Published: November 09, 2009 10:05 am      

Area CC runners qualify for State

Staff report

Several area high school cross country runners advanced to the UIL State meet with outstanding performances Saturday at various regional meets.

In Class 3A, Gainesville’s Giovanni Carranza will be going to State for the first time after finishing seventh at the 3A Region II boys meet held at Vandergriff Park in Arlington.

Carranza, a sophomore, ran the course in a time of 16:24. Jake Roberts of Argyle finished first with a time of 15:35. Six of the top ten finishers came from District 9-3A.

“He (Carranza) ran very well against the top runners in our region, which has several of the top ten teams in the state,” Gainesville coaches Pedro Encarnacion and Jeff Gerken said. “He has the right attitude, work ethic and discipline to represent Gainesville very well. Gio is an excellent representation of what our kids here at Gainesville can do when they set their goals high and do the work it takes to be successful.”

In Class 2A, Valley View’s Taylor Felderhoff and Callisburg’s Morgan Reed both qualified for State with top ten finishes in the girls race at the 2A Region II meet in Arlington.

Felderhoff finished third with a time of 12:42, while Reed was tenth with a time of 12:56.

In Class A, Lindsay’s and Era’s girls team will be going to State. For the fourth straight year, Lindsay won the 1A Region III meet at Lone Star College in Humble with 56 points, while Era was third with 126. Muenster finished fourth with 130 to narrowly miss a trip to State. Saint Jo was eighth with 227.

“The girls ran well in the heat. It was hot and humid,” Lindsay coach Robin Hess said. “They showed a lot of heart. I am very proud of them. We definitely have our work cut out for us at State but we are looking forward to the challenge.”

Lindsay’s Kelsey Hermes took the individual championship with a time of 11:59. Muenster’s Emily Hellman qualified for State with a fourth-place finish (12:30). Lindsay’s Megan Caillier was fifth (12:38) and Saint Jo’s Kate Weger was tenth (12:59). Weger also qualified for State.

Also for Lindsay, Megan Holt was 13th (13:21), Jordan Fleitman was 18th (13:29), Jessica Block was 23rd (13:44), Shirley Hess was 32nd (14:02) and Bethani Eberhart was 35th (14:05).

For Era, Dana Schumacher was 12th (13:16), Sadee Smith was 19th (13:30), Carlee Black was 26th (13:52), Cheree Kiser was 37th (14:08), Leah Doughty was 41st (14:14), Jacy Steelman was 43rd (14:16) and Brittany Wilson was 49th (14:27).

For Muenster, Paige Herr was 20th (13:31), Leaha Smith was 21st (13:34), Lauren Rohmer was 34th (14:03), Lana Heers was 61st (14:49), Kalyn Dangelmayr was 62nd (14:52) and Michelle Sicking was 74th (15:03).

For Saint Jo, Chelsea Reeves was 50th (14:29), Jessica Ramirez was 52nd (14:35), Kara Davis was 59th (14:47), Chelsea Lanier was 79th (15:06), Kyla Reeves was 84th (15:23) and Haley Hall was 117th (16:30).

In the boys teams standings, Saint Jo finished 12th with 308 points. Sulphur Springs North Hopkins was first with 42 points.

For Saint Jo, Nathan Cannon was 18th (19:03), Nick Moran was 66th (20:47), Coby Fleitman was 88th (21:32), Luis Solis was 98th (22:11), William Phillips was 103rd (22:17), Kenny Holmes was 127th (22:54) and Shaden Clark was 135th (23:15).

Era’s Zach Denison finished 20th (19:11) and Lindsay’s Travis Block was 84th (21:17).

The UIL State meet will be Saturday in Round Rock.