The 1A area schools competed on Wednesday afternoon in the district cross country meet at Pelham Park in Bowie, before the thunder came and postponed some of the junior high races.
Of all the schools, four teams and two individuals qualified for the regional meet by either finishing in the top three as a team or in the top 10 individually.
The Saint Jo boy’s team took home its first district title in recent years, edging out the defending champs Slidell by five points. The Panthers were led by Collin Thomas who finished first overall with a time of 18:44. The top five runners for Saint Jo included Devin Stewart (7), Kile Thurman (8), Jayden Curry (12) and Joshua Vogel (20).
The Lady Panthers only had two runners, but Aubrey Morman did qualify for regional by finishing ninth overall with a time of 15:30. Her teammate Kate Sherwin finished 26th.
Coach Lyndon Cook was proud of how everyone ran.
“To come away with a district championship in such a competitive district at the varsity boys level is just a testament to the hard work these guys have put in and how competitive they are as a group,” Cook said. “I was also very proud of Aubrey Morman for qualifying to regionals as an individual with her best time of the year. It’s a great sign for her career to make it to regionals as a freshman in such a tough cross country district.”
Both Prairie Valley teams qualified for the regional meet. The Lady Bulldogs finished second to Slidell, but their top runner Linzie Priddy finished first overall with a time of 14:14. Karagan Ritchie joined her in the top 10 finishing eighth overall.
The team’s top five runners also included Natalie Young (17), Veronica Gutierrez (18) and Randi Gilleland (19).
Coach Jeannie Carpenter was proud of how her team ran on Wednesday.
“Linzie Priddy ran an outstanding race as usual,” Carpenter said. “I’m not sure we have even come close to tapping into her potential. Karagan Ritchie is running strong this season. It has been good for these girls to push each other. All the girls did their part to secure district runner-up. I’m extremely proud of them all.”
The Bulldog team qualified for the regional meet for the first time in several years by finishing third. Unfortunately, it could have been better.
Prairie Valley and Slidell ended up tying for the same amount of points. Unfortunately, the Greyhounds sixth runner ended up finishing first compared to the Bulldogs sixth runner, breaking the tie in Slidell’s favor.
Prairie Valley’s top runner was Eli Croxton who finished third overall with a time of 19:29. Tyler Winkler (5) and Michael Cole (9) finished in the top 10 with him as well. The top five runners for the Bulldogs also included Dale Neugebauer (14) and Tyson Easterling (22).
Coach Seth Stephens was proud of his team overall despite some disappointment.
“It didn’t go exactly the way we wanted to, but looking at our times, we feel like we ran as hard and as fast as we could,” Stephens said. “I thought we did a good job of running our race at our pace. We set a goal to advance to the regional meet as a team this year, and thankfully we were able to accomplish that goal.”
The Bellevue girl’s team also advanced to the regional meet in third place.
Top runner Grace Martin finished third overall with a time of 14:31 to lead the team.
The Lady Eagles top five runners also included Patience Ramsey (14), Austin Ford (15), Callie Martin (16) and Cirstin Allen (20).
Coach John McGee was pleased with how his team ran overall.
“I am extremely proud of the fight those young ladies had Wednesday,” McGee said. “They have bonded and become very close and I know they will work just as hard at the regional meet.”
The Gold-Burg boy’s team finished fifth overall though its top runner did qualify for the regional meet individually. Isaac Renteria finished sixth overall with a time of 19:49.
The Bears top five runners also included Kolton Whitaker (21), Jayton Epperson (32), Aidan Foster (34) and Dusty Weaver (37).
The Lady Bears had Lillie Smith and Shadie Whitaker run as individuals. Smith finished 24th and Whitaker 27th.
The Bellevue boy’s team finished sixth overall.
The Eagles top runner was Terrence Perry who finished 25th with a time of 22:56. The top five runners included Gavin Parr (28), Kason Roper (30), Josh Benson (31) and Leland Sims (36).
Forestburg had one runner who came up just short of qualifying individually. Justynne Roller, who last year had to overcome a shoe issue at the start of the race, finished 12th overall with a time of 16:19.
The regional meet is scheduled for Oct. 26 at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie.

To see results for all high school varsity area runners, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.