Jordan High freshman Addison Sutton was nervous going into her first varsity cross country meet on Sept. 12. Scared, even.

And still, Sutton came away victorious at the Pearland Dawson Early Bird meet. And then she followed that with two more first-place finishes in her next two meets, making her 3-for-3 as meet champ to start the season.

“I’m a lot more assertive and confident,” Sutton said. “I know my body more during races and I can apply faster paces and keep up longer. I know how to spread my pace out throughout the race.”

But it all started that Saturday in Pearland, when Sutton ran a time of 12-minutes, 39-seconds to win the two-mile race, make program history as its first varsity individual champion, and help the Warriors to a first-place team finish in the program’s first meet.

“After the first meet, I knew I’d do really well in the upcoming meets,” Sutton said. “I know later in the year during the season, there will be more competition, but I’m also excited for that so it can push me even more and hopefully keep beating my PRs.”

After the Pearland win, Sutton won first at the Brazosport ISD Invitational, running a 15:56.30 in the 4000-meter run, and posted a personal record of 12:01 in winning a meet last week at Paetow High, running a 12:01 in the two-mile race.

“When coaching Addison, I have to remind myself that she is just a freshman,” Jordan girls cross country and track and field coach Kimberlee Trnka said. “She has the focus and competitiveness of a veteran runner. Addison has been progressing nicely each meet and improving her times, despite taking an early lead and having to pace the last two races on her own. She keeps a positive mindset and is always wanting to improve.”

Indeed, Sutton is always looking for an edge. This season, she started researching her competition the day before races.

“I love how competitive she is,” Trnka said. “She goes into every race with the desire to win and the mindset that she will.”

Sutton has a tx.milesplit.com account and uses it to her competitive advantage. She looks up the teams that will be running each race and makes a note of the top times of their top runners.

“I like to know my competitors, so I can set up a goal in my mind during the race,” Sutton said. “It’s common sense to be prepared for race day. The day before a meet, I’m thinking about that race and how I’m going to pace. I can do that because I have an idea of who I’m competing against.”

Sutton has a passion for running. She has fallen in love with the routine.

The night before races, she’ll eat pasta with vegetables as side dishes. Then she says a prayer, centered around her favorite verse Philippians 4:13, before going to bed. The next morning, 3-4 hours prior to the race, she’ll have a fruit smoothie with a protein bar.

“During the run, it might be a challenge and you’re supposed to push yourself, but I really like the feeling after you accomplish something big or make a PR,” Sutton said. “It just feels amazing to me to accomplish a goal.”

Sutton competed at Seven Lakes Junior High her seventh-grade year, and it was during that track season she said she became “attached” to running. She competed at Adams Junior High for eighth grade, when she was recognized as Track Co-MVP for 2020.

She’s looking forward to future races, when nerves won’t be an issue and she will know what to expect from competing at the highest level for a first-year program looking to establish its name.

“It’s different than a normal program where you have girls that have been there for multiple years and have already set the standard,” Sutton said. “We get a chance to create traditions and set expectations, so the girls after us know what to expect and can follow those standards.”