Runners to compete at district Oct. 11
By Sam Waller
Albany cross country runners got their final tune-up before district competition Sept. 27 at Dublin.
Albany will compete at the District 10-2A meet Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Hawley. High school races start at 9:00 a.m. with junior high runners taking the course at 4:00 p.m.
The top three varsity teams and the top 10 individuals at the district meet advance to the Region II-2A meet Oct. 23 at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie.
At Dublin, Albany had just three varsity runners due to injuries and illness.
“I told them before they ran that this course would 100 percent prepare them for their next meet, which is district,” coach Lauren Peacock said. “Times were a little slower, but that was expected with the hills.”
In the boys race, Jonathan Coody finished 27th out of 80 runners with a time of 20:10.
In the varsity girls race, which had 94 runners, Ashlyn Miller placed 26th in 15:39 with Avery Everitt 54th in 16:58.
In the junior high division, Albany won the boys team title, and the Lady Cubs finished third in the girls team standings.
In the boys race, which had 75 runners, the Cubs grabbed three of the top four places and had all five scoring runners in the top 13.
“The boys told me before they ran that they were going to win,” Peacock said. “They had their mindset and competed hard.”
Bellah finished second in 13:27 with Britting third in 13:33 and Lyle Wheeler fourth in 13:50. Rounding out the scoring were Bentley Boyett (12th, 14:38) and Henry Wright (13th, 14:39). The rest of the lineup consisted of Rush Kidd (17th, 15:02), Aiden Vickers (26th, 15:56) and Graham Ceder (29th, 16:23).
Other participants were Levi Murphy, Landon Edwards, and Zaiden Dockins.
In the girls race, which had 81 runners, Albany bunched its top five within a span off 11 runners with the whole group separated by just 58 seconds.
“The girls ran two miles this week versus 1.5 miles at Hawley,” Peacock said. “They were challenged going into the meet and then the difficulty of the course with the long hills, it was tough. I thought they handled the adversity well and gutted it out.”
Cayla Green finished 25th in 17:39, followed by Hailey Gleitz (26th, 17:46), Tinley Hefner (29th, 17:59), Hattie Fikes (32nd, 18:17), and Haiden Niell (35th, 18:37), Keeley Britting (40th, 18:56), Kynlee Milligan (42nd, 19:07), and Avery Gleitz (52nd, 20:58).
