Folders |
Preview - Texas State XC Meet 2021 News & NotesPublished by
Compiled By John Sullivan for DyeStat Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, TX The course at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock is moderately hilly. Each race has 152 qualifiers consisting of 16 teams (top 4 from each of the four Region meets) plus the top 10 individuals from each Region whose team did not qualify. Last year there were only 12 teams plus individuals due to COVID.
Course Records at State: (note: course changed in 2016. New loop is very similar to old one, but 5k start/finish is near the previous 2k spot & 3200m start-finish is near the previous mid-point)
Boys 5000m - 14:14.1, Ryan Schoppe, La Porte HS, 2019 6A Girls 5000m (5A-6A) - 16:25.9, Brynn Brown, Guyer HS, 2020 6A; moved from 3200 to 5k in 2012; Girls 3200m (1A-4A) - 10:59.8, Annie Dunlap, Crawford HS, 2013 2A ** note: 10:39, Erin Bedell, Plano West HS, 2004 5A prior to move to 5k 6A BOYS (State rank per pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll, South Region & US per DyeStat) TX6A#1/SO#3 Southlake Carroll is looking for a 3-peat and 7th title all-time. Season highlights include 4th at the deep Woodbridge (CA) Invite in mid-September (US#1 & #11 California teams were 1-2 while TX6A#3 Eastwood was 9 points back in 5th), 3rd at Chile Pepper (AR) on 10/2 behind US#12 Portland Central Catholic (OR) and US#14/TX5A#1 Grapevine and then a Region I win 75-98 over Eastwood again with TX6A#7 Plano West 3rd (123). Coach Justin Leonard says, “Coming into this season we knew that we had a young bunch of runners with so many graduating from last year’s team. Therefore, our approach was to attend early-season quality meets to get them used to the speed and intensity of varsity races. The boys did a great job of stepping up this season and meeting the demands of training and putting themselves in a position to be successful at the State meet.” TX6A#2/SO#5 The Woodlands is after its first win since a 4-peat ended with 2018 and also seeking its 22nd title in 43 straight State appearances! Their efforts this season include 2nd at TX MileSplit/Guyer behind US#14/TX5A#1 Grapevine on 9/11, a Nike South win at home (93 points) over SO#2 Deer Creek OK (121) and TX6A#4 Atascocita (132) on 10/2, a 9:27 5-man average for their annual pre-District 3200m intrasquad track time trial and Region II gold with 58 points ahead of local rival TX6A#8 College Park (97). Coach Juris Green said this week, “Workouts by our varsity crew were smooth, fast and under control - just the things a coach wants to see the week of a state XC championships. You can't hide fitness. We'll see what we do with it!” Interestingly his father Dan won the first 15 State titles over 30 years (50%) and his son Juris has 6 in 12 years (the same 50%) so the family win-rate record is on the line! The Woodlands (9) and Southlake Carroll (6) have won the last 15 team titles. TX6A#3 Eastwood traveled to face stiff competition including 5th at the huge Woodbridge (CA) Invite on 9/11 with US#1 & #11 CA teams 1-2, Desert Vista AZ 3rd and TX6A#1 SL Carroll 9 points ahead in 4th. Just a week later they earned silver at Desert Twilight on the NXR Southwest course in Arizona against a very deep field behind only US#3 Niwot CO and this time besting Desert Vista AZ. At Region I last week they trailed SL Carroll 75-98. Coach Mike McLain said, “Our boys are really an overachieving team. We lost a ton (of boys from last year’s team silver) so most of these kids had never even seen the Regional course. They are a relaxed group who don't seem to get very nervous; they just go for