For example:
n Belton sophomore Regan Tindell, running a consistently strong two-mile race, placed fifth among Class 5A girls with a time of 11 minutes, 30.6 seconds.
n Cameron Yoe, besieged by health problems, earned a silver medal in the 3A girls team race, placing 26 points behind Kingwood Park, an all-freshmen first-year school from Humble.
n Bruceville-Eddy junior Arianna Rodriguez, who scored 24 points earlier in the week on the basketball court, placed fifth in the 2A girls race with a 12:29.40.
n Although her team was a disappointing ninth in the team race, Academy sophomore Emily Koenig was eighth in the 2A individual derby with a 12:36.05.
n Youthful Salado, the third-place finisher in Region IV, put together a fifth-place finish in the 2A girls team chase.
“Despite the problems, we put it all together today,” Yoe coach Dale Keen said. “This is the third time that Cameron has finished as the state runner-up (also in 1997 and 1999).
“We don’t have any superstars. It was a team effort. If Brenda (Pena) had been in top form it might have made the difference for us.”
Pena has been slowed by tendonitis.
“You can tell the girls are a little disappointed,” Keen said. “We worked to win state this year, but it was a good performance and we have to be satisfied.”
Yoe claimed the No. 2 spot despite not putting a runner among the top 22. But it did bunch its top five runners - Leticia Bustamante was 23rd, Madison Pevehouse 27th, Pena 35th, Martha Bustamante 37th and Kurstyn Sundberg 44th.
All of Yoe’s runners will return next year except for Pena.
“She’s one of the classiest young women I’ve ever worked with,” Keen said of Pena. “We don’t know what caused the tendonitis. It’s just something that happened.”
Bruceville-Eddy’s Rodriguez finshed 26.1 seconds behind individual champion Amber Weems of Hamilton. It was a comfortable fifth - four seconds ahead of the sixth-place finisher and four seconds behind No. 4.
“I felt real confident and I was really excited at the finish,” said Rodriguez, who moved up 55 places over her sophomore showing at state. “I sprinted out at the start, not wanting to get trapped in the back like I did last year. I was pretty consistent. I dropped into fifth and then made sure nobody passed me.”
“I though she did fantastic,” Bruceville-Eddy coach David Melvin said. “She carried out her gameplan and turned in another gutsy performance. Running against Crawford, Hamilton, Salado and Academy all season really paid off.”
The B-E boys team finished seventh in the 2A race, with 164 points. Art Castillo and Greg Bostick paced the Eagles in 35th and 36th, respectively.
Academy’s Koenig gave her performance a mixed review.
“My time was slower than regional,” she said, “but I got in the top 10 and that was my goal. It went pretty much the way I figured as I moved up during the race.”
In 5A, Belton’s Tindell also said she ran the race that she had planned.
“I wanted to get in the top five and I accomplished that,” she said. “I got passed at one point, but then I sprinted and got the place back with about 300 to go.”
“She ran a very smart race,” Belton coach Denise Petter said. “She went out quick so she wouldn’t get boxed, got in good position and finished with a strong kick.”
In the 2A girls team race, Salado ran a similar race to Yoe. It didn’t have any runners among the leaders but finished with a pack mentality. Lupe Perez was 17th, Lindsy Martin 19th and Brittany Frazier 23rd as the Lady Eagles ended up 70 points behind a dominant performance by Wall.
“The girls were really excited,” Salado coach Cindy Mewhinney. “It was a real balanced effort.”
Academy’s hopes for a high finish ended when senior Ashley Dolezel was injured in a fall about 1,000 meters from the finish. She was unable to finish the event.
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