Burnet cross country advances to state
CAPTION: The Burnet High School cross country program has several Class 4A state meet qualifiers thanks their finishes at the Class 4A Region III meet. The program includes assistant coach Ivy Kohl (left), head coach Simon Hairston, Austin Moore, Isaac Vega-Palacios , Clark Yanez, Adan Carreon, Asah Roy, Jose Flores, Chris Hernandez, Russell Ramirez and assistant coach Juston Weldon. Photos by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School cross country program showed the mettle the Bulldogs and Lady Dawgs are known while competing at the Class 4A Region III meet Oct. 21 in Huntville.
The Bulldogs finished third overall to return with bronze medals, while senior Asah Roy was 10th in the individual standings of the girls two-mile race.
All advance to the state meet.
“It’s just such an honor for our kids to go compete on that state level,” head coach Simon Hairston said. “We’re so excited, so very blessed to go have that opportunity and to do it with the boys as a collective is huge. Early on, I knew we had the talent and we had the depth. It’s hard to see where you stack up against teams in the region. It just speaks to two things: No. 1, how hard the guys have worked and how truly blessed we are to have so much depth on the guys’ side and the consistency. They are a product of everything they have done. I’m so excited we get to go on to that next level.”
The Bulldogs were paced by sophomore Isaac Vega-Palacios, who finished the 5K course in 16 minutes and 41.40 seconds for 13th overall. Sophomore Clark Yanez was 15th in 16:44, junior Adan Carreon came in 18th in 16:47.50, sophomore Christopher Hernandez finished 46th in 17:39.10, and sophomore Jose Flores was 56th in 17:53.50.
Hairston said that Vega-Palacios “really came on this past week.”
“He just had the breakout meet,” he said. “We had a lot of times where Clark or Aden had been our No. 1 or No. 2 and had been jockeying for first or second. I looked up after our first lap — it was a three-lap course they ran at regionals — and to look up and see Isaac leading the pack was absolutely amazing. The continuity of our guys is awesome. Isaac had his breakout meet at state last year. But to see him do that at regionals this year was awesome. Clark, Adan and Isaac at any time can be our No. 1 runner, and that’s a lot of fun to see those guys competing against each other but also working together as a team. I’m just so blessed to have so much depth.”
Roy, who clocked 12:31.10, continues to amaze her peers and her coaches with her finishes.
“I’m just so pumped,” the coach said. “This was her last shot. I told her at the very beginning of the year my goal for her was to make sure we could keep her healthy because I felt like if that was something we could really prioritize, that we could get her to the state meet and that she could be back to where she deserved to be. She’s always had the talent. I’m just tickled to death at this point. She gets to go compete at the state level again. To make it out is truly a testament to the talent that’s there and just the competitor that she is.”
As a team, the Lady Dawgs were 11th overall.
“I’m just so proud of our girls,” Hairston said. “They just had such tough competition. We had a really strong team. I just knew we were probably going to have to run a perfect race and that some teams were going to have to run their top race. I think we were sitting at sixth in the regional going into the meet and I knew we had the potential on any given day to go out and compete well. Our girls left everything out on the course; they really left no stone unturned. And I am just so proud of the way they competed.”
District foe Salado won both regional championships. The Lampasas boys team finished 12th overall, while the Jarrell girls were eighth overall.
“Having a team like Salado, which is a state contender year in and year out that happens to be in our district is a mixed blessing,” Hairston said. “Because when you go to several meets and you see them week in and week out, it gives you a really good gauge for your teams throughout the course of the year going head-to-head and being able to to go against some of the top competition, it really helped. I think our kids build confidence and the potential that they had to move on to those next levels at regionals and then state because they were racing against one of the top teams. And I felt like we have the talent and the depth to really go and compete and were able to showcase that, especially at the regional meet with so much talent there all in one place.”
The state meet is is Saturday, Nov. 1, with the girls running at 8:15 a.m. and the boys competing at 8:45 a.m. at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
RESULTS
BOYS, third overall (176 runners)
13, Isaac Vega-Palacios, 16:41.40; 15, Clark Yanez, 16:44; 18, Adan Carreon, 16:47.50; 46, Christopher Hernandez, 17:39.10; 56, Jose Flores, 17:53.50; 71, Russell Ramirez, 18:08.50; 79, Austin Moore, 18:17.80
GIRLS, 11th overall (168 runners)
10, Asah Roy, 12:31.10; 65 Erica Flores, 13:57.60; 80, Abby Bennight, 14:19.40; 86, Josie McDavid, 14:29.80; 92, Kamila Palacios, 14:36.70; 107, Breken Langley, 15:05.90; 112, Brooklyn Flores, 15:12.80
CAPTION: Senior Asah Roy showed once more why she is among the elite runners in the region. Now she looks to put her talent and competitiveness on display at the state meet. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
