Staff Report

Several Hays High Rebel cross country runners excelled at the Brenham Hillacious Invitational in Brenham on Saturday. 

Their efforts against a field of some of the best and brightest from the Houston area drew praise from first year Rebel cross country head coach Traci Hightower. 

“We competed very well amongst many of the top state-ranked teams from the Houston area,” Hightower said in an emailed response. 

Hays competed against several high profile cross country programs, including Cypress Fair, The Woodlands College Park and Katy Cinco Ranch. 

The course provided many challenges to the runners. 

“The 5K course featured a long, flat start, challenging hills in the middle, hay bales to bound over and an exciting sprint to the finish,” Hightower said. 

According to Hightower, all athletes finished with a personal record or near their best time on “the toughest course we have run this year.” 

Rebel junior Camille Dickson led the varsity girls team with a time of 22:06.6. Hays’ junior varsity girls team placed second as a team in the two mile race, with Samantha Sloat finishing in fourth place overall. 

Senior Jason Peed led the varsity boys squad with a time of 17:45, while junior varsity runner Kurt Johnson logged a time of 19:46. 

The Hays cross country team will compete at the McNeil Invitational on Oct. 4 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. It will be followed by the district 14-6A meet on Oct. 17 at Walter E Long Lake in Austin.