The state cross country meet in Round Rock had five area schools competing at it this year.
Runners from Nocona, Saint Jo, Gold-Burg, Prairie Valley and Bellevue all competed among the state’s elite.
The Nocona runners ran on Friday in the 2A races while the rest of the schools ran on Saturday in the 1A races.
The Lady Indians’ team was the first in school history to go to state. Nocona finished 13th overall.
Bayler Smith was its top runner finishing 35th overall with a time of 13:37. The team’s top five runners included Melissa Segura (88th), Jolie Rose (91st), Ayden Patton (108th) and Jayce Rose (112th).
Coach Kyle Spitzer thought his young team was awed of the big stage, but liked how they battled throughout the race.
“This group has dealt with injuries, distractions, and just everything that comes with being a young team,” Spitzer said. “They handled it so well and should be so proud of what they were able to accomplish this season. I look forward to seeing them come back next year even stronger.”
In the 2A boy’s race, Freddie Duran was the only Nocona runner to qualify. He ended up finishing 80th with a time of 19:21.
His Coach Brody Wilson thought he did well and hopes it is not his last trip to state.
“The conditions weren’t favorable for any of the runners with it being so windy, muddy and wet but I thought he attacked the course well,” Wilson said. “Freddie had a great season and I’m looking forward to seeing him compete next year and hopefully get back to Round Rock.”
The next day in the 1A boy’s race, the only other team from the area, Saint Jo, finished eighth overall. Top runner Collin Thomas finished 18th overall with a time of 18:52 in his final cross country race. Thomas became the first runner in school history to run at state all four years of high school.
The top five runners for the team also included Elijah Young (52nd), Jayden Curry (62nd), Kile Thurman (108th) and Julian Luna (116th).
Ryan Bruce thought his team did well with the majority of them running for the first time on the big stage.
“I think there were some nerves in our younger runners and a little adrenaline that caused for a quicker takeoff and a faster pace, but I’m proud of our team for the way they competed and the season we had overcoming a bunch of adversities,” Bruce said. “School history was made and I have been lucky to get to be a part of it.”
Also in the race running individually was Gold-Burg’s Isaac Renteria and Prairie Valley’s Tyler Winkler.
For Renteria, it was the sophomore’s second straight year to make it to the state meet. Unfortunately, it was not his best day even as he finished 41st with a time of 18:39.
His Coach Jesse Vaughn said his runner came into meet not feeling 100 %.
“I am super proud of Isaac making it two years in a row,” Vaughn said. “Unfortunately, he was battling sickness the day of the race and it didn’t go as well as we would’ve liked, but we know it’s back to the hard work to continue the success he has had already in high school.”
For Winkler, the senior battled for years to make it to the state meet and had injuries and sickness keep him from it in the past at the regional meet. In his last race, he finished 77th with a time of 19:19.
His Coach Seth Stephens was proud of how he ran.
“It wasn’t his fastest time ever, but he showed a lot of heart at the end of the race passing several runners over the last 300 meters or so,” Stephens said. “We’re proud of Tyler and all that he’s accomplished. The state cross country meet was one of his goals that had just eluded him until this year, so it was awesome to watch him accomplish that this year.”
The final runner was Grace Martin from Bellevue who was the only one to run in the girls 1A race. The senior finished 36th overall with a time of 13:38.
For her Coach John McGee, seeing Martin accomplish the goal she set for herself after qualifying for regionals last year and seeing how far she has come from her freshman year puts it in perspective how much she has worked.
“I would like to say that Grace wasn’t the fastest girl there, however, I believe she had the biggest heart of all the girls there,” McGee said. “For some girls running came natural, but for Grace she had to really, really work at it and that is what she did. Grace proves that ‘hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.’ Grace is the example I will be using for years to come.”

To see results for all area runners who ran at the state meet, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.