JESSIE MCCABE
CXC JV Girls
Carroll Cross Country’s varsity and junior varsity teams participated in the UIL District 5-6A Cross Country Championship meet on Thursday, October 17, and the Dragons came out on top. There was a lot to be proud of as these athletes ran in the 5K course at Bob Jones Park in Southlake, like several teams finishing with perfect lineups.
The Varsity Dragons had quite the showing with five of its runners placing within the top 10. Nate Lannen came in first with a time of 14:46 and was followed by Antonio Florcruz in third, Michael McCabe in fifth, Solomon Chavez in sixth and Tim McElaney in ninth.
The Varsity Lady Dragons dominated its race with their top seven runners placing in the top seven spots. Jenna Holland led the group coming in at 17:39 and was followed by Tatum Foreman, Lydia Lo, Katherine McElaney, Alexis Karmis, Kaylie Cox and Abigail McIlvain.
Both teams easily won their races thanks to their individual athletes. The Varsity Boys scored 24 points to beat Northwest Eaton by 52 points while the Varsity Girls score a perfect 15 points to beat Keller by 79 points. Both teams advanced to the Region 1-6A Championship, which will be held on October 28 in Lubbock.
The JV Dragon Boys also took first place and put up a perfect score of 15 points. And the depth of the team was showcased as the team’s top 14 runners placed in the race’s top 14 individual standings. Brett Gilley finished in first and was followed by Jayden Chambless, Mason Alexander, Grant Anderson, Matthew Hetrick, Matthew Sims, Lucas Levant, Issac Chavez, Kieran Beirne and Bryan Fernando.
The JV Lady Dragons were equally impressive with the top 10 Dragon runners finishing as the overall top 10 finishers. Grace Williamson took first place and was followed by Ava Bushaw, Natalie Ng, Olivia Jones, Rachel Nguyen, Laurel Hook, Mia Tesoriero, Kate Reppeto, Audrey Dunn and Payton Wichman.
Southlake Carroll Cross Country head coach Justin Leonard said the meet was a chance to show others just how committed his athletes are to the sport.
“We are so proud of the way our kids competed at the district meet,” Leonard says via press release. “This meet was an opportunity to display our hard work in a championship setting and our runners didn’t disappoint. We are excited to race at regionals and punch our ticket for the state meet. Thank you to everyone who came out to support our runners.”
While the Dragons are now the 5-6A Champions, their journey is far from over. We will be following the teams as they head to regionals and prepare for postseason meets.