In a land of Red Raiders, the Carroll Cross Country teams shone brightly in green on October 22. At the Regionals meet in Lubbock, both the boy's and girl's teams stamped their tickets to the State Championship after placing first and second, respectively.
This marks the ninth year in a row that the boy's team had earned a bid for state, and the 22nd consecutive year for the Lady Dragons. To put it in perspective, the girl's team state run is old enough to have graduated college by now. The route to state is never easy, and Monday's regional course was no different.
“Our boy's and girl's teams were able to come out to Regionals and accomplish the goal of qualifying for the state meet,” Head Coach Justin Leonard says via press release. “We are extremely proud of the way they stepped up and were able to perform at a high level. We are excited to run at the state meet and pursue our goal of winning state.”
The boys' performance was headed up by Nate Lannen, who placed fourth overall. Teammates Jack Myers, Tim Mcelaney, Steven Torres and Antonio Florcruz all placed within the top 30. Familiar foes Flower Mound and Keller placed second and third, respectively.
Sofia Santamria led the Lady Dragons with a sixth overall time of 17:45. She was followed by Grace Willianson, Lydia Lo, Payton Wichman and Lauren Langenberg, all of whom had top 30 finish times. The Lady Dragons were sandwiched by Flower Mound in first place and Keller in third.
Girls
- 6th – Sofia Santamaria 17:45
- 16th – Grace Williamson 18:22
- 19th – Lydia Lo 18:28
- 20th – Payton Wichman 18:31
- 28th – Lauren Langenberg 18:46
Boys
- 4th - Nate Lannen 15:03
- 14th – Jack Myers 15:28
- 16th – Tim Mcelaney 15:29
- 22nd - Steven Torres 15:37
- 23rd – Antonio Florcruz 15:38
The Southlake Carroll Cross Country Varsity teams will compete on Saturday, November 3rd at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock in the State Meet.