The Natalia Mustangs make the trip to Corpus Christi to participate in Region IV Cross Country Monday, November 9. The Mustangs are led by junior Noah Gilkey and are coming off a second place finish at last week’s district meet.
“What a group of athletes! They are multi-sport athletes that have shown this area what they are capable of in Cross Country,” Head Coach Kim Lane stated. “We have the former Regional Champion in our district and they did not let that slow them down. We came in second place behind Lytle to qualify for the Regional meet.”
With a little over a week to prep for the year’s biggest race, Lane has more than just one race on her mind.
“I have no doubt that if these boys train seriously and go out and run their best race, we can advance to the next level. Although we had a little set back close to district, we are ready to come out and compete at Regional.”
Noah Gilkey has been Lane’s number one runner and team leader all season. However, it took the team effort including Isaac Rios, Coltin Richardson, Jared Stallworth, Devin Chapa, Donovan Hawkins, and David Silva to get more than just one runner to Corpus Christi.
“My standout, Noah Gilkey, has put in the necessary work and leadership to carry him to State this year. He is consistent and never waivers from his training. I hope that his hard work will pay off for him at Regionals. Thankfully, Noah is a junior that I know will do a great job of leading his team next year.”
Lane looks forward to what the Mustang JV runners can bring to the table in 2021.
“My JV boys showed a lot of promise for the Mustangs in the future. Logan Chapa and Devin McDole improved their times tremendously throughout the season and will help to fill spots next year as I am losing many seniors. Fabian Ruiz and Max Rodriguez improved throughout the season and I am thankful to have had them on the team this season,” Lane commented.
Team rankings
1st Lytle 19, 2nd Natalia 59, 3rd Dilley 64, 4th Karnes City 105, 5th Jourdanton 110, 6th West Campus 164.
Individual top 10
1st Wyatt Hoover-Poth 17:19, 2nd Jose Carlos Hernandez-Lytle 17:36, 3rd Noah Gilkey-Natalia 17:39, 4th Robert Wagner-Lytle 18:14, 5th Jose Cortez-Lytle 18:52, 6th Eduardo Lopez-Poteet 18:58, 7th Gregorio Alcorta-Lytle 19:00, 8th Kyle Mueller-Lytle 19:12, 9th Sean Luna-Jourdanton 19:19, 10th Edgardo Ramos-Dilley 19:26.
Mustangs
2nd Gilkey 17:39, 11th Isaac Rios 19:41, 15th Coltin Richardson 17th 20:40, 18th Jared Stallworth 20:43, 19th Devin Chapa 20:44, 25th Donovan Hawkins 22:00, 29th David Silva 23:10.
By Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer