Devine’s Arabian Cross Country team narrowly missed claiming the Aggie Invitational finishing in second place with 53 points compared to Poteet’s overall team score of 51. The Warhorses finished in 3rd place with 99 points compared to 2nd place Poteet’s 70 points and winner Hondo’s 32 points.
Head Coach Khera Vay’s assessment, “Overall, I felt the athletes performed to my expectations and to their potential. We had two great weeks of practice and it showed with times continuing to improve. We will run on Wednesday in Bandera as a district preview. Four out of the five district teams will be present and it will be an awesome opportunity for us to see where we are and what work we need to do. I’m proud of the way this group of athletes is representing Devine and the Cross Country program, and continue to look forward to great things the rest of the season.”
Runner of the Week
Brianna Bowyer, who just ran her personal record 13:50 in Poteet, was selected as Runner of the Week. Brianna is also a JV Cheerleader and is always willing to make sure she is able to attend practice on cheer practice days as well as football game days. She often runs the workouts early and by herself.
She has told Coach Vay on numerous occasions, “I don’t care how tired I am, I cannot miss a workout.” Her desire to improve to help her team advance past district is evident. She has a great attitude and keeps everyone laughing during exhausting practices, long bus rides, and warm ups.
“I’m very proud of the effort and dedication Bri has shown throughout the season,” stated Vay about the freshman runner. “She ran an incredible race in Poteet and proved herself to be a valuable part of the varsity squad.”
On being selected, Bri said, “It is a privilege being selected and motivates me to keep going as a runner not just with sweat and pains, but with heart.”
Varsity Arabians: 2nd place team, total of 53 points; Brooke Runyan-2nd-12:47; Esperanza Mendoza-4th-12:51; Brianna Bernal-8th-13:10; Abby Whitaker-16th-13:25; Brianna Bowyer-23rd-13:50; Maria Murillo-24th-13:51; Victoria Whitaker-41st-14:20.
JV Arabians: 1st-Pleasanton-51, 2nd-Holy Cross-65, 3rd-Devine-68; Alexis Shook-2nd-14:37; Jasmine Stricker-8th-15:04; Victoria Gonzales-14th-15:16; Lorena Chavera-21st-15:31; Grace Singleton-24th-16:01; Ana Valerio-27th-16:43.
Varsity Warhorses: Colin Rogers-4th-17:32; Connor Radicke-15th-18:20; Christian Osorio-21st-18:36; Xavier Garza-23rd-19:02; Ismael Vera-32nd-19:57.
JV Warhorses: (No team finish due to only 4 participants): Matt Madrid-8th-20:22; Andy Cordova-12th-20:34; Zachary Alvarez-15th-21:05; Michael Reichel-17th-21:51.
Bandera Schedule
The invitational will be held at the Bandera City Park on South State Highway 173 by the Medina River. The varsity and JV girls run at 5:00pm. The varsity and JV boys run at 5:30pm.
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer