On November 9th, Two members of the girl’s cross country team qualified for state. The state meet was on November 23rd.

Juniors Leah North and Emily Cole were the two qualifying athletes, and aimed to give it their all at state.

“Emily and I are both very excited about state and that we made it together,” junior Leah North said.

They have both shown improvement since their last year on the team. They are about a minute faster than they were last year and have won all their previous meets this season.

“They are very confident in their abilities and have proven they are 2 of the best runners in the area,” Cross Country Coach Keith Boenisch said.

Leah North has been on the team for two years and has made state both years. Since June they have been running five to six days a week in preparation.

“I am just hoping to do the best that I can,” Leah said.

Emily Cole has been on the team for two years as well, but this is the first year she has made state. She is optimistic toward her performance in the state meet and hopes to perform well.

“My goal for the upcoming meet is to run as hard as I possibly can and leave it all out on the course,” Emily said. “There are over 100 girls running so if I could get in the top half that would be amazing.”

Everyone involved was optimistic for Leah’s and Emily’s performance. They were all hoping for a great performance at state.

“I’m pretty optimistic about racing at the state meet this year, I’ve grown and challenged myself as an athlete and I’m excited to see how I can compete at a tougher level of competition,” Emily said.

When the state meet came, they both gave it their all. Emily placed 58th and Leah placed 78th out of 150 runners. Their times were 19:02 and 19:27 respectively, and were Azle’s two fastest girls to ever run a 5K.

“Before the race, I was nervous but I felt as prepared as I could have been. After the race, I felt accomplished and relieved that we got to have such a successful season even with all of the challenges that we have faced,” Leah said.