it.” TX6A#4 Atascocita placed a school best 4th last year after opening in 2006. They were runners-up to The Woodlands at Region III Preview and to Grapevine at McNeil. At Region III they took team honors comfortably, 61-109 over TX6A#6 Strake Jesuit. Coach Todd Symons said, “The guys are running great, but we know there are some really good teams at the 6A level. We have to run better to beat them. Our Goal to start the year was 3 races, 3 golds - District, Regionals and State so 2 down and 1 to go!!! Our guys race really well together, our team gap is small, but at the state meet we need a small gap and a runner in the top 15. The best characteristic of this team is it doesn't matter who is in the top 5, just get the job done. They also have a lot of fun doing it, so hopefully we race well this weekend.” At Region IV, TX6A#9 Round Rock pulled out a nail biter with 112 points to edge Vandegrift (117) and Brandeis (119). Vandegrift is led by US#30 jr Kevin Sanchez who was 5th at the Woodbridge (CA) Invite trailing “only” the top 4 from Newbury Park CA, all in the US top 11 and sub 8:50/4:10 tracksters. He won Region IV by 26 seconds and topped 5A Grapevine sr Walker St John at McNeil where he suffered his only other loss with silver behind Houston St John sr Emmanuel Sgouros, an undefeated SPC (Southwest Prep Conference) star and on the US Watchlist. Also on the US Watchlist is Plano West sr Hudson Heikkinen whose only blemish this season is 2nd by 1.5 seconds at TX MileSplit/Guyer to Walker St John where he did knock off Deer Creek OK sr AJ Antonelli, the OK State 6A champ. Heikkinen struck Region I gold over Abilene super-soph Andruw Villa and Pebble Hills jr Omer Ibrahim who had an impressive victory at Nike South. The Woodlands sr Kyle Easton confirmed his #6 returner status with the Region II title ahead of Wylie sr Nathanael Berhane and Oak Ridge jr Nick Grams. At Region III, Stratford sr Emanuel Galdino won a terrific battle by 0.3 seconds over Dawson sr Noah Haileab, the #2 returner (but now #1 among this year’s qualifiers). Seven Lakes sr Ruben Rojas Betanzos took bronze and will also be in the mix. Top Returners: #1 Israel David, SR, Eastlake, 3rd, 15:25.54 (no 2021 Region) #2 Noah Haileab, JR, Dawson, 6th, 15:32.19 (2021 Region 3 2nd) #3 Kevin Sanchez, JR, Vandegrift, 9th, 15:35.88 (2021 Region 4 1st) #4 Brayden Kennedy, JR, Flower Mound, 13th, 15:42.21 (2021 Region 1 17th) #5 Ruben Rojas Betanzos, SR, Seven Lakes, 15th, 15:45.00 (2021 Region 3 3rd) #6 Kyle Easton, SR, The Woodlands, 16th, 15:47.28 (2021 Region 2 1st) #7 Jared Laverty, SR, Americas, 21st, 15:53.68 (2021 region 1 11th) #8 Pablo Lesarri, JR, The Woodlands, 22nd, 15:54.16 (2021 Region 2 6th) #9 Andrew Mullen, JR, Coppell, 25th, 15:58.40 (2021 Region 1 7th) #10 Tate Underwood, JR, SA Johnson, 26th, 15:59.20 (2021 Region 4 15th)
6A GIRLS (State rank per pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll, South Region & US per DyeStat) TX6A#1/SO#1/US#12 Flower Mound is aiming to repeat. Their season accomplishments include a close 2nd with 130 points at the prestigious Woodbridge (CA) Invite on 9/18, behind US#9 Newbury Park CA (124 points) and topping US#8 Buchanan CA (136) followed by US#16 Desert Vista AZ, US#20 Southlake Carroll (289) and Vandegrift (295). That’s 3 Texas teams in the top 6. Nearly as impressive is when they took team honors at Nike South, scoring 48 without their stud #1 Natalie Cook (recruiting trip) to best TX6A#5 The Woodlands (101) and TX5A#1 Lovejoy (140 without their #1). They continued to roll through Region I, claiming gold with 46 points to take down TX6A#2 Southlake Carroll (83) and