FLOWER MOUND, Texas — The Flower Mound girls track team is exceptional. There is no other way to put it. Historically exceptional.
"It's not every day that you get to do something like that, and have a team like this," senior Natalie Cook said.
She's right. It's not every day that you set a national record. But if you're this Flower Mound program, you do achieve the feat more than once in a season.
In March, Cook, sophomore twins Samantha and Nicole Humphries, and freshman Alex Fox broke the national 4x1-mile record.
"It's really awesome," Samantha Humphries said. "Like, a dream come true."
The foursome ran the 4x1-mile relay in 19:37 -- breaking the record by over 11 seconds.
"We're really hard workers," Fox said. "And we push each other every single day. And we all look up to Natalie. So we're trying to get on her level."
Cook is the senior leader of the Jaguars track team. She is a nationally recognized runner both in track and cross country.
In the fall, she was named the Gatorade National Cross Country Athlete of the Year. And earlier this month, she set her own national record, in the 5,000 meters.
Cook was competing in the Stanford Invitational, when she set the 5k record. She came in third place in the event. The two women she finished behind, only by a couple seconds were 29 and 27 years old.
"Obviously, like, Natalie this year has just completely destroyed," Nicole Humphries said, "just on a whole different level."
Two national records this season -- an absolutely remarkable feat. And now, they've turned their eyes to a state championship.
"We all have to work together as a team," Cook said. "I feel like we really push each other at practices... and then individually, I just set goals for myself, and -- "
And achieve them, one after the next after the next?
"Yeah," she said with a laugh. "I just try to have a positive mindset."
And her teammates are right there with her - focused.
"As much as we can, we try to keep it to ourselves, and keep looking ahead," Samantha Humphries said, "because... we want more."
And fast.