Parker County dominated the District 3-6A cross country meet Thursday, Oct. 15, at AP Ranch in Fort Worth.
Aledo won both the boys and girls divisions, while Weatherford finished second in both. It was the ninth consecutive district title for the Bearcats and the fifth straight for the Ladycats.
Tyler Connelly led the Bearcats to a perfect team score of 15 points, winning the 5,000-meter (3.1-mile) race in 15 minutes, 38 seconds.
The top five finishers from each complete team are counted. Aledo took the top six, with their seventh runner coming in 10th.
The Lady Roos, led by Remi Boon’s first-place finish in 18:28 — nearly 30 seconds ahead of the next runner — gave the Lady Cats a run for their money, with Aledo winning by one point.
For the team results, only the complete-teams’ runners are counted. Two schools, Bowie and Sam Houston, did not field a full team, so their runners did not count in the team totals. Had Bowie entered a fifth runner it would have changed the results, since its top runner finished 17th, one spot ahead of Aledo’s fifth runner. That would have given Aledo an extra point in the team totals, creating a tie with Weatherford. The tie-breaker is the place of the fifth runner, and Weatherford’s fifth runner finished 12th.
Aledo coach Mike Pinkerton said he knew the competition would not push his boys much but was glad the course itself tested them for the future.
“I think it {the course topography} helped tremendously because this course has longer, gradual hills,” Aledo coach Mike Pinkerton said. “The places we normally work out have very steep hills but are very short. We needed this because this is as close to the regional course as we will see.”
Aledo’s Noah Lay finished second in 16:02, with Thatcher Pettit, Reed Murray, Andrew Walsh and Jonah Clary bunched up within six seconds of him. Maddox Murry was 10th in 16:29.
The Roos’ 78 points were good enough for second place and will join Aledo and third-place team Arlington Martin (93 points) at the Region I-6A meet Monday morning, Oct. 26 at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.
The Weatherford boys team was led by James Roe who finished eighth with a time of 16:23. The Roos’ top five runners also included Aiden Houghton (13th), Justin French (16th), Saul Saldivar (18th), and Jack Miller (23rd).
Roos coach Van Green said he was proud of his team who has ran most of the season not at full strength.
“The boys dealt with injuries all year,” Green said. “I wasn’t sure how they were going to do today. They stepped up and got through, and that was big for them.”
The Ladycats were led by Mayden Mitchell, who finished second with a time of 19:07. Aledo’s top five runners also included Holland Gladchuk (4th), Austyn Wiatrek (6th), Cecilia Frank (8th) and Isabel Ruch (18th).
Following Boone for the Lady Roos were Ivy Scott (5th), Aaliyah Dixon (9th), Nayelli Ordonez (11th) and Charlotte Farhat (13th).
Despite just missing out on the district title, Green was proud his girls followed the game plan that gave them a chance against Aledo.
“We were 10 points behind them (according to times run throughout the season), and I showed my girls what we need to do to catch up with Aledo and possibly beat them by one point,” he said. “We lost by one point so we closed that gap, and I am looking forward to seeing them at regionals.
“Its bittersweet but we had a game plan and they almost executed it to a tee,” Green said. “I can’t be too disappointed.”
Arlington Martin (third place, 80 points) will join Aledo and Weatherford at the regional meet.
District Meet
Varsity girls (5K)
Team finish: Aledo 1st (37), Weatherford 2nd (38)
Individual leaders
Varsity boys (5K)
Team finish: Aledo 1st (15), Weatherford 2nd (78)
Individual leaders
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