TX6A#3 Prosper (98). Coach Andrew Cook said before State, “Our season has been good up to this point. I don’t think we have had our best team race yet, but I’m proud of the girls for stepping up when someone is having an off day. At Regionals we got out well and ran great on the difficult course - pleased that we were able to have four athletes place in the top ten and come away with the team title.” He added, “Texas (State 6A) has great depth this year. We want to get out well and fight to the finish. Last mile will decide what teams are on the podium.” TX6A#2/SO#2/US#20 Southlake Carroll had the previously mentioned showings at Woodbridge and Region I. They also had a nice win at Chili Pepper (AR) over Jenks (OK 6A champs last week) and several other tough TX, MO, AR and OR squads. Coach Justin Leonard said, “Our girls have done a great job of coming to practice each day with the same goal in mind which is to be ready to compete at the highest level at the state meet. They have stayed focused throughout the season and I believe they are ready to deliver. Each meet this year the girls have stepped up to the level of competition and that’s an expectation they have set for themselves. Every year is different, but the goal remains the same. Our goal for the state meet is to run our race and focus on what we can control which is us. They are excited to compete and I can’t wait to watch them perform.” TX6A#3 Prosper came out of Region I battle-tested. Previously they’d had skirmishes at Islander Splash (Region IV Preview) with 54 points over NB Canyon (104) and Round Rock (107) and at the McNeil Invite (State Preview). They have a very strong 1-2 punch with jr Shewaye Johnson (move-in from IA) and #1 6A returner (4th) sr Aubrey O'Connell. Coach Jennifer Gegogeine said, “This year our season has been a work in progress. We hit our stride at the District Meet and feel like we are progressively getting better in the championship season.” Looking to State, “The team has worked hard all year for this opportunity and both teams are excited and ready to compete!” TX6A#4/SO#5 Vandegrift fared well at Woodbridge CA on 9/18, trailing only five USA top 20 ranked teams. Last week they topped Region IV with 88 points, ahead of TX6A#10 Round Rock (95). Coach Colin Sully said, “We're really excited to finally see both of our teams compete on the 6A State stage! We've had a fantastic season and are eager to race against the best in the state on Saturday. Our girls are coming in super confident after winning their second Region IV-6A Championship in a row and our boys team is firing on all cylinders right now. We should have a lot of support out there at Old Settler's Park in Round Rock. It is a familiar course and our athletes enjoy racing there.” TX6A#5/SO#3/US#29 The Woodlands was the class of Region II, scoring 61 followed by Klein Oak (90) and TX6A#8 Bridgeland (106). Their best showings included Region III Preview gold and Nike South silver to Flower Mound. Like many teams they’ve had bumps along the way with illness/injury, but are rounding into form. Coach Juris Green said, “State on the horizon! Want to see an electric environment? Be in Round Rock at 11:30am and 12:10pm on Saturday.” At Region III, perennial powerhouse TX6A#6 Kingwood tallied 71 atop the leaderboard with TX6A#9 Stratford (90), Katy (92) and Cinco Ranch (103) also qualifying for State. US#6 Flower Mound sr Natalie Cook will be the one to beat. She ran 10:12.8 in the Southlake Carroll track 3200m on 8/21, grabbed bronze at Woodbridge (CA) behind two other top 14 US ranked girls and just ahead of TX 5A defending champ Isabel Conde de Frankenberg (US Watchlist herself). She then dominated the field at Region I, breaking the tape 1:25 ahead of #10 6A returner Eastwood sr Lauren Walls-Portillo and her soph teammate Samantha Humphries, the #9 returner. Natalie Cook said, “I thought my race at region went well. I tried to keep it under control the first mile and get up the hill right in the beginning since that’s the hardest part of the course. I was happy with my time considering how difficult the course can be. Woodbridge was really fun. I loved the atmosphere and racing that late at night. I felt really good during that race but wished I finished better. Overall I was pleased with it. I’m really excited for State, it’s going to be fun. The course is fast and mostly flat. My goal is to get after it and win a team & individual title.” Eastwood Coach Mike McLain said, “Lauren (Walls-Portillo) and the freshman Adelynn Rodriguez (Region I 6th) have really been good for each other, pushing each other to another level. Lauren has had great improvements every year and as a senior her strength has really shown. Adelynn brings that wide-eyed enthusiasm that freshman have and I have loved how she goes for it in big races.” Region II was led by the Klein Trifecta – Klein Oak sr Gabrielle Hoots (17:58), Klein soph Kathryn Koonts (18:16.31) and Klein Cain soph Rebecca Wylie (18:17.14) who can contend for the awards stand. Others in the mix include Region III champ Katy sr Isabella and runner-up Cinco Ranch sr Alison Mueller-Hickler, the Region IV top 3 - #5 returner New Braunfels sr Kennady Fontenot, Westlake fr Sophie Wollan and Vista Ridge fr Emma Wade, as well as all the top team’s individuals. Top Returners: #1 Aubrey O'Connell, SR, Prosper, 4th, 17:53.81 (2021 Region I 5th) #2 Kaylie Cox, SR, Southlake Carroll, 6th, 18:00.50 (2021 Region I 9th) #3 Natalie Cook, SR, Flower Mound, 7th, 18:05.94 (2021 Region I 1st) #4 Natasja Beijen, SR, The Woodlands, 10th, 18:13.50 (2021 Region II 6th) #5 Kennady Fontenot, SR, New Braunfels, 11th, 18:16.66 (2021 Region IV 1st) #6 Allison Buemi, SR, Flower Mound, 13th, 18:19.37 (no 2021 Region) #7 Kat Hodgson, SO, The Woodlands, 18:20.70 (2021 Region II 20th) #8 Kristen McHugh, JR, Klein, 15th, 18:23.24 (2021 Region II 15th) #9 Samantha Humphries, SO, Flower Mound, 18:26.40 (2021 Region I 4th) #10 Lauren Walls-Portillo, SR, Eastwood, 17th, 18:28.38 (2021 Region I 2nd)
5A BOYS (State rank per pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll; South Region & US per DyeStat.com) TX5A#1/SO#1/US#14 Grapevine scored 61 points in winning last year and returned 6 (State 5th man graduated). Last week they took Region I with 51 points and 4 in the top 8, followed closely by TX5A#2 Denton with 73. There was a gap to TX5A#3 Amarillo with 141. TX5A#4 Lovejoy struck gold at Region II with just 43 points and a 40-second 1-5 spread, ahead of TX5A#7 Wakeland’s 98 and TX5A#10 Reedy’s 115. Region IV followed form at the top with TX5A#5 Cedar Park’s 86 edging TX5A#6 Georgetown with 92. At Region III, La Porte topped the charts with 89 ahead of Lockhart (106). Lovejoy boys coach Logan Kelly said, “We have had an up and down year with kids being sick, etc. At regionals we finally had a solid performance and ran to the abilities that we knew we were capable of. For state our guys are ready to go and our goal is to be a podium team. We feel we have a strong shot. Grapevine is the favorite and Denton has a strong team as well. Our program goal is to get both girls and boys on the podium and girls to win.” Cedar Park Coach Chance Edwards commented, “The boys team have been a solid group all year long. We have been mixed and matched