Run of the Panther

By Kaylee Pippins

Run+of+the+Panther

Kaylee Pippins, Editor-In-Chief

On Sept. 7, Azle Cross Country competed in the Fossil Ridge “Run of the Panther” invitational meet hosted at the Keller Sports Complex. Both girls and boys teams competed well and placed within the top 10. Varsity Boys placed 8th overall out of 16 teams and JV boys placed 5th out of 20 teams. Varsity Girls placed 5th overall and JV Girls placed 6th.

The six Hornets that competed in the 5A/6A Boys 5,000 Meter Run stayed together throughout the race, all finishing within a minute of one another.

“As for the times, we stayed together,” Varsity Cross Country runner Patrick Toy said. “We stayed together really well, but we just need to be faster.”

Some unexpected guests showed up at the invitational meet. McFarland Cross Country runners, upon whom a 2015 film was based, attended the meet to watch other high school teams. Walt Disney Pictures’ McFarland, USA recounts the true story of the 1987 McFarland team on the road to win a state championship.

“They have gone to a few invitational meets in the area,” Toy said. “It was a cool experience to meet some role models in the sport.”

The next varsity cross country meet will be held in Lubbock on Sept. 21 and JV will be the Metroplex Challenge, Sept. 20. Scores and places are listed below:

Varsity Boys- 196 pts
39 Dalton Hevel 18:45.35
41 Kaleb King 18:47.35
46 Cameron Magee 18:51.72
49 Brenden Hathaway 19:01.59
51 Giovanni Juarez 19:07.30
74 Patrick Toy 19:36.67
JV Boys- 152 pts
17 Caleb Balderas 19:55.97
22 Michael Biron 20:06.73
26 Reed Tobiasson 20:17.57
30 Nate Reese 20:26.02
67 Kehler Boenisch 21:53.32
91 Karl Taylor 21:53.36
93 Miguel Guzman 21:59.14
107 Adrian Faughn 22:21.07
111 Juandiego Rios 22:27.46
124 Dawson Faber 22:46.65
137 JJ Beck 23:21.48
200 Michael Saline 25:49.32
207 Matt Biondo 26:13.15
231 Titan Smith 27:39.73
245 Xander Smith 29:17.78
246 Cody Davis 29:19.40
Varsity Girls- 127 pts
13 Jacee Dinkins 21:39.79
19 Jennifer Duran 22:01.63
28 Savannah Ketron 22:28.55
40 Sierra Ketron 23:17.48
41 Sophia Tucker 23:18.18
45 Dixie Hitt 23:28.52
62 Megan Green 24:15.08
JV Girls- 144 pts
8 Bailee Johnson 24:20.87
10 Ashlyn Hobbs 24:26.26
26 Fernanda Alvarado 25:34.20
39 Nicole Hack 26:20.45
70 Haley Guerrero 28:09.50
87 Ellison Crane 29:04.07
126 Melanie Mosier 30:55.12
170 Stephanie Rosales 33:47.75