Area runners excel at state XC

Round Rock -- In her first trip to the UIL State 1A cross country meet, D’Hanis freshman runner Tinsley Upchurch placed 56th among the 147 runners at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

She ran a time of 13:24 on the two-mile course on Saturday morning, Nov. 7. Two runners from Utopia, Macee Rhodes and Leighton Leavelle, placed 105th and 109th in the division.

The Lytle boys’ XC program added to its trophy room, with another 3A team state championship. It’s Lytle’s third straight state team title, and the team’s fifth championship overall. The Pirates scored 60 points to finish well ahead of state 3A runner-up Randolph (125 points), which edged out third place Cole (126).

Jacob Cantu led Lytle with a 15:48 time, finishing third overall, followed by Adrian Reyna (6th), Nathan Garza (26th), Shawn Robinette (35th), Frank Cantu (37th), Sebastian Garza (51st) and Jaden Castro (52nd).

Zach Guerra, running for Devine, was 86th in the 3A boys’ standings, from among 151 runners.

The Lytle girls finished 11th in the team standings at state, led by Annalise Quintanilla who ran a 12:36 to finish 31st out of 146 on the 3A girls’ two-mile course. Elyse Cortinas placed 33rd, followed by Sophia Herrera (116th), Addison Wagner (126th) and Kaycee Galindo (131st).

From Medina Valley, sophomore Ella Rodriguez placed 30th out of 151 runners on the 5A girls’ 5K course, running a time of 19:02. MV’s Reese Marshall placed 92nd in the field.

Both of the MV runners in the boys’ field placed among the top 25 out of 152 competitors. Nicholas Castro was 10th overall, in a time of 15:38 on the 5K layout. Brayden Riley placed 22nd, running a 15:54.

The only area runner competing on Friday’s opening day of the meet, was Noah Foulk of Creek View, who placed 19th in the 4A boys’ competition, in a time of 16:27. There were 152 runners in the 4A boys’ division.