XC: Lady Dawgs run 2nd at league meet
Henderson's Allison Waggoner (left) was sixth at the District 16-3A Cross
Country Meet. (Photo by John Krueger)
CARTHAGE, Tx -- For a fledgling program like the Carthage High School cross country teams, reaching goals is a mighty big step. In only a few short years of existence, the Lady Dawgs accomplished a huge goal this week when the varsity girls' program placed second at the District 16-3A Cross Country Meet held here at the Carthage Country Club on Monday.
With the runner-up spot, Lady Dawgs Alicia Benefield (5th overall), Abbie Dierkes (10th), Alysia Roberts (12th), Brianna Gwinn (14th), Sutton Travis (19th), Brianna Fuller (24th) and Chanah Osborne (28th) will move on to the Class 3A Region IV Meet at Vandergriff Park in Arlington on Nov. 5.
"We set goals when we started working out this summer and we've achieved some of those girls and the girls are really excited about being in the top three (teams) today," said Carthage girls' cross country head coach Art Horton. "Our first goal was to be in the top three in district, our No.2 goal was to win (the district championship) and our third goal was to have three runners in the top 10 in district and we can near reaching those goals.
"We're led by four senior girls - Abbie Dierkes, Alicia Benefield, Alysia Roberts and C.K. Williams - who have shown that leadership clearly with their work ethics, their dependability and their work ethic.
"Then we've had a good group of freshmen girls that came in and combined with the sophomores and juniors, gave us a strong group of 13 girls that really worked real well."
Pittsburgh won the varsity girls' team championship, scoring 22 points. The Lady Pirates ran first and second and the team had six of the top 10 runners. Gisel Garcia won the overall competition with a 13:17, followed by teammate Rachel Green with a 13:31.
Carthage placed second overall with 56 points, with Spring Hill placing third with 62. Henderson scored 77 points for fourth and Gladewater was fifth with 108 points.
Benefield ran fifth with a 13:47, while Dierkes held down the 10th spot with a 14:04. Roberts was close to the top 10 goal, coming in 12th with a 14:21. Travis posted a time of 15:05.
Varsity Boys
This season was the first for organized boys cross country competition from Carthage. with that, only one Bulldog ran at the varsity level. Tanner O'Dell competed at the league meet, finishing 23rd overall with a time of 21:01.
Spring Hill won the boys' competition with 17 points, while Pittsburgh placed with 56 points, Henderson came in third with 64 points and Gilmer was fourth with 73.
Dylan Droege of Spring Hill won the overall competition with a time of 16:47. He was followed by three of his teammates.
VARSITY BOYS
Team Totals
1. Spring Hill 17
2. Pittsburgh 56
3. Henderson 64
4. Gilmer 73
Top 10 Individuals
1.Droege, Dylan (SH) 16:47
2.Tritten, Taylor (SH) 17:01
3.Bogle, Ryan (SH) 17:03
4.Jones, Caleb (SH) 17:21
5.Rosendiz, Abel (Hend) 17:41
6.Carillo, Marcos (Pitt)17:55
7.Tomme, Jacob (SH) 17:57
8.Reynoso, John (Gilmer)18:07
9.Ramos, Jimmy (Pitt) 18:10
10.Perez, Mario (Pitt) 18:17
Carthage Finisher
23.Tanner O'Dell 21:01
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VARSITY GIRLS
Team Totals
1. Pittsburgh 22
2. Carthage 56
3. Spring Hill 62
4. Henderson 77
5. Gladewater 108
Top 10 Individuals
1.Garcia, Gisel (Pitt) 13:17.5
2.Green, Rachel (Pitt) 13:31.3
3.Morris, Samantha (SH) 13:42.6
4.Thomas, Nakila (Pitt) 13:44.3
5.Benefield, Alicia(Car)13:47.9
6.Waggoner, Allison (Hen)13:47.9
7.Duffy, Shakira (Pitt) 13:50.8
8.Mejia, Deisi (Pitt) 13:53.5
9.McCelhaney, Hannah (Pitt)13:54.7
10.Dierkes, Abbie (Car) 14:04.0
Other Carthage Finishers
12.Alysia Roberts 14:21
14.Brianna Gwinn 14:36
19.Sutton Travis 15:05
24.Brianna Fuller 16:02
28.Chanah Osborne 17:30