Ashley Maton is racing to the front for the Westlake cross country team. Although she's just a sophomore, Maton has emerged as one of the top high school cross country runners in the Austin area.
"She's a frontrunner and I say that in the nicest possible way. She gets out and she's a front of the group type of runner. She's going to make you come get her, and if you want her, you're going to have to work to get her. She's not going to make life easy for you," Westlake's Head Coach, Chris Carter, said.
So far this season, not many have been able to get her. Ashley's already won multiple meets for the Chaps. She's been running since the seventh grade, following in the footsteps of her mom, a former collegiate champion.
"That's kind of what got me started. My mom was always running and stuff and I just started going along with her," Maton said.
Mom's talents have clearly passed to her daughter. Ashley was a state qualifier in both cross country and track as a freshman and hopes to duplicate those feats this year.
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Ashley Maton
News 8's Ricky Doyle tells us why it was only a matter of time before our athlete of the week started running.
 
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Ashley keeps a grueling pace, running around 30 miles a week.
"In practices, I have that question a lot, like, 'Why am I doing this?' Then in the race, it all pays off when I do really well, and I can't get that feeling anywhere else," she said.
"That's the deal with Ashley. I don't have to push Ashley. Ashley has her goals and she knows what she wants to do. She's her biggest coach because she drives herself," Coach Carter said.
Maton hopes this year the race will end at the state meet in Round Rock.
Ashley will compete in the district championships next weekend and, if all goes well, will advance to regionals and eventually the state meet in November.
