Cross Country Teams State Bound After Region Sweep

LUBBOCK – The Carroll Girls and Boys Cross Country teams advanced to the State Championship race after both teams placed 1^st at the Class 6A Region I Meet in Lubbock on Saturday.

For the 6^th consecutive year, the boy’s team captured 1^st place and a state meet bid, and for the 20^th consecutive year, the lady dragons earned a spot in the championship state race. Despite the tough 3-mile course at Mae Simmons Park, known for its steep hills and tight turns, the Dragon runners came out strong and persevered.

Carroll coach Justin Leonard said, “Our boys and girls ran a great race and it took a total team effort to get it done. We understand that today’s meet was just another step towards our ultimate goal.  We have State in 2 weeks and we are excited to have the opportunity to compete against the state’s best.”

Reed Brown was the Regional champ, taking 1^st place with an impressive time of 14:47.Nicolas Fernandes was next coming in 11^th place, Charlie Gardner came in 15^th, Evan Dunkel 33^rd and Connor Rutledge finishes out the scoring positions in 35^th place. Enzo Mortimer (73^rd) and Nate Lannen (93^rd) also competed. The Dragon boy’s team scored 82 points, El Paso Eastwood took 2^nd (127 points), Northwest Nelson was 3^rd (131 points) and Flower Mound came in 4^th (154 points) and all will advance to the Championship State Meet.

The Lady Dragons ran a brilliant race, scoring just 41 points with all scoring runners placing in the top 20. Gillian Mortimer crossed the line in 3^rd place, Cate Tracht was right behind in 4^th, Ali White was next in 8^th place, Arianna Lopez came in 12^th and Sofia Santamaria placed 17^th to complete the scoring runners. Angie Riera (24^th) and Sarah McCabe (39^th) also competed. Also moving on to the state meet was 2^nd place Keller (52 points), 3^rd place Lewisville Hebron (120 points) and 4^th place Marcus (128 points),

Girls                                                                                        Boys

3^rd – Gillian Mortimer 17:49                                               1st^nd – Reed Brown 14:47

4^th – Cate Tracht 17:54                                                       11^th – Nicholas Fernandes 15:37

8^th – Ali White 18:20                                                            15^th – Charlie Gardner 15:42

12^th – Ari Lopez 18:32                                                       33^rd – Evan Dunkel 16:19

17^th Sofia Santamaria 18:39                                            35^th – Connor Rutledge 16:21

24^th – Angie Riera 18:54                                                    ^73rd – Enzo Mortimer 16:54

28^th – Sarah McCabe 19:35                                              93^rd – Nate Lannen 17:08