Up and away, the best
Hoffpauir sets the pace for a powerhouse program bent on extending its state dynasty
The Woodlands boys cross country team went into the season determined to honor fallen teammate Tanner Noble, who died in July after collapsing during a mountain biking trip. Mission accomplished. The Highlanders claimed their third consecutive state title and 20th overall. Senior Gavin Hoffpauir led the way, finishing second individually with a time of 15 minutes, 8.84 seconds, making him the Chronicle’s All-Greater Houston Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Q: How did you get started in cross country?
A: I started running with a club probably around age 10. It was just something to try out at the time.
Q: What convinced you to give it a try?
A: I had done soccer and other sports like that. I had played football, in a little league, and I never had a tough time running, so I figured it’d be fun and I should give it a shot.
Q: What’s the toughest part of running cross country?
A: It has more to do with your mental game, I feel like, because in a race you’ve got to picture yourself finishing and you’ve got to go for it.
Q: What drives you? What motivates you to keep going for it?
A: It’s fun when you finish, and you know you gave it all you had, and usually when you give what you have, the results are pretty good.
Q: What was your goal going into the season?
A: I definitely wanted to win a state title, which we did, and I wanted to finish in the top three, which I did. That was my individual goal and I ended up finishing second. And I just wanted to continue the tradition. We’ve had a lot of success over the years at The Woodlands, so continuing that this year, and we accomplished that. Q: How happy are
you with a second-place individual finish?
A: Second was satisfying, but it wasn’t completely satisfactory. Obviously, first would have been better, and I almost had the guy (Flower Mound’s Jarrett Kirk, who won in 15:02.56), but I’m not going to complain. Q: How much did wanting to honor Tanner Noble motivate this team? A: It was tough toward the beginning of the season, but as the season went on we knew we had to do something big because that’s what he would have wanted.
Q: What’s it like to be a part of three straight state championships?
A: It’s pretty amazing. You get to see a lot of guys develop, and you get to see a lot of guys go run at big colleges, so it’s a pretty cool experience. And this past year was our 20th ever, so it was a big one.
Q: You recently committed to Texas A&M. How excited are you for the next chapter?
A: I’m pretty excited. I know A&M has a young team, and they’re building, so I think I can fit right in and make a big difference. Hopefully, it’s the same thing as The Woodlands. A lot of the people who go there are from the Houston area, too, so I already know a lot of the guys. I think it’ll be a pretty good experience, and hopefully not too hard of an adjustment.