take him.”
Stone believes that running a scenic cross-country route is in some ways more challenging and more enjoyable than running on a conventional indoor or outdoor track.
“There are so many things that you have to be noticing when you are running on a path in the woods,” he said. “All the courses are different. I typically focus on the hills or terrain and focus how to adjust my pace according to what’s ahead. The surroundings can really make a difference as far as your time goes. I’ve seen cross-country times be altered by as much as two minutes because of the terrain.”
His favorite cross-country trek is at the Oakville Indian Mounds Park near Moulton – which is a good thing since that’s where the state meet is held.
As is the case with all runners who face the rugged 5K regimen, Stone knows that at some point his body is going to start hurting and a part of him is going to want to quit. That’s where the mental aspect of running comes into play.
“The pain is going to come,” he said. “You must have a strong mindset that no matter how much it hurts, you are going to stick with it to the end. The important thing is to trust your training that your body will be able to handle it.”
Stone’s strategy in almost every race is the same. “I never burst out to the front in the beginning,” he explained. “I start in the pack and notice how the other runners are doing. When I see one that I think I can pass, I’ll speed up. The goal is to get by them one by one.”
While Stone may seem like a young man who was born to run, his passion began a little later. He was a first-grader at Shades Cahaba Elementary School when he got his first taste of running.
“The school had an annual run called the Owl Prowl,” Stone recalled. “All the kids ran almost a mile through the town. I really got into it, and by the time I got to the (Homewood) Middle School, I wanted to run competitively.”
With two more seasons ahead of him, Stone would rather not think about his cross-country future after high school, but those who know him best can sense that more special times are ahead.
“It’s so early in his career, we’re still learning what Will may be capable of accomplishing,” Porter said.
Will Stone proved he was no ordinary freshman. His sophomore year is likely to be even better.
