Slidell sophomore Carter Pierce will be one of 13 Wise County runners hitting the trails at the UIL cross country state championships Friday and Saturday at Round Rock’s Old Settlers Park. Pierce, along with Slidell’s Cash Luig, Joshua Beard, Marshall Hooker, Mayson Taylor, Giovannie Peralta and Tre Salinas and Alvord’s Hudson Kelly will run in the 2A Boys 5K 11:25 a.m. Saturday. MICAH MCCARTNEY | WCMESSENGER
A total of 13 Wise County runners have their eyes set on climbing the podium at the UIL cross country state championship meets this weekend at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
3A Girls 2-Mile
Paradise’s running duo of sophomore Allie McCormick and freshman Taryn Stoltz will be the first local athletes to compete, running in the 3A girls 2-mile race 8:15 a.m. Friday.
McCormick is a returning state qualifier, having clocked 12:38.40 in her rookie campaign to finish 40th. This season, she earned a pair of top 10 finishes at the District 10-3A (5th, 12:05.85) and 3A Region II (8th, 12::32.04) meets.
Stoltz’s breakout season also led her into the top 10 at district and regionals, placing seventh (12:09.24) and fifth (12:24.48), respectively.
4A Girls 2-Mile
The Decatur Lady Eagles will have a pair of veterans competing for their shot at a state title.
Decatur sophomore Maddyx Coffman and junior Reagan Nicks are slated to run in the 4A girls 2-mile race 8:15 a.m. Saturday.
Coffman was the runner-up at the 7-4A championships, turning in a time of 12:21.15. She clinched the Lady Eagles’ top finish at the 4A Region I championships by placing 17th (12:23), earning the region’s seventh individual state berth.
Last season, Coffman missed out on punching her state ticket in her first season following a 28th-place finish (12:54.91) at regionals, running one-hundredth of a second behind Nicks (12:54.90).
Nicks’ junior year resume includes a fourth-place run in 12:35.08 at district, and a 20th-place regional run in 12:27.40.
In her two previous 4A state races, Nicks placed 50th (12:27.40) as a freshman and 79th (12:47.10) as a sophomore.
4A Boys 5K
Decatur senior Tate Clackler is hoping to close the books on his career with a strong finish in his second state race.
The 2024 7-4A runner-up, Clackler ran away with the league’s gold medal this season in 16:08.13. He earned 4A Region I’s final individual state qualifying bid by running 16:33.70 for 21st.
Clackler competed in the 2024 4A boys 5K, where he finished 85th in 17:23.
2A Boys 5K
After capturing the 2A Region II team bronze medal, the Slidell Hounds are focused on running their way up the ranks.
The Hounds will take part in the 2A boys 5K, scheduled for 11:25 a.m. Friday.
Slidell freshman Cash Luig has been the team’s top runner all season. He garnered bronze at the 13-2A championships in 17:13.15, and turned in a fifth-place run at regionals (17:06.60).
Sophomore Carter Pierce earned a top 10 placement at district, clocking 17:41.05 for eighth. He also ran 18:20.20 for a 24th-place regional finish.
Serving as the Hounds’ third and fourth runners, sophomore Joshua Beard and freshman Marshall Hooker secured 11th (18:02.19) and 12th (18:29.19) at district, respectively. Beard took home 26th at regionals in 18:24.64, while Hooker was 38th in 18:52.05.
Junior Mayson Taylor finished about 1 second behind Hooker at regionals, securing a 39th-place finish (18:53.30). In the district race, he ran 19:02.96 for 15th.
Sophomore Giovannie Peralta ran into the top 20 at district, taking 20th in 19:59.60. He placed 104th (20:57.67) at the regional meet.
Freshman Tre Salinas has turned in finishes of 26th (20:42.20) and 126th (21:37.28) at district and regionals, respectively.
Also making his first appearance in 2A boys 5K is Alvord sophomore Hudson Kelly. In his second season, Kelly took home a pair of ninth-place finishes, running 17:55.42 at district and 17:26.24 at regionals.
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