Many Hockley County athletes competed in the 2A and 1A Region 1 Cross Country Championships this past Monday and Tuesday morning at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.
The most significant performances came from class 2A as 10 Hockley County runners punched their ticket to the state meet next week.
Smyer senior Ismael Pizano won the individual regional championship in the boys’ 5K race with a time of 16:32.50, which places him as one of the top seeds at the state meet.
Ropes sophomore Chase Schumm followed behind Pizano in third place with a time of 17:05.90 to punch his ticket to the state meet as an individual qualifier.
While none of the Sundown boys broke the top 10 individually, they placed third overall as a team with a score of 179 and an average time of 19:45, earning the opportunity to compete as a team at the state meet.
Senior Rolando Rivera placed 15th with a 18:06.20, junior Lincoln Keesler placed 25th with a 18:35.30, senior Jaydith Shelton placed 26th with a 18:35.50, freshman Jaxon Reynolds placed 67th with a 19:50.30, senior Daniel Mauldin placed 102nd with a 20:43.80, junior Ryder Stanley placed 116th with a 21:01.40 and junior Corey Goodman placed 126th with a 21:23.20.
They were the only Hockley County team to qualify for the state meet with that effort.
The success didn’t end there for Sundown though as junior Kaytlin Clausen finished sixth in the girl’s two-mile race with a time of 12:46.10 to earn an individual qualifier bid for the state meet.
Her Roughette teammates were unable to join her in that regard, but they still put up noteworthy performances in the two-mile race.
Senior Sarah Posadas placed 21st with a 13:33.10, junior Addilyn Hord placed 50th with a 14:08.40, freshman Karter Hord placed 52nd with a 14:10, sophomore Karmindy Townsend placed 66th with a 14:26.70, sophomore Maddy Medrano placed 76th with a 14:35.60 and sophomore Avy McGlasson placed 96th with a 14:51.60.
That team effort earned the Sundown girls fifth overall out of 23 teams with an average time of 14:04.
Another girls’ team that fought hard was the Whiteface Lady Lopes, who finished 15th overall with an average time of 14:44.
The performances that contributed to that effort included junior Lainey Sanders placing 47th with a 14:03.90, senior Anais Soliz placing 63rd with a 14:21.60, sophomore Kaylee Gonzales placing 105th with a 14:59.30, freshman Rhaelyn Bracey placing 109th with a 15:04.80 and senior Emily Blankenship placing 113th with a 15:12.
And rounding out the 2A performances was Smyer senior Austin Martinez, who placed 18th with a time of 18:14.30 in the boy’s 5K race.
In the 1A competition, Anton freshman Isaiah Alafa finished 21st overall in the boy’s 5K race with a time of 20:09.30, which was the highest among his Hockley County competitors.
Two Whitharral boys followed behind him to crack the top 100 as senior Trey Villegas placed 55th with a 21:59.20 and senior Damian Rodriguez placed 97th with a 24:31.20.
Along with their performances, junior Isaiah Acevedo placed 104th with a 24:52.50, freshman Braxton Vinson placed 105th with a 24:52.80, freshman Keegan Edwards placed 121st with a 26:56.80 and junior Nehemiah Edwards placed 135th with a 30:09, all of which contributed to the Whitharral boy’s team placing 14th overall with a 25:33 average.
On the girl’s side, sophomore Sheridan Neal led the Lady Panthers, finishing 58th with a time of 15:34.90, followed by junior Emma Gonzales placing 100th with a 17:10.50, sophomore Emberly Prowell placing 102nd with a 17:18.10, freshman Natalia Marin placing 110th with a 17:36.50, freshman Shelby Pinkston placing 111th with a 17:43.80 and freshman Brooklyn Nickelson placing 126th with a 19:09.40.
They all contributed to an 18th place team finish with a team average time of 17:25.
Following a great couple of days for Hockley County cross country teams, the majority of them have now concluded their season, but all the 2A state qualifiers begin preparation for the state meet.
They all compete at the UIL 2A Cross Country State Championships on November 1 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock, Texas.
The girl’s 3,200-meter race is first at 10:55 a.m. and the boy’s 5K is at 11:25 a.m.