It was wet and cold all across Texas on Monday while thousands of high school athletes competed for a chance to qualify for the state cross country meet.
With individuals and teams from Bowie, Nocona, Saint Jo, Prairie Valley, Forestburg and Bellevue competing, only two individuals qualified for the state meet.
The Saint Jo boy’s team did the best out of all the area teams with a fifth place finish, two places short of qualifying as a team. The Panthers top two runners, Logan Morman and Collin Thomas, qualified individually for the state meet by finishing among the top 10 runners who were not a part of the top three teams.
Morman finished eighth with a time of 17:03 while Thomas was 16th with a time of 17:38. Their teammates Kile Thurman, Joshua Vogel and Connor Thompson finished 33rd, 37th and 76th.
The boy’s team from Bowie along with both Nocona teams ran at Mae Simmons Park at Texas Tech. The Jackrabbits finished 18th as a team. Alex Shelton finished first in 69th place with a time of 18:13.
Bowie’s top five runners also included Sid Mayfield in 90th place, Brody Armstrong in 117th place, Riley Harris in 120th place and Trevor Vann in 128th place.
Coach Jonathon Horton was proud three of his runners were able to run personal records despite the bad weather and the general trend the program has taken the past two years.
The Lady Indian’s team finished 21st as Kylie Rose finished just outside of individual state contention with a 21st finish and a time of 12:57. Her teammates Claudia Espinoza finished 70th, Madilyn Ferguson 90th, Jenna McBride 176th and Natalie Pirkey 177th.
The Nocona boy’s team finished 23rd overall despite one runner sitting out due to illness. Hank Ulbig finished first for the Indians in 123rd place with a time of 19:34. Other runners were Frank Espinoza in 135th place, Lyndon Fenoglio in 136th place, Eli Croxton in 148th place and Iziak Weatherread in 156th place.
The other 1A teams ran at Jessie Owens Memorial Complex in Dallas. With every classification in region III competing that day, the two 1A races were the last ones of the day in the early afternoon. Right as the girl’s race started, the temperature started to drop and a steady rain started to fall.
The Prairie Valley girl’s team placed 17th with Shelby Roof finishing first for the Lady Bulldogs in 69th place with a time of 14:58.
Other runners among Prairie Valley’s top five included Hailey Winkler in 71st place, Karagan Ritchie in 80th place, Molly Gilleland in 90th place and Emily Carpenter in 124th place.
The Bellevue girl’s team also competed in the race, finishing 20th as a team. The top runner for the Lady Eagles was Sky-Lar Embry who finished 41st with a time of 14:21.
Other runners among Bellevue’s top five included Grace Martin in 86th place, Austin Ford in 107th place, Haley Hanvey in 113th place and Breannah Malaer in 142nd place.
Individually, Constance White from Forestburg and Tyler Winkler from Prairie Valley represented their schools. Winkler finished 39th with a time of 19:08. White finished 92nd with a time of 15:38.
The state meet will be at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock on Nov. 9. Morman and Thomas will run in the second race of the day at 9 a.m.

To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.