at times due to a couple of kids participating in band, but at Region we ran strong! Anytime you are able to win a Regional title in a tough situation like the Corpus Christi environment provides, then you know if was a good day! We have been looking good the past week. The 5A races are loaded, but we're ready to mix it up with the best in the State.” Grapevine sr Walker St John looks to defend as well as help his team repeat. He won at TX MileSplit/Guyer over fellow US Watchlist-er Hudson Heikkinen and Deer Creek OK sr AJ Antonelli, the OK State 6A champ. Houston St John sr Emmanuel Sgouros, an undefeated SPC (Southwest Prep Conference) star and also on the US Watchlist, had his mark at McNeil. At Chili Pepper he got caught up in a fast early pace and ended up 8th. He’s righted the ship now and took down most of the top 5A returners while claiming Region I gold. His wicked kick makes him tough to beat. Top Returners: #1 Walker St. John, SR, Grapevine, 1st, 14:42.20 (2021 Region I 1st) #2 David Mora, JR, Lubbock Monterey, 3rd, 14:56.98 (2021 Region I 3rd) #3 Nati Enright, JR, Frisco Wakeland, 8th, 15:09.14 (2021 Region II 1st) #4 Isaac McGill, SR, Amarillo, 9th, 15:10.09 (2021 Region I 2nd) #5 Trey Leathers, SR, Grapevine, 11th, 15:17.85 (2021 Region I 8th) #6 Carter Gordy, JR, Lake Creek, 12th, 15:17.99 (2021 Region III 1st) #7 Josue Granados, SR, Grapevine, 13th, 15:21.15 (2021 Region I 5th)
5A GIRLS (State rank per pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll) TX5A#1/SO#4 Lovejoy tallied a mere 27 (2-3-4-10-13 raw; 1:18 1-5 split) to capture Region II followed by TX5A#4 Highland Park’s 62. At Region IV it was defending state champs TX5A#2 Boerne Champion topping the field with 52 ahead of TX5A#6 Dripping Springs’s 71. Meanwhile at Region I it was TX5A#7 Randall claiming honors with 53 points over 2020 runner-up TX5A#5 Grapevine (63) and last year’s bronze medalists TX5A#3 Colleyville Heritage. Finally at Region III, College Station nipped Friendswood 87-88. Lovejoy girls coach Carly Littlefield said, “We’ve had a very successful season and been able to go undefeated against 5A teams up to this point. We have had very solid performances and we came through in a big way at Regionals. We have a strong top 4 and a solid 5-7, so if the girls just stay confident and run to their abilities, we should have a great day at the State meet. We are hoping to get both teams - boys and girls - on the podium for our program and community! Icing on the cake would be a Championship title for the girls.” Randall Coach Rebekah James said, “The Lady Raiders have been working hard all season. We traveled to run in 3 big meets in the Dallas area to get ready for state. At Regionals we ran well but still haven’t had the best performances out of some of our runners. Hopefully we will run the perfect race at state.” They’re led by Cameron McConnell, a senior move-in from Colorado who was a 2-time CO 6A runner-up and a national qualifier the last time NXN was held in 2019. She’s undefeated this season including wins over top-notch fields at Lovejoy, Jesuit Classic and finally Region I. Cedar Park soph Isabel Conde de Frankenberg looks to defend. She started out great with a 4th place finish at Woodbridge (CA) on 9/18, coming in after only US top 14 ranked girls and just behind Natalie Cook, the 6A favorite. After a win at McNeil over Georgetown jr Mckenzie Bailey, she then finished 2nd to Bailey at both District and Region IV. They’ll both be in the hunt for top 3 medals. Cedar Park Coach Chance Edwards said, “Isabel has been a bit under the weather the past couple weeks, but I was pleasantly surprised