With multiple trips to the state meet between the boys and girls teams, Aledo High School enjoys a proud tradition in the sport of distance running.
Consequently, the cross country program has captured a lot of hardware over the years, but until recently, had nowhere to put it.
Enter Stephanie Richardson, a cross country mom who was taken aback after a visit to the school earlier this fall.
"My daughter is a freshman at Aledo High School, and she's on the cross country and track team,” Richardson said. “We went up there over the summer, and we were in Coach (Mike) Pinkerton's office. He pointed up toward the ceiling, and that's where all the trophies were. I said, 'Why are all your trophies up here in this closet?' He said because they didn't have a trophy case and I said, 'Well, why not?"
That is when Richardson went to work.
A former athlete herself, Richardson, 38, played volleyball for Aledo High School when she attended back in the early aughts.
Cross country was not quite on her radar just yet.
"I would never run," Richardson said. "A clown would have to be chasing me for me to run. It's not my sport."
But it is her daughter Hadleigh Walton's sport, so it means a lot to her.
"They had state trophies just sitting up in a closet," Richardson said. "And I'm like, 'This is not okay.' I feel like if you see a need, fill a need, so that's what we did."
Richardson and her husband Scott, along with three other companies (Dr. Craig Lambourne with Montgomery Dental, Chad Rychlik with Aledo Golf Carts, and Hans Pettit and Texas Ag Trust), raised a total of $16,000 for the project.
"We each contributed $4,000 to fund the cross country team getting four trophy cases for all their trophies," Richardson said. "They are a very successful cross country and track team, so I worked with these companies and we were able to donate four 5-foot long trophy cases that are now in the athletics hallway."
Cross country was sanctioned as a UIL sport for boys in 1972 and for girls in 1975 and in that time AHS has sent 12 teams to the state meet.
Pinkerton said his athletes were thrilled to receive the cases and said their reactions were priceless.
"They love it,” Pinkerton said. “It is fun to see them point out the new trophy cases to other students. They also like that they are by the gym, so anyone walking to the gym will see them. They are proud of their accomplishments and excited that they are now on display."
Pinkerton said the kindness of the gesture from the Richardson family and the three other donors means a lot to him personally as well as to the program.
"It is a tremendous honor,” Pinkerton said. “We have never had a place to showcase the achievements of our teams. With all of the success that we have throughout Aledo High School, there just hasn’t been any room. This is amazing."
Richardson said it is important to give back when possible and said the team deserves to have its achievements on display where other students can see them.
"I'm an alumni of Aledo," Richardson said. "I was brought up in Aledo, and I've got a soft spot for kids in school and I see the hours they put in. They are out there practicing at 5 in the morning while everyone is still asleep, and they deserve this. They deserve to be proud of their accomplishments — to be able to see them and walk by them every day."
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