Hank DeFord goes to State!

As Palisade’s fall season of Cross Country, comes to a finish, others take a final stride to make the best of it. Hank DeFord officially made it to the State competition held in Colorado Springs, CO. Not many people got to make it to State, only the top fifteen. Having a competitive setting makes up for not having a large group. The race before, DeFord was in the top eighteen positions, only having to pass 3 people to make it there. But DeFords mentality was different from the others, passing a total of 10 more people from his original position. DeFord states: “ I think it’s been a really solid season and I was hyped when I figured out I made it to State, my only goal for the season was to make it to State and that was the pinnacle of my season.” Pushing himself and others throughout the season to fulfill the rest of the passion for many and DeFord finishing with the result that he wanted. “ Improving was one of the main things and it really showed in the end, having 4 wins and making it to State.” DeFord commented: “ I went into Regionals figuring that I needed to pass people. I was really happy when I passed them knowing I made my personal goal and used everything to my advantage.” During the interview, DeFord mentioned that he wasn’t really having high expectations for the competition, but was just happy to be out there and enjoy where he had gotten. Hank Deford represents a huge part of Palisade, congratulations to him and thank you for contributing.