Grit: courage, resolve and strength of character.  However, to Coppell cross country runner and senior Pranav Vegiraju, it is more than what the book definition says.

With temperatures higher than 104 and the sun beating down on the concrete, there is one sound on the pavement. A constant tap gets louder as Vegiraju hits his stride. It’s just him, his phone and his lucky socks from Buc-ee’s.

When picturing Buc-ee’s, one thinks about the juicy beef brisket burger, the cakey, delicious banana pudding, the large drink machine with infinite refills, the bathroom after a long ride or just the gasoline pumps ready to be used.

“When I went to Buc-ee’s, we were just going to stretch our legs and refuel,” Vegiraju said. “I somehow found myself in the socks section and that’s when I thought I would get a pair.”

From then, Vegiraju has taken the socks everywhere he has gone.

“They are now my lucky socks,” Vegiraju said. “I take them everywhere, especially meets.”

When he runs, Vegiraju runs with commitment and even in the summer heat, he pushes through knowing this is his chance to become great.

“It wasn’t the heat that affected me,” Vegiraju said. “It was the determination that I had knowing that I wanted to show the world who I am.”

On Coppell’s nearly 90-member co-ed team, Vegiraju is the fastest runner, posting his fastest time of 14:59.9 in the first meet this year in the 5K at the Waxahachie Woodhouse Invitational on Aug. 17 at Lake View Camp, also claiming first place.

“That run was incredible,” Coppell coach Landon Wren said. “He proved that he is truly a class athlete.”

Vegiraju’s story is just like any other. As a kid, he loved football and wanted to compete at a high school level.

“I was definitely a huge football fan growing up,” Vegiraju said. “I wanted to play football or basketball when I grew up.”

His story takes a turn when being told that he was too small to play football in his freshman year, forcing him to shift his focus.

“[Pranav] was definitely discouraged that he couldn’t play football,” said senior Pranati Vegiraju, Pranav’s sister. “But the attention that he has gotten out of cross country is unlike anything he has received before.”

Being able to meticulously combine technique with stamina and endurance while running long distances is extremely difficult, including for runners who have been doing it since they were 5. On top of that, running for the first time as a sophomore, he was not fast enough to compete at the top level.

At the Southlake Carroll XC Invitational at Bob Jones Park in August 2022, the first competition Pranav ran at, he placed 341 and ran a time of 23:14.31 – almost a nine-minute difference from now.

“Most kids in our program come out of middle school running their whole lives,” Wren said. “Pranav came just as an OK runner who had no prior experience. He was also undersized and didn’t have the experience he needed.”

That sophomore year, Pranav decided that it was time to push the boundaries of his running. Diving deeper into the definition of grit, he wanted to see how far he could go.

“He is just a pleasure to coach and even more to watch,” Wren said. “If you see the way he works out, day in and day out, you would understand why he’s our most consistent runner.”

With his first meet of his senior campaign, Pranav smashed all expectations and his run garnered more than seven million views. With all of this attention, he has seen an increase in the number of offers and visits to colleges.

“I needed to get a collegiate offer,” Pranav said. “Since I was young, I knew that I wanted to play sports at that level and now so many colleges have reached out to get in touch with me.”

The attention isn’t just stopping at Pranav. Coppell cross country has seen an increase of participation and attention.

“The whole program has grown tremendously over the last few years,” Wren said. “We have more freshmen than ever ready to step into bigger roles.”

With Pranav making headlines and surpassing personal records, he has his work ethic  – and his lucky socks – to thank.

Sports photography editor Kayla Nguyen contributed to this story. 

This story was originally published on Coppell Student Media on September 19, 2024.