The regional cross country meets were on Monday and Tuesday for county athletes this week and there will be a lot of them moving on to the state meet next week.
In all, the girl’s teams from both Saint Jo and Nocona qualified while individual athletes from Prairie Valley and Gold-Burg are going as well.
Some are first timers while others are returning.
The Lady Panthers not only are heading to state, but are going there as the 1A Region III champions, winning by a comfortable margin of more than 20 points.
Saint Jo was led by Abby Carter who finished second overall with a time of 12:35. Her teammates ran well as Taylor Patrick finished 12th, Tatum Morman finished 17th, Aubrey Morman finished 25th and Kaycee Clark finished 47th.
This is not only the first time in recent memory a Lady Panther team qualified for state, but the last time a Saint Jo individual girl runner had was back in 2010 when Claire Weger competed at state.
The Nocona girls’ team was trying to get back to state after making it their last year for the first time in school history. Still, it was not easy. The Lady Indians were the last team to qualify in their race, finishing fourth though they made it by more than 30 points.
Bayler Smith was the team’s top runner, finishing 21st with a time of 12:50. The teammates included Jayce Rose finishing 25th, Melissa Segura finishing 46th, Jolie Rose finishing 54th and Regan Phipps finishing 68th.
With it being the same group that did it last year, it was special for Coach Kyle Spitzer.
“We knew we had to start fast and get up front early and that’s what they did,” Spitzer said. “The conditions were muddy because of the rain the night before, but there was no rain until right after we finished. I am extremely proud of this accomplishment. What these six girls have done over the past two years has been nothing short of great. The consistency of their work ethic has been truly remarkable. Our goal from day one was to get back to state. This group made it happen. Back-to-back state appearances is something to be extremely proud of.”
The four individual runners came from the 1A races. Gold-Burg had junior Isaac Renteria qualify for state for the third straight year. He finished fifth overall with a time of 17:17.
He will be joined from Gold-Burg by sophomore Ollie Gaston, who finished 11th in the girls race with a time of 13:10. She missed out qualifying last year as she finished 23rd, but ran better this year to do it.
Coach Cheryl Cromleigh was proud of both athletes for qualifying for state. With both also heavily involved in fall sports, football for Renteria and volleyball for Gaston, it makes it even more impressive.
From Prairie Valley, it is a similar story. Junior Linzie Priddy is heading back to the state meet after qualifying her freshman year. She finished eighth overall with a time of 13:02.
She is joined by freshman Josh Stout who qualifies for the first time as he finished seventh overall with a time of 17:35.
Coach Seth Stephens was proud of both runners putting in the extra effort and time for a chance to run against the best in the state, saying Stout has been running since June while Priddy has had to balance volleyball as well.
While no one else was able to qualify for the state meet, it does not mean no other area teams or athletes did well.
The Bowie boy’s team finished 17th at the 3A region I meet in Lubbock. Alex Castro was the team’s top runner finishing 49th with a time of 18:27. The team’s top five runners also included Liam Pearson (61st), Ryder McChesney (130th), Jackson Frie (137th) and Monte Mayfield (139th).
The Nocona boy’s team finished one spot short of qualifying for state in fifth place, though they were 45 points behind fourth place. Claudio Segura was the team’s top runner, finishing 18th with a time of 18:11. The Indians top five runners included Ivan Vera (30th), Andrew Perez (40th), Freddy Duran (45th) and Omar Salinas (50th).
Coach Brody Wilson was devastated for his guys falling short after finishing so close.
“It was tough for them to swallow,” Wilson said. “They ran so hard and really gave it their all. They knew going into it that they had a chance, but it just didn’t come through. I think they ran well and gave it everything they had. It was definitely one of the best overall races they have run all season. I’m extremely proud of this group and all they have accomplished. I mean going back to regionals and winning district for the second straight year was huge. Hopefully we can get over the hump and advance as a team to state next year.”
The Saint Jo boy’s team finished sixth overall. Barrett Johnson was the team’s top runner finishing 27th with a time of 18:45. The team’s top five runners also included Elijah Young (39th), Zeke Bonn (43rd), Julian Luna (44th) and Jayden Curry (47th).
Finishing right behind the Panthers was the Prairie Valley boys in seventh place. While the team’s top runner qualified for state, he was not the only runner to have a good day.
Dale Neugebauer finished 25th overall with a time of 18:45. The top five runners also included Jayton Jones (56th), Tyson Easterling (66th) and Hunter Camden (83rd).
Stephens was proud of his boy’s team overall.
“The rest of our boys also completed well and we had our fastest overall times of the year Stephens said. “Neugebauer ran a (personal record) and was really close to qualifying for the state meet. We’re excited for what we were able to accomplish this year as a team and we reached a lot of our goals.”
The Bellevue girls team finished 11th overall. Brittany Gill was the team’s top runner finishing 37th with a time of 14:05.
The Lady Eagles top five runners also included Brylie Hager not far behind (41st), Callie Martin (76th), Tristan Shook (81st) and Kaycee Conner (95th).
The state meet is at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock on Nov. 3-4. The 1A races are on Nov. 3, with the girl’s race scheduled for 10:10 a.m. and the boy’s race following at 10:40 a.m. The 2A girl’s race is scheduled for 10:10 a.m. on Nov. 4.

To see full results of all area runners, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.