by her performance at Region regardless. She seems to have a lot of confidence going into this race.” Top Returners: #1 Isabel Conde de Frankenberg, SO, Cedar Park, 1st, 17:10.65 #2 Anastacia Gonzales, SR, Boerne Champion, 3rd, 17:32.42 #3 Mckenzie Bailey, JR, Georgetown, 4th, 17:32.66 #4 Veronica Ambrosionek, JR, Frisco Lone Star, 6th, 17:39.31 #5 Allie Love, SO, Colleyville Heritage, 7th, 17:52.25 #6 Kailey Littlefield, SO, Lovejoy, 8th, 17:52.78 #7 Kate Williams, SR, Boerne Champion, 10th, 17:54.71 #8 Amy Morefield, JR, Lovejoy, 12th, 18:11.86
4A BOYS & GIRLS Top 4A Returners: #1 Derrick Bible, SR, Decatur, 6th, 16:00.96 (2021 Region 1 18th) #2 Chris Moreno, JR, San Elizario 7th, 16:02.54 (2021 Region 1 1st) #3 Nick Bodenheimer, SR, Spring Hill, 8th, 16:03.23 (2021 Region 2 DQ) #4 Kenny Bibb, SO, Anna, 9th, 16:14.09 (2021 Region 2 7th) #5 Mason White, SR, Argyle, 12th, 16:21.83 (2021 Region 1 10th)
#1 Adele Clarke, SR, Celina, 1st, 11:31.04 (2021 Region 2 2nd) #2 Abree Winfrey, JR, Canyon, 3rd, 11:45.83 (2021 Region 1 1st) #3 Taylor Grona, SO, Fredericksburg, 4th, 11:47.05 (2021 Region 4 1st) #4 Abi Bass, JR, Melissa, 5th, 11:50.13 (2021 Region 2 1st) #5 Charzell Williams, JR, Life Waxahachie, 6th, 11:57.91 (2021 Region 2 24th)
4A pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll: Boys Girls 1. Canyon 1. Canyon (2020 State 1st) 2. Argyle 2. Celina (2020 2nd) 3. San Elizario (2020 State 1st) 3. Sanger
4A Region Team Champs: Boys I Canyon II Kaufman III Giddings IV La Feria Girls I Canyon II Celina III Huffman Hargrave IV La Feria
The La Feria girls claimed Region IV. Coach Graciela Campos shared, “The Lionettes took ownership of the team. They were self-motivated and each day brought a positive attitude and a desire to excel. ‘Hard work beats talent’ was a quote we would repeat. At regionals, they were predicted to maybe be 2nd, but the team ran well and won the Regional Crown! Looking toward State, “The team has worked hard and we have faith that their training will show up during the race.”
3A BOYS & GIRLS Top 3A Returners: #1 Wyatt Hoover, SR, Poth, 3rd, 15:52.40 (2021 Region 4 1st) #2 Angel Torres, JR, Tornillo, 6th, 16:06.03 (2021 Region 1 14th) #3 Crawford Kiser, SR, River Road, 7th, 16:06.14 (2021 Region 1 1st) #4 Osvaldo Melchor, SR, Whitesboro, 8th, 16:06.21 (2021 Region 2 7th) #5 Trenton Porte, SR, Eustace, 11th, 16:18.14 (2021 Region 3 5th)
#1 Yierra Flemmings, SO, Yoe, 1st, 11:48.49 #2 Finley Hunting, JR, Cole, 2nd, 11:52.97 (2021 Region 4 1st) #3 Braylen Lusby, SO, Spearman, 3rd, 12:01.49 (2021 Region 1 12th) #4 Hannah Spears, SR, Holliday, 4th, 12:07.65 (2021 Region 1 1st) #5 Addy Sykora, JR, Lorena, 5th, 12:14.86
3A pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll: Boys Girls 1. Eustace (2020 State 5th) 1. Holliday (2020 State 2nd) 2. Whitesboro (2020 3rd) 2. Lorena (2020 4th) 3. McGregor (2020 8th) 3. McGregor (2020 5th)
3A Region Team Champs: Boys I Jim Ned II Whitesboro III Eustace IV Frontier College Prep Girls I Holliday II Whitesboro III Lorena IV Lytle
Eustace AD Monty Leaf said, “Our team’s success is because of our coach, Josh Sypert. Yes, the athletes compete and do the work, but they do it because of what our coach does… he builds relationships and they know he cares. Coach Sypert has the ability to bring the best out of his athletes and get them to perform under any pressure that may come along.” Holliday Coach Glenn Griffin said, “The girls did a great job (at Region) in some pretty rough weather. To put 3 in the top 4 and 5 in the top 15 definitely shows how much work this team has done. I feel we have a good chance for a podium finish at State.”
