By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
ROUND ROCK — When Comstock senior Sebastian Talamantez crossed the finish line Saturday at Old Settlers Park, he raised his arms and smiled through exhaustion — the kind that comes with completing a journey three state titles long.
Talamantez claimed his third straight UIL Class 1A boys cross country championship, finishing in 16 minutes, 20.3 seconds and leading the Panthers to a sixth-place team finish.
“I’m kind of sad it’s over,” he said. “Cross country means a lot to me — maybe even more than track — but I’m happy I got to finish it the way I did.”
It’s fair to say he dominated the field. He pulled away early and never looked back, finishing 40 seconds ahead of the runner-up — about five seconds faster than his margin a year ago.
“When the gun went off, I was already in front,” he said. The three-peat capped a junior and senior season where Talamantez lost only once each year — at the large-school Hoka Invitational on the same Round Rock course in September. “That meet was loaded with bigger schools,” he said. “But it gave me confidence for state.”
While it was Talamantez’s third state title, the team did well, finishing sixth in the Class 1A team standings with a 154-point total.
The Comstock runners were a tight scoring pack behind Talamantez. Noah Bahena (18:40), Julian Perez (18:56), John Howell (19:00) and Jordan Allen (19:01) crossed within seconds of one another, with Mauro Lopez and Jacob Allen providing depth to secure the team’s place in the top ten
Talamantez credited a pair of sharp mid-week track workouts this year before state for reigniting that confidence. “Those two days changed everything,” he said. “By Wednesday, I knew I was going to win.”
When asked which of his three titles meant the most, Talamantez didn’t hesitate. “This one,” he said. “It’s my last one. It’s the icing on the cake.”
He admits some doubters have dismissed his achievements because Comstock is a small 1A program. “People say my wins don’t mean much because I’m not at a big school,” he said. “But I could run for a bigger school if I wanted. I stayed because of my community — and my coach.”
Talamantez praised the Comstock cross country coach Lee Abbey, saying his guidance reshaped both his training and his outlook. “A good coach can change a performance, but a great coach can change a life,” Talamantez said. “Coach Abbey made running fun and made me want to give more than the minimum every day.”
It seems like he and his coach have a mutual admiration society going as his coach, with — years of experience guiding high schoolers
College programs have started calling, including Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, but for now, Talamantez has his focus on the track season.
“I was runner-up in the mile and two-mile the last two years,” he said. “That’s not happening again.”
The writer can be reached at JoelALangton@gmail.com .
