MESQUITE — Robert E. Lee finished first and second at the girls District 11-5A cross country meet Saturday at Samuel Farm.
Sophomore Abby Halbrook and junior Allison Menard trudged through a muddy course with Halbrook defending her district title in a time of 12 minutes and 58 seconds, and Sanders finishing with a time of 13:05.
Four of Lee’s five runners finished in the top 10, but it wasn’t enough for the Lady Raiders to repeat as overall meet champions. North Mesquite and Lee tied for first, but the Lady Stallions were awarded the trophy on a tiebreaker because their fifth runner finished 12th and Lee’s was 15th.
Despite the disappointment of being edged out, Lee coach Dennis Baker said he was pleased with how the girls’ team competed.
“They did exactly what we needed to do. We put four girls in the top eight and busted up North Mesquite’s row of runners. They beat us fair and square on the tiebreaker,” Baker continued. “It’s kind of a shame it had to come down to that. That is the first time I’ve ever been involved in something like that. It just goes to show how important every runner is.”
Lee’s Laura Ludovico raced a runner from DeSoto to the line as they both crossed it first for 14th place. DeSoto’s runner was awarded the spot and. Had the decision been reversed, Lee would’ve won the meet with 32 points to Horn’s 33 points.
Regardless, both teams move on to compete at the Class 5A Region II meet Saturday, Nov. 5 at Vandergriff Park in Arlington.
Lee Boys Qualify Two For Regionals
The Red Raiders finished fourth as a team with Longview winning the meet. REL’s Rafael Guzman and Julian Estrada both qualified for regionals individually by virtue of finishing in the top 10. Guzman was seventh in a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds with Estrada eighth in a time of 17 minutes, 23 seconds.
“We ran well, it’s just the other teams showed up in the guys race and Longview was really tough today,” Baker said. “We are young and we are going to be good; we just ran up against some tough (competition) today.”