Winning streaks on the line at District 9-6A cross-country meet
Wylie East sophomore Evangeline Williams broke the school record by more than a minute at the Southlake Carroll Invitational in September. Photo courtesy Kim Dill Higginbotham
By David Wolman
sports@csmediatexas.com
The Wylie boys and Wylie East girls cross country teams have built dynasties.
The Pirates have won eight consecutive district championships and will look to make it nine straight Thursday morning, while the Lady Raiders are chasing a third consecutive district crown after winning their first in program history just two years ago.
“Winning anything eight years in a row regardless of the district is incredible,” said Colton Reynolds, Wylie head coach, “Add the regional and state accomplishments to that and it really speaks to the program (Calley) Conner set up and (Ethan) McDonald carried on. I think the boys understand the importance of trying to carry on the legacy of those before them and that will help them in the race.”
Senior Zachary Brumfield will look to add to his individual legacy and bring home a second consecutive district title while senior Landon Cooper will look to build on a breakout season as a junior and attempt to qualify for the state meet for the second consecutive season. Brumfield, a three-time state qualifier, transitioned quickly from competing in the 800 at New Balance Nationals to cross country. He’s battled through a few minor injuries but still owns the fastest time for Wylie with a 15:42.
After Wylie lost some runners from last season’s team that would have been seniors, Reynolds was concerned as to who would step up and fill their positions.
Seniors Caden Zurita and Thorne Owen have among the most improved runners on the team. Brady Kemp, also a senior, recently returned to the team after missing a month with an injury and is close to the times that he posted last year. Freshman Luke Boruk has made a huge jump from middle school and has provided the Pirates with additional depth.
Wylie East and Sachse are ready to close the gap on Wylie.
All three squads qualified for the Region II-6A meet last season after Wylie East placed second at the district meet and Sachse third.
Wylie East has fared well all season despite Michael Sharp, its projected No. 1 runner, missing the entire season. Head coach Luke Scribner said that Sharp is practicing with the team and will compete in the district meet.
Sophomore Kaleab Endale has stepped up in Sharp’s place. He broke the school record at the Southlake Carroll Invitational.
Seniors Kirubel Feyissa, John Middleton and Carter Roberts have been strong performers. All three runners have run to times of 16:14 or less. Sophomore Jaden Parish, senior Nathnael Kedebe, senior Roman Lopez and freshman Fraol Endale have cut more than a minute from their personal records.
“We’ve developed a very close pack that runs well together, and we’ve been holding a little something back that we haven’t shown all year,” Scribner said. “We plan to roll it out at district and make a strong push for the boys’ first-ever district title. At the end of the day if we do what we are capable of we will be just fine.”
Sachse has won district titles in the boys division but not in the current alignment of District 9-6A.
Head coach Kacey Laughery believes that has the potential to change this week.
Junior Samuel Ledbetter has been Sachse’s most consistent performer. After running to 10th in 16:39 at last year’s district meet his times have hovered in the low 16s this year.
Sophomore Dominic Richardson ran a one-mile time of 4:35 as a freshman and has a season-best time of 16:25 as a sophomore.
Sophomore Sadiki Mburu is close to Richardson’s 16:25.
Senior Roman Rabel placed eighth in last year’s district meet.
“I’m very lucky with this team,” Laughery said. “Six of our seven runners have broken 18 minutes. They work hard together and are highly competitive.”
On the girls’ side, Wylie East has never qualified for the state meet, but the addition of sophomore Evangeline Williams could help the Lady Raiders achieve a breakthrough.
Williams, a Wylie native who ran for Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo, Calif.) as a freshman, broke Wylie East’s school record by one minute at Southlake with a time of 17:36 and also won the prestigious Hoka McNeil Invitational.
Senior Madison Akers, last year’s district champion, and sophomore Isabelle Price have been consistently among the team’s top three performers, while sophomore Amiya Runsewe and senior Layla Talbott round out the top five.
“They’ve been part of our championship culture and know what it takes each week,” Scribner said. “What’s been equally impressive is how the rest of the lineup has come on strong over the last few weeks. They’ve made huge strides and are still learning to fully trust their ability and training.”
Freshman Annabelle Angeles, projected as a top-five runner, has exceeded expectations. She has the fastest 5K time on the team with a 19:34.
Another freshman, Vanessa Vazquez, has emerged as a surprise contributor and improved every week, Reynolds said. Vazquez has a PR of 20:02.
Wylie has received great senior leadership from Kyler Eiben, who ran to a PR of 20:32 at the Dustin Rodriguez Invitational.
Senior Kinsley Ferguson is another runner that Reynolds says has the potential of placing in the top 10 at district.
Sachse sophomore Arora Ngo was the district runner-up last year.
Junior Abigail Leonard is plenty motivated. She was a state qualifier as a freshman but didn’t compete in the district meet as a sophomore. She broke 19 minutes at the McKinney Boyd Bronco Invitational.
Sachse was last year’s district runner-up, while Wylie placed third.
“Four of our five best runners are sophomores,” Laughery said. “There is not a large gap between first, second and third place. Both races will come down to mere points.”
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