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Sulphur Bluff runners Bailey Neal, left, and Christian Gonzalez grabbed first and second place in their respective runs, advancing to state. Neal also had a new personal record with her time of 12:06.76. Courtesy/Marshall Moore -
The Miller Grove boys team won the 1A Region 3 cross country meet held Monday and were 46 points ahead of second place Saltillo. Courtesy/MGISD -
Giovanni Munoz, left, and Bailey Neal of Como-Pickton qualified for state at the 2A Region 3 meet Tuesday. Courtesy/Dee Evans -
Macie Morales of Cumby was the only runner from the girls team to advance to state as she finished eighth with a time of 12:51.39. Courtesy/Cumby Trojan Athletics
MG’s Davis has fastest time across 1A
After the UIL Region 3 cross country meet wrapped up Tuesday in Arlington, 21 Hopkins County runners are heading to the Nov. 5-6 state meet in Round Rock, with two taking first overall in 1A boys and girls.
The state meet will be held over two days with 1A girls running Nov. 5 at 8:30 a.m. and the 1A boys running at 9 a.m. after them. The 2A girls and boys run the next day at the same times.
MILLER GROVE
The Miller Grove Hornets had great runs at the Region meet with the boys team taking first place by wide margin and one of their girls finishing third overall.
The boys had five finishers in the top 10. Lance Verner Davis clinched first place overall for Miller Grove with a time of 16:34.94, beating second place by more than 30 seconds. According to times gathered by Texas 1A Fan, Davis had the fastest time by three seconds across 1A at the Region meets. Tanner Hensley landed third place with a time of 17:18.94, and Ryker Haivala finished sixth with 17:51.72. Bradley Nordin earned eighth place with 18:19.51 while Lexton Sly rounded out the top 10 at tenth with a time of 18:21.21.
According to race results, runners placed eighth through 12th were separated by five seconds, and Kavan Smith landed just outside of that at 14th place with 18:33.19. Ethan George rounded out the team at 32nd. The team finished with a score of 28, 46 points ahead of the second place team.
Miller Grove sent two girls to the Region 3 meet, and Jamilyn Hensley clinched third place overall with a time of 12:27.75. According to the 1A Fan times, that made her the fourth fastest runner across the regions. Ava Sotello had a solid showing with a finish in 30th with 13:59.80.
SALTILLO
Saltillo saw good results at the meet as the boys finished second as a team and their lone girl runner earned a solid place inside the top 25.
Gunner Tarver was the highest finisher as he earned fourth place with 17:37.69, and his time was the sixth-fastest across the region according to Texas 1A Fan times. Coy Collins was the next-highest as he finished in 11th with a time of 18:22.01. Rowdy Speir landed 18th with 18:47.29, and Adrian Don Juan and Luke Ritter weren’t far behind in 22nd and 24th respectively. Rounding out the team were Cristian Trejo at 33rd and Andrew Redburn at 42nd.
With 74 points, the boys advanced to state as the second place team behind first place Miller Grove, and Saltillo was 36 points ahead of third place Slidell.
Brianna Tawil was the sole Saltillo girls runner, and she managed to have a good run, finishing 17th overall.
SULPHUR BLUFF
While neither the Bluff ’s teams advanced to state, both the boys and girls had a finisher in the top 3.
For the boys, Christian Gonzalez clinched second place with a time of 17:09.41, and according to Texas 1A Fan, his time was the fourth-fastest across the regions. Dalton Klemptner came in 31st with 19:20.18, and Matthew Overly finished 39th with 20:03.26. Braydon Byrd finished in 68th while Dakota Klemptner landed 75th. Cayden Cascia placed 104th. The team finished 6th overall with 189 points.
Bailey Neal took first place for the girls with a personal best time of 12:06.76, and she was the second-fastest runner in the Region meets according to Texas 1A Fan. Skylar Stanley and Breanna Stanley finished with two seconds of each other at 49th (14:27.56) and 50th (14:29.68) respectively. Yulisa Castillo placed 81st, and Emma Neal and Skyler Babcock came in 102nd and 107th respectively. The team finished 9th overall.
COMO-PICKTON
Though Eagles didn’t have much luck on the team placement, two runners managed to finish in the top 10 and advance as individuals.
For the boys, Giovanni Munoz finished eighth with a time of 18:00.28, and the ninth place runner was just one second behind him. The next-highest finisher was Kasey Neal at 47th with 20:12.87, and Koalton Burkhart was behind him in 56th. Jared Satterfield rounded out the team at 80th.
Bailey Neal was the top finished for the girls as she recorded a sixth place time of 12:42.58, just one second behind fifth place. Kara Tifft came in 65th with 14:10.79, and Katie Tifft and Alli Cockrum finished back-to-back at 109th and 110th respectively. Fernanda Palacios placed 124th to round out the team which finished 13th overall.
NORTH HOPKINS
The North Hopkins boys had a good showing at the Region 3 meet as one of their runners clinched a top ten spot to advance.
Jonathan Hatley came in seventh with a time of 17:53.52, narrowly missing a sixth place finish by two seconds. The next North Hopkins finisher was Lio Alvarez in 55th with 20:52.55, and Juan Gonzalez was behind him in 76th. Completing the North Hopkins roster was Clinton Degen in 84th.
CUMBY
The Cumby girls had a similar story to North Hopkins as only one of their runners grabbed a place inside the top 10 to go on to the state meet.
Macie Morales finished eighth with a time of 12:51.39 to advance, and teammate Lilly Campbell finished in 52nd with a time of 13:57.14. Melissa Rogel was the next Cumby finisher at 73rd, and Jacie Morales and Macyn Petit finished 115th and 121st respectively.