Burnet cross country wins two divisions at Lago Vista meet

The Burnet High School cross country program added more top finishes to its season.

The Lady Dawgs won the Vikings Invitational Aug. 28 hosted by Lago Vista High School, while the Bulldogs finished second in the boys varsity division.

In the junior varsity division, the Bulldogs are the meet champions and the Lady Dawgs finished seventh.

Head coach Simon Hairston commended his runners for their performances.

“The conditioning of our kids was such that they could go out and perform at a very high level on a very difficult course,” he said. “It was a great, great opportunity to showcase what we could do on a very difficult course. So really pleased with the effort. Very proud of our kids for stepping up and competing at such a high level, given the conditions.”

Senior Asah Roy led the Lady Dawgs by taking gold in the girls varsity two-mile race in 13 minutes and 24.1 seconds followed by Kamila Palacios, who was 14th overall in 15:42.8, Abby Bennight was 15th in 15:43.9, Bremen Langley came in 18th in 15:53, and Jose McDavid was 20th in 16:05.1.

Hairston said the Lady Dawgs have a wonderful combination of being physically fit with the mental toughness to face the challenges of races head on thanks to their work ethic and preparation.

“On the girls side, I feel like their performances were top notch,” Hairston said. “I’m so excited for them, and I knew that they had the potential to definitely go out and compete in the top three of the meet for sure and really to win the meet as well. But I didn’t know if it would happen this early on and given the conditions of the course. But they just truly went out and performed as a team. I feel like with so many of our girls, we just have really good talent.”

The Bulldogs were paced by Clark Yanez, who finished fifth overall of the 5K race thanks to clocking 18:42.8 followed by Adan Carreon, who was ninth overall in 19:04.2, and Isaac Vega, who was 10th overall in 19:07.7.

“I feel like our guys just did really awesome,” Hairston said. “Our top three finishers being in the top 10 just speaks volumes. (Their) finishes show the talent that we have. We are truly deep in that.”

Christopher Hernandez finished 18th in 20:08, while Austin Moore was 23rd in 20:44, Russell Ramirez came in 24th in 20:47.6, Hector Vega finished 25th in 21:03, Jose Flores was 26th in 21:05.1, and Andrew Resendez came in 32nd in 21:45.2.

“Those four being so close together in their finishes – my desire is to get our guys slowly week in and week out creeping up in the top 15,” the coach said. “If we can get all our runners in the top 15, the sky’s the limit for us. Those guys’ times aren’t too far from being right there.”

While the times at the course may have been slower than last week, Hairston offered some insight.

“This is the first time they actually ran that course at Lago Vista,” he said. “Nobody had any previous experience with that course, and it was a true cross country course. Given the amount of hills and the terrain that that course offered, it truly did challenge our kids. The first half of the course especially, there were quite a few hills. Everything about it is what you would think of when you think of a true cross country course. It was a great way to challenge our kids to let them experience something that they hadn’t experienced before.”

Burnet will compete at the Cedar Park Invitational Saturday, Sept. 6., at Cedar Park High School with the varsity girls race beginning at around 8:30 a.m. and the other races to follow.

RESULTS

BOYS

Varsity, second overall

5, Clark Yanez 18:42.8; 9, Adan Carreon, 19:04.2, 10, Isaac Vega, 19:07.7, 18, Christopher Hernandez, 20:08, 23, Austin Moore, 20:44, 24, Russell Ramirez, 20:47.6, 25, Hector Vega, 21:03, 26, Jose Flores, 21:05.1, 32, Andrew Resendez, 21:45.2

Junior varsity, first overall

2, Gabe Castillo, 21:52.8, 3, Gatlin Gilmore, 22:02.3, 9, Matthew Resendez, 23:51.5, 10, Leon Perez, 23:52, 26, Justin Calhoun, 27:20.4, 35, Angelo Ramirez, 29:31.5,

GIRLS

Varsity, first overall

1, Asah Roy, 13:24.1, 14, Kamila Palacios, 15:42.8, 15, Abby Bennight, 15:43.9, 18, Breken Langley, 15:53, 20, Josie McDavid, 16:05.1, 23, Erica Flores, 16:21.8, 24, Brooklyn Flores, 16:24.2,

Junior varsity, seventh overall

28, Marigny Griffin, 16:26.2, 41, Bethany Norred, 17:03.9, 48, Savannah Griffin, 17:14.8, 58, Perla Rodriguez, 18:03.7, 78, Karla Rodriguez, 19:17.2, 101, Emily Montoya, 21:11.7, 107, Naveah Perez, 21:51.4,