The boys and girls cross country teams from Wylie, Wylie East and Sachse qualified for regionals after sweeping the top three team places at the District 9-6A championships Thursday, Oct. 8.
Wylie East’s girls won their third district title in four years, while Sachse’s boys claimed their second consecutive championship. Wylie freshman Eliana Williams took the girls individual title five days after breaking a seven-year school record.
All six teams advance to the Region II-6A meet Monday, Oct. 26, at Rolling Hills Soccer Complex in Fort Worth.
Williams won the district race in 19:12.78, pulling away from Wylie East junior Evangeline Williams before the two-mile mark, according to Wylie News. The runners are not related.
At the Oct. 3 Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Eliana finished third in 18:32.5, breaking Wylie’s previous 5K record held by Katelyn Buckley, now a teacher at Wylie ISD’s Akin Elementary.
Wylie East secured the girls team championship with 39 points, edging Sachse’s 42 and Wylie’s 48, Wylie News reported.
Evangeline Williams led the Lady Raiders in second place at 19:22.1. Freshman Olivia Jeffcoats finished fifth in 20:07.86, followed by juniors Isabelle Price in sixth at 20:27 and Reagan Tolar in eighth at 20:36.
Coach Luke Scribner said Wylie East competed well despite missing one of its top five runners.
Sachse’s girls were led by Arora Ngo in third place at 19:32.39, Alicia Payne in fourth at 20:00 and Kaitlyn Herrera in seventh at 20:34, according to Sachse News.
In the boys race, Sachse placed four runners in the top five to win with 31 points. Wylie finished second with 51, two points ahead of Wylie East.
Sachse senior Samuel Ledbetter earned his fourth victory of the season in 15:43. Junior Dominic Richardson, last year’s district champion, finished second in 16:04. Junior Sadiki Mburu placed fourth in 16:36, and senior Ozzy Heredia took fifth in 16:43.
Wylie East senior Michael Price finished third in 16:23, while sophomore Tyson Em placed sixth in 16:43.73.
Freshman Johnathan Tesfaye led Wylie in seventh at 17:04.41. Senior Jaron Savage followed in eighth at 17:05.42, and junior Karter Kekuna finished ninth in 17:08.19.
“This is probably the best top four that we’ve had since I’ve been here,” Ledbetter told Sachse News. “If we can get a good performance from our fifth runner at regionals, that could help us get to state.”
The UIL regional handbook lists the course at 2525 Joe B Rushing Road. The top four teams and the top 10 individuals outside those advancing teams qualify for state.