2A BOYS & GIRLS Top 2A Returners: #1 Abraham Morales, SR, Brackett, 2nd, 16:11.06 (2021 Region 4 1st) #2 Antonio Martinez, JR, Louise, 4th, 16:29.20 #3 Bailey Campbell, SR, Holland, 5th, 16:32.81 #4 Caleb Lengefeld, SR, Hamilton, 7th, 16:44.34 (2021 Region 2 2nd) #5 Jonathan Hatley, JR, North Hopkins, 8th, 16:45.54 (2021 Region 2 7th)
#1 Kyla Kane, SR, Wellington, 1st, 12:08.49 (2021 Region 1 1st) Defending champ; 1-2-1 as a FR-SO-JR #2 Brenna Butler, JR, Gruver, 4th, 12:45.71 (2021 Region 1 16th) #3 Kadey Urbantke, SO, Farwell, 5th, 12:46.96 (2021 Region 1 20th) #4 Daisy Otwell, SR, De Leon, 9th, 12:59.41 (2021 Region 2 5th) #5 Karis Dieterich, JR, Axtell, 13th, 13:02.84 (2021 Region 3 4th)
2A pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll: Boys Girls 1. Hamilton (2020 State 4th) 1. Christoval (2020 State 5th) 2. Poolville (2020 2nd) 2. Gruver (2020 2nd) 3. Quanah 3. Mason (2020 7th)
2A Region Team Champs: Boys I Plains II Poolville III Tenaha IV Port Aransas Girls 1 Christoval II De Leon III Union Grove IV Shiner
Poolville Coach Steven Stegall said, “We have had several injuries and our #1 runner at the time got Covid and missed two weeks. We started the season looking really strong and kind of limped into the last few races before District, but started to get a little better each week starting with District. I knew our Region would be hard, but knew we had five good runners that could finish close to the front. Somehow we got lucky and pulled out a very close win.” Looking ahead he added, “The state meet is going to be tough as always. Hamilton has to be the favorite to win it. Port Aransas is always good, and Plains, Tenaha and Christoval could win it as well. We just hope we can run a good race and maybe get on the medal stand again.”
1A BOYS & GIRLS Top 1A Returners: #1 Isaiah Billingsley, SR, Mullen Co. (at Miller Grove 2018-20), 1st, 15:22.33 looking to 3-peat along with 9th as a freshman (2021 Region 4 1st) #2 Brandon Passman, SR, Guthrie, 3rd, 15:46.64 (2021 Region 1 1st) #3 Tayte Cormier, JR, Irion Co., 6th, 16:18.88 (2021 Region 2 1st) #4 Lance Verner Davis, SR, Miller Grove, 7th, 16:24.34 (2021 Region 3 1st) #5 Gunner Tarver, JR, Saltillo, 9th, 16:37.31 (2021 Region 3 4th)
#1 Taytum Goodman, SO, Springlake-Earth, 1st, 11:18.29 (2021 Region 1 1st) #2 Bailey Neal, SR, Sulphur Bluff, 3rd, 12:18.93 (2021 Region 3 1st) #3 Daylee Chisum, SO, Jayton, 5th, 12:37.56 (2021 Region 1 3rd) #4 Alaira Serrano, SO, Miller Grove, 6th, 12:53.72 (2021 Region 3 3rd) #5 Sydney Partin, JR, Priddy, 9th, 12:56.75 (2021 Region 3 2nd)
1A pre-District TX Coaches Assn Poll: Boys Girls 1. Cumby Miller Grove (2020 State 1st) 1. Buena Vista (2020 State 3rd) 2. Saltillo (2020 2nd) 2. Roby (2020 8th) 3. Jayton (2020 3rd) 3. Springlake-Earth
1A Region Team Champs: Boys I Texline II Comstock III Miller Grove IV Fayetteville Girls I Borden II Buena Vista III Priddy IV Mullen Co.
Buena Vista Coach Dale Pustejovsky said, “At Regionals, our athletes’ commitment to success helped them to compete at a high level. Our girls were fortunate to win and advance to State. They have had that vision since day one and they approached the regional meet as just another steppingstone to get to where they want to be. Obviously, winning the state meet is in their minds but the focus is to go out and perform at their absolute best.” |
