By Thomas Jones, Sports Editor 

With three weeks left before Westlake takes to the course at Zilker Park for defense of its District 25-5A cross-country title, boys coach Bert Bonnecarrere peruses his team and has few complaints.

Times have been steady, he says. Gaps between runners keep nudging closer. The Chaps have developed into one of the most consistent teams during Bonnecarrere’s seven-year tenure.

He then pauses when asked about senior bellwether Ben Stephenson.

“You know, I think that consistency partly comes from being around Ben,” he says. “He’s really taken on leadership of this team. He’s a pretty quiet guy, so he leads by example. And no one is more consistent than Ben.

“I think that unless I overcoach him, he’s on track to do some good things.”

Stephenson has done plenty of good things since he first joined the varsity as a freshman. As a younger runner, Stephenson consistently produced points. He became the team’s lead runner a year ago, winning a gold medal at the Waco Midway Invitational and finishing a team-best second at the district meet. Stephenson repeated his win at Waco Midway earlier this year, and he clocked a fast enough time at Saturday’s RunTex Invitational in Austin to qualify as a national high school elite runner.

“I’m feeling good, and I’m putting in more miles,” he says. “It’s been a good year so far.”

His times prove Stephenson’s point. On the flat, shady course at Waco Midway, Stephenson shaved 39 seconds off last year’s pace to win the event with a time of 16:04 minutes. On Saturday, he finished the RunTex Invitational with a seventh-place time of 16:08 against some of the best competition in Central Texas.

Still, Stephenson’s competitive nature allows for little satisfaction. Rival Collin Smith of Austin High finished second at the RunTex event, and that, says Stephenson, provides plenty of motivation for upcoming races.

“We’re in the same running group,” Stephenson says of Smith. “So, yeah. It gets very competitive between us, even in practice.”

Running runs in the family for Stephenson. His older sister, Lucy, spent four years competing for Westlake’s cross country and track teams, and his mother, Joyce Mullen, raced in the Boston Marathon a generation ago.

But it’s the competition that drives Stephenson. Although Smith or a district rival such as Bastrop may add an extra dash of motivation, the impetus to win a race never extends past an arm’s length at the starting line.

“It’s all about how much energy you have compared to the person next to you,” he says. “That’s why running just feels like one of the purest sports.” 

Such drive makes Stephenson a pleasure to coach, says Bonnecarrere.

“He’s the kind of guy that will do whatever is required of him,” he said. “I don’t have to worry about him leaving anything on the track. He’ll give everything he has.”