District cross country meets take center stage as runners, teams win district titles
The district cross country meets in Classes 4A, 5A and 6A took place Thursday at the Horizon Golf Course.
There were the usual top contenders who won district titles, such as the Franklin girls, Eastwood boys and San Elizario boys.
Individually, runners such as Eastwood's Adelynn Rodriguez won another district title in District 1-6A and some talented first-time winners such as Fabens' Alexia Martinez in District 2-4A.
The top three teams from each district advance to regionals on Oct. 23-24 in Lubbock; there will also be several individuals who make the trip to try and earn a spot at state.
District 1-5A
The Chapin girls were much the best, with five runners in the top 10, led by Rebecca Duran, who won the individual championship at 20:58.511.
El Paso High was second and Burges earned third.
On the boys side, El Paso High continued its solid season by winning the district title. The Tigers had the top four runners led by Miles Westbrook, Ulysses O'Rourke, Aydan Lugo and Leo Valenzuela.
"We feel we can get to state as a team this year," said Westbrook, who won the individual title in 16:46.83. "We've worked hard as a team, we've bonded well and we've had a really good season."
Chapin finished second and Burges placed third.
District 2-5A
The Hanks girls won the team and individual titles behind a strong effort from Lily Arias, who won the meet in 21.37.29. Overall, the Knights had six runners in the top 10.
Bel Air finished second and Del Valle was third.
On the boys side, Del Valle earned the district title with 37 points, nine ahead of Hanks and 13 ahead of Bel Air.
The Conquistadores four runners place in the top 10. Bel Air's Leonardo Resendez was the individual winner with a time of 17:49.05.
District 1-6A
The Franklin girls, who look to return to state this year, won with 20 points. Emily Orr was second, Brooke McCune was third, Abigail Pinon was fourth and Sophia Keiser was fifth to lead the way.
Eastwood's Rodriguez repeated as the individual champion with a time of 19.42.69 to help the Troopers to a second-place finish and Pebble Hills was third.
On the boys side, Eastwood won the team title with 36 points, eight ahead of Franklin. Aidan Torres ran second to lead the Troopers and Franklin's Matthew Engle won the individual title.
Coronado finished third to get to regionals.
"We ran well," Torres said. "We've had a great season and we wanted to rebound this year as a team and get back to state."
District 1-4A
The Harmony Science Academy girls won the district title with 32 points, edging Riverside, which had 36 points. Irvin was third with 64 points.
Kim Castro of Riverside was the individual champion with a time of 15:30.25.
"I worked really hard over the summer and it paid off," Castro said. "It feels really good and my goal is to have a strong showing at regionals.
On the boys side, Austin took top honors with 19 points as five runners finished in the top 10, led by individual winner Pedro Jimenez.
"I haven't been running that long, but I like the sport and the team title was important to us," Jimenez said. "We have really worked hard."
Riverside finished second and Harmony Science Academy was third.
District 2-4A
The San Elizario girls won the title with 33 points, eight ahead of Fabens. Young Women's Leadership Academy was third.
Fabens' Martinez, who is just a freshman, won the two-mile race in 13:35.10. Kylee Pardo was the top San Elizario runner with a third-place finish.
On the boys side, perennial state contender San Elizario won with 15 points, as the top finishers were all Eagles. Julian Guerra won the district title and looks to lead the Eagles in the regionals and another trip to state.
"We have a strong bond," Guerra said. "The seniors on the team want to finish this season strong and our careers strong."
Fabens was second and Valle Verde Early College was third.
More: El Paso HS results El Paso high school sports results for football, volleyball, cross country
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X (Formerly Twitter)
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: San Elizario, Hanks, Franklin, shine in district cross country meets
