The Lady Tigers proved why again at the District 12-5A meet Friday morning.
Led by individual champion Regan Tindell, Belton had five of the top nine finishers to claim the girls district title at Old Settlers Park and advance to next week’s 5A Region II meet. The third-place Belton boys and Temple’s Romeo Guajardo also qualified to run next week in Arlington.
For the Lady Tigers, who had lost just two meets entering district, it was another impressive showing.
“I think we probably had our best times today, so far,” Belton coach Denise Petter said. “We’re just so excited. We’re happy to be district champs.”
Tindell, who’s lost just once this season, dominated the field from the start of the two-mile race. She led by 13 seconds less than a mile into the event and pushed her advantage to nearly 30 seconds with a half-mile left.
It turned into another big win for Tindell. She finished 43 seconds ahead of the field in a time of 11 minutes, 10 seconds, just two seconds off her personal-best.
In a season filled with run-away victories like this one, finding a way to stay focused that far ahead of the pack is something Tindell learned to master.
“You just have to get in this rhythm and keep going,” said Tindell, who repeated as district champion. “That’s all I try to do. I just find my pace and stay with it all the time.”
Behind Tindell was teammate Michelle Hagen, who finished second in 11:53, knocking 30 seconds off her personal best. Lauren Hildinger was fourth in 12:02, Alejandra Marquez finished in 12:05 for seventh place and Courtney White rounded out the Lady Tigers’ scoring with a ninth-place finish in 12:08.
Belton topped defending champion College Station A&M Consolidated by 22 points.
Temple, which was led by 18th-place Brooke McKinney in 12:40, finished fifth with 138 points.
In the boys race, Temple’s Guajardo was the area’s top runner with a seventh-place finish in 16:38.
He ran with the top 10 for the entire race and made his move from ninth to seventh in the race’s second mile.
“I was just trying to keep (the leaders) in sight,” Guajardo said. “I saw them dropping down so I just started picking them off one by one.”
The Wildcats finished fifth, missing a shot at regionals by two spots. A&M Consolidated won the boys race, finishing 15 points ahead of Killeen Ellison.
The Belton boys are making a return trip to the Region II meet, though, admittedly they weren’t happy with a third-place finish.
Zerrick Vriseno was the Tigers’ top finisher, coming in ninth in 16:40. Teammates Ian Smith (11th, 17:00), Tyler Maddox (12th, 17:04), Marcos Garcia (14th, 17:14) and Nick Palamara (23rd, 17:48) rounded out Belton’s top five.
Vriseno, who finished fifth in last year’s race, was simply trying to keep the leaders within reach.
“I wouldn’t let them leave me,” he said. “I was trying to catch them.”
rscheneider@temple-telegram.com
