After months of training and early morning runs, the cross country team is putting their running efforts to the test. The team heads to the district meet at Old Settler’s Park Friday.
“We’re a much more focused group [this year],” coach Kelly Thompson said. “We’re excited, it’s been a lot more fun.”
In preparation for district, the team has attended seven meets and has had several runners place well. The team kicked off the season in late August with a dual win over Vandegrift. The next week they traveled to the Woodlands for the Friday Night Lights meet. New team member, freshman Madison Boreman was the team’s top finisher, taking fourth in the varsity girls race with a time of 11:42.
For the junior varsity girls, Stephany Rubalcaba led the team, taking 15th. In the varsity boys race, senior Andy Mask was the top finisher, taking 33rd while Mitchell Ballis took 15th in the freshman boys race.
Two weeks later at the UTSA Ricardo Romo Classic Sept. 15, Boreman improved her finish, winning the varsity girls race. Her teammate, junior Helena Castle finished fifth to help the girls take second overall.
“The San Antonio meet was really good because it was a team win and a win for me,” Boreman said.
For the varsity boys, senior Andy Mask was the top finisher, taking 21st with a time of 17:12.
“I felt really accomplished at succeeding in such a large meet,” Mask said. “We worked as a team and many, including myself, set personal records.”
The next week, the junior varsity boys had a strong showing at the Cedar Park Invitational, Sept. 2. With four runners placing in the top six, the JV team took first overall. Junior Trey Douthitt was second while sophomores Daniel Guidry, Logan Zipkes and Connor Brooks were third, fourth and sixth, respectively.
In the girls races, Boreman was fourth and Castle placed 22nd in the varsity girls race. Sophomore Kenna Dekle was the top finisher for the JV girls, placing 10th with a time of 14:28.
“It felt great to cross that finish line and to see that all my hard work and dedication had finally paid off,” Dekle said. “I can finally contribute to my team.”
The McNeil Invitational in Round Rock proved successful for JV boys, with Brooks placing in the top 10 and junior Luke Bush placing in the top 15. For the varsity girls, Boreman finished fourth.
The team wrapped up their pre-district schedule with a home meet, Oct. 12. As host of the Centex Friday Night Flights, the team ran on familiar territory, running on trails and fields around the school.
“It was a proud and historical moment as a program, finally being able to show off what we have to other teams across the state,” Mask said.
The past two weeks the team has been focused on district which is Friday at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. After running the course at an earlier meet and with previous years’ experience there, the team hopes to have several runners place and qualify for regionals.
“[My goal is to] advance to regionals with both boys and girls for the first time ever,” Thompson said.
