In their freshman year, varsity cross country runner Kylie Welch ended most her races watching her sister’s back.
As sophomores, Kerri Welch finds herself playing catch-up.
Either way, the twins finish near the head of the pack.
“They are very talented young ladies,” coach Brittmey Lanehart said. “They are humble, and that’s important. They are exceptionally good, and if they want to keep on running after college, they will certainly have that option.”
At the opening race at Comal County Fairgrounds, Kylie kept a lead over her sister and finished in fourth place with a time of 10:50. Kerri finished fifth with a time of 10:56.
“I was so happy for her,” Kylie said. “We make each other better by competing against each other.”
The next week, the girls ran at the Rattler Invitational 5K, their most contested race. Kylie beat her sister again by only half a second, with a time of 18:12:00.
Kylie and Kerri have not stopped pushing each other and igniting a spark of competition between each other that only makes them run faster every year.
As sophomores, their running potential seems endless.
“At the end of the day we are trying to beat the other team,” Lanehart said. “If you don’t have teammates that are really good, then it’s really hard to be at your best; so the more competitive we can be as a group the better, for sure.”