By Richard Greene | Published Thursday, October 22, 2009
In their final tuneup for the District 5-3A meet, the Decatur girls and boys cross country teams held their own against some of the top Class 5A teams in North Texas Saturday.
The Lady Eagles, who are ranked No. 1 in the Class 3A Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas rankings, finished fifth out of 14 teams in the Class 5A race at the Haltom Buffalo Stampede held at the Tarrant County Northeast Campus. The Lady Eagles scored 136 points. Coppell won the meet with 49.
The Eagles, who are ranked No. 5 by the CCCAT, took seventh out of 15 teams in the boys Class 5A race. Decatur tallied 228 points. Keller Central won the meet with 28 points.
Decatur coach David Park said the tough meet was good preparation for the district meet Oct. 29 at Joe Wheeler Park in Decatur and beyond.
"The whole season will be determined in the next three weeks," Park said. "Now it gets fun."
Hanna Galloway led the Lady Eagles to the finish line, posting a seventh-place finish. Galloway ran a 12:04 on the hilly two-mile course. Kim Kirby of Coppell won the meet, running a 10:58.
"I felt like the team did well," Galloway said. "I got boxed in at first."
"[Next week] I'm going to be very focused. Our goal is state, but we have to take it one step at a time," she said.
Zuleima Palomo finished 16th, running 12:17. The third Lady Eagle to finish was Natalie Neighbors in 12:25, taking 22nd. Bianca Morrison finished 47th in 13:07. Veronica Torres finished a step ahead of teammate Rebecca Roose in 51st place in 13:09. Sutton Young ran 13:47, taking 76th. Whitney Vrba finished 79th in 13:51.
"The girls got seperated early and had to fight back the whole race," Park said. "They ran well after the start."
Cris Ortiz ran the Eagles' top time, posting a 16:57 on the 5K course to finish 18th. Keller Central's Nathan Parker ran a 15:43 to take first place.
Ortiz said he enjoyed running against the tough field on the difficult course.
"It was really hard because it was so hilly," Ortiz said. "The better competition makes me run faster and helps me get ready for district."
Alex Forbis ran 17:44, taking 44th. Chase Saunders finished 49th in 17:51. Eric Pedroza posted a 17:53, taking 52nd. Pablo Rivas was the Eagles' fifth runner, crossing the finish line in 70th place in 18:34.
Gustavo Huerta ran 18:42, taking 76th. Remington May took 91st in 19:06.
"I was real proud of the guys," Park said. "Our second, third, fourth and fifth runners all finished tight, which I like to see."
Decatur fielded a second boys team in the Class 4A race. The team took 11th.
Gunner Dailey finished 51st in 19:47. Michael Smyers was 57th in 20:23. Kyle Travis took 60th in 21:02. Kyle Hunely was 73rd in 22:47. Caleb Jones ran 26:02 to finish 78th, a step ahead of Shane Paque.
Boyd had three runners in the boys 4A race. Kyle Dunn ran 18:55 to finish 24th. Matt Shearer took 50th in 19:46. Austin Booth ran 21:50, taking 67th.
Four Decatur girls ran in the 4A girls race. Haliegh Newville took 43rd in 14:33. Tamara Maywald was 46th in 14:37. Casie Morgan ran 15:19 to finish 61st. Elise Keller was 67th in 16:14.
The Boyd girls took fifth in the 4A junior varsity race. Courtney Sanders took second in 13:21. Chelsea Landes took 14th in 14:37. Stormi McCarter finished 27th in 15:28. Keenan Burgin was 33rd in 16:17. Jessica Drake took 36th in 16:44.
