By Morgan Taylor, Reporter
HENRYETTA, Oklahoma – The Henryetta Knight Cross Country runner Austin Green has been invited to participate in 2021 Oklahoma Native All-State for cross-country. Green is the son of Shelly and Blue Cantrell of Henryetta, the grandson Lesa Cantrell of Henryetta, Janice and the late Daniel Green of Weleetka, Ranae and Gene Snell of Weleetka, and Timothy Cantrell of Henryetta.
The Muscogee Nation will host the 2021 Oklahoma Native All-State event and it will take place Saturday June 12 at 8 a.m. where Green will compete in a 5k run.
Henryetta High School Cross-Country Coach Tim Gillispie nominated Green to compete in the event.
“The application process was really smooth,” Gillispie said. “ We submitted the information to the committee and they were the ones who made that decision. I believe it was a combination of his state, regional, and work ethic throughout his career here.”
Gillispie claims choosing Green to be nominated was the “easy part.”
“What I have seen of his work ethic since he was in junior high and continued to see through high school… His continual success, whenever we would run at meets and how well he would do, his times coming down and the progress he was making as those contests and just the fact that he’s a really good kid,” Gillispie said.
Green honed some of his skills running around his family’s land on Tiger Mt. Running the rugged hills and rocky trails east of Henryetta made Green somewhat of a natural competitor. His mother, Shelly Cantrell said his practice gave him a competitive edge.
“He would just take off and all over the land here,” Cantrell said. “If you can run around on this 160 acres, through these conditions, rocky inclines, woods, well the cross country meets terrain is easier.”
According to Gillispie, Green was a four-year state qualifier during high school.
Green said he has been apart of the Cross-Country program at Henryetta since he was in the sixth grade.
“In sixth grade I had no intentions of being in athletics, but it was Coach Gillispie who reached out to me and got me started then I just took off with it,” Green explains.
During his senior year, Green worked to become a notable runner.
“I became one of the faster kids and I guess my time was just fast enough to qualify for Native All-State,” Green said. “It’s pretty exciting, actually.”
Though Green feels like he may have a pretty good chance at the meet, he said he wants to have fun.
“I just want to have one last fun race,” Green explains. “I want to have a good time with other people I know going and it just be a fun event for all of us.”
While Green focuses on the enjoyment of competition and love of training that allows him to have fun competing he is known as a leader.
“He was a leader all the way through from his freshman year on,” Gillispie claims of Green. “It’s always a proud moment when that happens.”
“Makes you feel like what you been doing and what they have been doing pays off.”
According to Green and Coach Gillispie, the Henryetta runner will plans to Rogers State University where he hopes to run cross county. If successful, He will be following in Henryetta cross country record setter Colton Greens foot steps, who also went onto run at Rogers State.
For more information about the Muscogee Nation hosting Native All-State see page…