Burnet cross country earns numerous district medals

CAPTION: The Burnet High School runners and coaches after the District 24-4A meet finishes. Photo by Martelle Ludecke/Luedecke Photography

The Burnet Consolidated Independent School District cross country program had solid performances at the District 24-4A meet Oct. 7 hosted by Lampasas High School.

The Bulldogs and Lady Dawgs finished as the runners-up in the boys and girls varsity divisions, while the Bulldogs were third in the boys junior varsity division, and the Lady Dawgs were fourth in the girls junior varsity division.

“I’m extremely pleased and extremely grateful for our kids performances on the guys’ and the girls’ side,” head coach Simon Hairston said. “I’ve been blessed to have an extremely, extremely productive season and just a good season overall with a lot of growth in our athletes. The district meet was a great culmination to our regular season. So proud of their efforts at the district meet.”

No Burnet runner had a better day than Asah Roy, who was the silver medalist in the girls varsity division by finishing the two-mile course in 12 minutes and 13.13 seconds. Kamila Palacios was 16th in 13:52.18, Erica Flores came in 18th in 13:59.28, Abby Bennight was 23rd in 14:22.21, and Josie McDavid finished 25th in 14:30.84. Other runners include Brooklyn Flores, who was 36th in 15:23.27 and Brekyn Langley, who was 39th in 15:39.54.

“We are extremely proud of how the girls finished,” the coach said. “I knew that was probably going to be our toughest race as far as being able to advance. Our chances were always good; it was just going to be tight in our placement. So proud of how the girls showed up and competed.”

He was especially happy for Roy.

“She continues to get better and better every race, and I’m so grateful that she stayed healthy and is remaining healthy.” Hairston said. “We want to maintain that moving forward.”

In the boys varsity division, Adan Carreon was fifth overall in the 5K course in 16:54.64, while Clark Yanez was seventh in 17:05.83, Isaac Vega came in eighth in 17:12.50, Christopher Hernandez was 17th in 17:48.67, and Jose Flores was 18th in 17:59.87. Other runners include Russell Ramirez, who was 22nd in 18:32.91 and Austin Moore, who was 26th in 18:46.84.

“Adan and Clark continue to be our one-two combo, but Isaac Vega really stepped up,” Hairston said. “I was waiting for him to have a meet this year where he got down to more of his times that he ran last year at the state meet below 17. He got very close to that. Christopher Hernandez also dropped some significant time off his times over the course of this year. I’m extremely proud of our kiddos and our boys on that side. They left nothing out as far as their efforts were concerned. I’m just extremely proud of how well they competed.’

Salado won the district title in just about every division. Still, Hairston added that he thought every district member had solid performers.

“We had so many teams that were capable of competing with us,” he said. “I felt like our guys stepped up and had a wonderful meet. Just extremely proud of our seniors and how they showed up.”

The coach couldn’t commend the runners enough, praising them for what they’ve already put into the season and was thrilled their hard work resulted in so many great performances.

“I’m just proud of all of our kids,” he said. “The hard work they put in has truly paid off. And they’ve reaped the benefits of that. And to be able to continue to go compete at regionals is a tribute to their hard work over the course of the season, and it’s paid off.”

The Class 4A Region III meet is Tuesday, Oct. 21, at Kate Barr Ross Memorial Park in Huntsville.