Grace Community track star Ross Renfroe will continue his all-state athletic career as part of The University of Texas at Tyler cross country team.

Renfroe had a standout senior season for the TAPPS 5A Grace Community Cougars, finishing second in the state in three events. Renfroe finished second in the 5K Cross Country race, as well as in the 3200 meters and the 800 meters.

Renfroe also shared his team’s “Mr. Cougar” award for top male athlete.

“For TAPPS, he was one of the top distance runners for both cross country and track,” Patriots head coach Bob Hepler said. “What’s really exciting for us is he excelled at the state level, and just like most of our top runners, he was the top dog. He didn’t have a whole lot of good training partners. When he comes here, he’s going to have some of the best runners in the state of Texas to train with, so it will be amazing to see what kind of potential he can fulfill when he gets in the right environment.”

“He’ll fit in, and be comfortable right away. He’ll have good coaching and good training partners here, so we’re expecting big things.”

The Patriots cross country team will begin their 2007 season on September 1, running in San Antonio at Trinity University.