Two Dallas programs left Old Settlers Park in Round Rock with state medals on Saturday.
Woodrow Wilson's boys finished third in the UIL Class 5A cross country state championship with 113 points, and Highland Park's girls placed second with 86, according to official UIL results. Both teams arrived as regional champions.
Wilson on the podium
Austin LASA won the boys team title with 94 points, and Weslaco East was second at 98, so Wilson finished 19 points from the team title. Lucas Lovejoy was fourth at 127 and Grapevine fifth at 154, UIL results show.
State Slusher led the Wildcats in eighth place in 15:31.2, and Tucker Mauck was 20th in 15:54.5. Will Barnard, Brooks Fuquay and Felix Gooden crossed within about three seconds of one another to round out the scoring group. Weslaco East's Alexander Nava won the individual title in 15:13.3, with Georgetown's Matthew Morales second and Lovejoy's Tristan Arceneau third.
LASA's front pair was Liam Brandyberry in seventh and Joaquin Gonzalez in 12th, and Weslaco East paired Nava's win with a 25th-place run from Aron Martinez, per UIL results.
The finish followed Wilson's showing at the Region II meet at Rolling Hills Soccer Complex in Fort Worth, where it won the 5A boys title with 75 points ahead of Grapevine and Lovejoy, according to the Killeen Daily Herald's regional results. The Dallas Morning News described Saturday's result as the program continuing its rise.
Highland Park back near the top
New Braunfels won the girls team championship with 65 points. Highland Park was the only team within 30 of the Unicorns, and its 86 points put the Scots ahead of defending champion Lovejoy, which finished third at 117.
Adelaide Wortman paced Highland Park in ninth place in 18:25.3, and Ryan Sontag followed in 11th in 18:26.9, less than two seconds behind. Finley Heckler, Orsella Hooks and Paisley Bassett completed the scoring five, The Dallas Morning News reported. Lubbock's Amelia Anderson won the individual race in 17:47.1.
The Morning News headlined its coverage on Highland Park ending a state-meet drought, and the paper reported that former Highland Park runners came to Round Rock to watch. At the regional meet, the Scots had won the girls title with 43 points, ahead of Lovejoy at 52, the Killeen Daily Herald's results show.
