Sky Pointe coach Paul Sheppard knows that cross country is a sport requiring extreme dedication, routine and discipline.

Those demands apply to coaches as much as they do to athletes, which might partially explain the Eagles’ rapid rise.

Sheppard attributes much of his program’s success to his hard-working runners, but he is also a self-proclaimed cross-country nerd who spends every spare moment searching for ways to make his teams better.

“I don’t have kids, and I’m not married,” said Sheppard, whose program has skyrocketed from Class 3A competition six years ago to becoming a serious contender for the 5A state championship this season. “I am more fortunate than most coaches because I have a lot of time to do research.”

The coach had no background in cross country or track when he rel

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