TEMPLE –– Heat and humidity hovered over Killeen ISD cross country runners making their 2024 season debut. The sweaty weather, though, was only part of the challenge Friday morning in the Temple Invitational at Lions Park.
“The hill” had everyone’s attention.
“Some of our returners, they saw this meet on the schedule and said ‘Coach, the hill,’” Harker Heights coach Rachael Hood said. “A lot of our new runners, were like, ‘The hill?’ After they ran, they were like, ‘Oh, my goodness.’”
Indeed, the course, with its share of open space and overhanging trees that is mostly notorious for an uphill portion, tested runners’ will and endurance and left everyone talking after the experience. Well, once they took a breather, found ice, water and shade, they started talking about it.
“Conquering the hill is the main goal at this Temple meet,” Killeen coach Walt Harris said. “So, I was very proud of our young ladies and our young guys, giving it their all.”
All KISD boys and girls squads aside from the Ellison boys –– who open the season Saturday at the Waxahachie meet –– were in the Class 5A-6A field Friday.
The Harker Heights Knights recorded a fourth-place finish as a team, while the Shoemaker Grey Wolves, coming off a regional appearance a year ago, were sixth.
A pair of top-10 individual performances in the 3-mile jaunt boosted the Grey Wolves up the standings. David Bluhm crossed the line in 17 minutes, 10.2 seconds to place eighth with teammate Alexander Roberts right behind him in 10th (17:16.2).
Bryan’s Diego Duran won the individual crown in 16:02.8. Liberty Hill took the team championship. Host Temple was second.
“The week before this, we had a practice meet to see where we were at as far as our times. After that, we felt like we could run better and, I think, as a team, we did,” Bluhm said before describing his experience on the hill.
“Oh, man, it’s so bad,” he said. “When you go up the hill on the second lap, you look up and don’t see any more hill. And then it curves and goes up more, so it catches you by surprise.”
The top-20 runners received a medal, a group that also included Chaparral’s Cristian Vasquez (18th, 17:45.5) and Harker Heights' Cody Zimmerman (17:51.4), who was 19th. The Knights’ Reilly Vance (23rd, 18:07.6) and Blake Zimmerman (24th, 18.07.8) posted top-25 spots.
The Kangaroos’ pacesetter was Christian Matta, who was 58th in a time of 19:52.6.
In the girls 5A-6A excursion, KISD posted four in the top 10 and two others in the top 25.
Ellison’s D’Angeleigh Dombkowski led that contingent with a sixth-place showing in 20:43.3. Dombkowski, a senior, is a veteran runner for the Lady Eagles, who won a district title last season and welcome new head coach Rashandre Taylor for 2024.
“We have a lot to adapt to this year with a new coach, so for our first race, I think our team did well. We have to improve but the mentality is there,” said Dombkowski, who put into motion her usual formula to hang in the mix under difficult conditions.
“The strategy was to hang back and see where the pace was at, then kick it at the end,” she said. “I didn’t care about what I had left in the tank after that hill. I just put everything I had into it.”
Killeen’s Jennifer Lozano was seventh in 20.43, Chaparral’s Fayija Smith crossed in ninth (21:05.5), and Harker Heights’ Kaitlyn Jackowski in 10th (21:05.6).
“That’s real big for (Smith). She’s been working really hard to get to that place and only going up from there,” Chaparral coach Mallory Hibbert said. “The whole group finished 25 (minutes) and under, and that’s big for us. It’s a mindset thing, and that’s what we’ve been instilling in these kids.”
Shoemaker’s Kahlia Woodley (22:37.8) and Ellison’s Aubree Jones (22:42.2) cracked the top 25. Liberty Hill secured the 5A-6A girls team title, with Round Rock Cedar Ridge and Stony Point taking second and third, respectively. Round Rock Stony Point’s Delia Lopez was the individual winner in 19:07.6.
The Bobcats grabbed the team title in the junior varsity 5A-6A. In the JV girls team standings, Chaparral was third, Killeen sixth and Harker Heights ninth.
For more photos from the Temple Invitational by Josh Weaver and Todd Martin, check out our Flickr gallery: www.killeenisd.org/photos.
Results: https://tinyurl.com/ysrr8hnn
