A duplex house in the middle of a quiet neighborhood with three to four other people doesn’t seem like the normal living situation for a group of college men.
For Sam Houston State’s men’s cross country team runners, it seems just right.
Seniors Logan Terry, Juan Ponce and Karl Schreiber along with junior J.T. Bounds share the house that sits about two miles from campus on Robinson Way.
“The house has more pros than cons,” Schreiber said. “For instance, rent is cheap, the neighborhood is nice and it is not far from campus.”
The “Cross House” began when the 2000-04 cross country athletes had a house by Pritchett Field. In 2005, the Cross House switched blocks over to its current location.
The house has four bedrooms yet only one bathroom. Considering there are four people living there, sharing one bathroom is a difficult task to get through.
“It is a difficult thing living with four people that have the same schedule as you,” Schreiber said. “Getting ready and cleaned up in the mornings after training can be rough considering we all train together, and we all have to share one bathroom.”
However, one bathroom being in a four-bedroom house is overshadowed by Wi-Fi, Sudden Link basic cable, Ping-Pong table and Nintendo Wii. The four don’t spoil themselves with luxuries, but find ways to let all the team be a part of the cross house. The team occasionally has barbeques and gatherings to bond and build stronger relationships as a team. During the winter, the roommates have bonfires in the backyard.
The team does nothing crazy, but just uses the time and house to relax and hang out as a team, Ponce said.
“The atmosphere in the house is mostly calm and chill because most of us have been friends for many years,” Ponce said. “We all help each other out in many different ways, and there are hardly ever any arguments or stress.”
The cross house is a unique living situation, but not every member of the team can live in the house because of its size. So when someone graduates, that person gives the room he is leaving behind to a member of the team who wants to live in the house.
Bounds received the fortune of moving in over the summer from graduated senior Freddy Arellano, and he said it has been nothing but great for him.
“I feel like I have big shoes to fill,” Bounds said. “He asked me if I wanted his room, and I said ‘yes.’ It was perfect timing, really, because my apartment lease ran out, and I did not want to live with anyone else.”
Every year other members of the cross country team try to rent the other half of the duplex in order to expand the house, but it always gets turned down. The idea of renting the other half of the duplex is so more members of the team can live together.
Until the team can get the other side of the duplex, they will continue to make the most with what they have, helping one another in all aspects of being student-athletes, Schreiber said.
Because, after all, a house is for family.
“Living together is definitely a positive,” Schreiber said. “The only competition is on the track, but off the track, we are brothers.”