Coach Ross Hicks and his team continue to make history. For the first time in school history, Lady Cat cross country has qualified for the state meet.
The team was led by Haylee Schultz, who won an individual district championship at the 15-4A meet.
At the Regional meet though, the junior placed 12th with a time of 12:19.08.
Coach Hicks said that Schultz gave it her all and ran the best cross country race of her life, tying the school record on the track.
Not too long thereafter Edith Martinez crossed the line for Sulphur Springs at 23rd, coming in at 12:50.16. The sophomore finished second or better almost the entirety of this fall season.
Coming in at 23rd, Martinez would have qualified as an individual even if Lady Cat XC were not to have moved on to the state competition.
Two places later came Jolea Moore, a freshman who finished four seconds after Martinez. Coach Hicks said Moore felt a bit anxious going into the Regional competition, but once she expelled her nerves her demeanor changed and competed well Monday, Oct. 24.
Senior Laney Hurst finished fourth for the Lady Cats at 43rd, with a time of 13:20.86.
The cross country coach said Hurst has done an incredible job over her four years running for the Lady Cats, seeing ups and downs yet continuously leading by example on and off the track.
Jaicee Jasmer rounded out the top-5 on the women’s team at 52nd, crossing the line at 13:32.21.
The final two runners for Lady Cat XC, Dylan McKinney and Jasmin Yañez, finished 93rd and 124th, respectively.
Sulphur Springs cumulated 150 points Monday, edging out Canton for third place at the 4A Region II Championship. Finishing top-4 at the meet, the Lady Cats move on to state.
It’s the first time in school history the women’s team has qualified for the state championship meet.
“We had some strong competition, and the girls stepped up,” Coach Ross Hicks said Wednesday morning.
That they did, as three runners ran personal bests at the Regional meet, with two more finishing just seconds away from doing the same.
To save their best for (almost) last is a great sign for Lady Cat XC, who have now qualified for the state competition for the first time in Sulphur Springs history.
Candelario Monsivais also qualified for Region and ran well, but falling along the way put him back at the meet. The Wildcat finished 82nd Monday.
Next up, Lady Cat XC heads to the state competition Thursday, Nov. 3 to get a practice run on the course prior to competing in the first ever state meet for the women’s team on Friday, Nov. 4.
The final rolling start on the season has Lady Cat XC competing against top 4A teams from across the state Friday, Nov. 4 at 8:30 A.M.
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