Throughout the summer months and into the fall, Ellison’s Aiden Hill and Andy Harper have logged hundreds of miles together –– on asphalt, gravel, grass and synthetic rubber tracks.
The two juniors now have 3 more miles to go in an already memorable cross country season.
Ready to roll Monday morning along with their District 16-5A champion teammates in the Class 5A Region II championships at UT Arlington’s Harold Patterson Sports Complex, Hill and Harper recorded top-20 finishes and earned spots into the UIL State 5A Meet –– accomplishing a goal they set adamantly in May.
“It doesn’t feel totally real right now. This has been the goal. Last year I didn’t make it and I was disappointed, so this year I felt like I didn’t have a choice but to make it,” Harper said. “We’ve worked so hard. Now we’re here and it feels so amazing.”
The top four teams and 10 fastest individuals not on those teams qualified for the 5A state race Oct. 31 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
It is the fifth straight season in which Ellison will be represented in the season's finale, and the first time the Eagles will have multiple runners. Hill and Harper follow in the footsteps of past state qualifiers Aaron Crittenden and Ethan Carranza in that streak.
“Andy and Aiden have been consistent all year,” longtime Ellison boys cross country head coach Jesse San Miguel said. “There were a lot of runners projected to make it out that didn’t, so it just says a lot about how hard Aiden and Andy have worked and their mental toughness, because this is a difficult race.”
The Eagles, whose perfect score Oct. 8 in the district meet led to a third straight league championship and 10th consecutive regional appearance, placed fifth among 24 teams Monday –– narrowly missing a team berth by 18 points.
Dallas Wilson (88 points) was first followed by Lucas Lovejoy (106), Frisco Wakeland (114) and McKinney North (128). Ellison had 146. The cumulative total from the top five finishers on each team count toward the final score.
Ellison's team finish in the competitive field with a number of state-ranked teams is the program's best regional finish since 2011, when it also placed fifth. Back then, only three teams advanced.
“Considering the region that we are in –– this is a stacked region, the toughest in the state –– I am very impressed with today’s effort," San Miguel said. “I had us projected eighth or 10th. They all ran well and did the best they could.”
Hill, the 16-5A champ, was 14th on Monday, clocking 16 minutes, 41.98 seconds. Harper, the district runner-up, was 17th in 16:43.91. Frisco Lebanon Trail’s Andrew Malan navigated the 3-mile course in 15:51.72 for the regional title.
“I’ve come a long way,” Hill said. “Last year I was on JV and didn’t run a regional race. I worked hard all summer with Andy. And, it’s just unreal.”
Kobe Ellis (33rd, 17:09.52), who rose the ranks on during his first varsity campaign, Justin Rodriguez-Quintana (43rd, 17:19.73) and Jaylen Henry (56th, 17:35.20) rounded out the Eagles’ top five. Also finishing were Isaiah Holloway (93rd, 18:19.39) and Quintin Durham (101st, 18:27.66).
In the program’s second straight regional meet, Chaparral was 19th, led by Anthony Banda’s 18:06.01 for 78th.
The Bobcats’ other runners were Jayden Brown (98th, 18:22.85), Damian Rubin (119th, 18:49.08), Fantino Weary (121st, 18:51.81), Carlos Robinson (122nd, 18:51.95), Berkley Niederriter (153rd, 19:40.61) and Damari Patterson (166th, 20:20.51).
Also making a second regional appearance, the Chaparral Lady Bobcats were 15th in the 21-team girls field and paced by sophomore Yeylis Tello, who placed 61st with a PR of 21:26.03.
District 16-5A’s other representatives in the race, Lake Belton and Belton, finished 11th and 21st, respectively. Lake Belton’s Keira Dzenowski (26th) advanced to state as an individual.
Autumn Scotting (77th, 21:45.13), Laila Brown (105th, 22:47.16), Joana Barcenas (112th, 23:00.59) and Hayden Mateski (116th, 23:09.81) rounded out Chaparral’s scoring runners. Also, running were Jazmin Walls (118th, 23:13) and Avianna Borja (132nd, 23:46.98).
Full results: https://live.runfarusa.com/meets/58458
UIL Cross Country State Meet Info: https://www.uiltexas.org/cross-country/state
Class 6A
Two super-successful cross country seasons concluded Tuesday morning in the Class 6A Region II Championships at UT Arlington’s Harold Patterson Sports Complex.
The Harker Heights Knights, who won the District 12-6A title on Oct. 9 (pictured below), finished 18th out of 24 talented teams in Arlington.
The top four teams and the 10 fastest individuals not on those teams qualified for the 6A UIL State meet.
Senior Christion Meiners led the way for the Knights, crossing the finish line in the 3-mile race in 49th with a time of 16 minutes, 55.26 seconds. Blake Zimmerman (76th, 17:27.50), Cody Zimmerman (101st, 17:45.62), Shane Postoak (121st, 18:16.58), Tanner McIntosh-Richter (133rd, 18:34.30), Matthew Gruber (151st, 19:20.68) and Ethan Hocking (153rd, 19:27.36) rounded out Harker Heights participants.
Prior to the Knights, the Shoemaker Lady Grey Wolves, in a regional meet as a team for the first time in school history, took 20th.
Cameron Roberts (89th, 21:18.8) and Kahlia Woodley (120th, 22:15.8) –– individual regional qualifiers last season –– were the first Lady Grey Wolves to cross, followed by Brianna Hill (130th, 22:57.9), Heaven Britton (160th, 25:25.3), Jalaiya Johnson (162nd, 25:48.4), Kimberly Trevino (164th, 25:58.4) and Anna Zamora (174th, 27:29.3).
Full results: https://live.runfarusa.com/meets/58458