The Hays girls cross country team (l-r) Marissa Roman, Rose Hyak, Marissa Sigala, Emily Crowell, Mariana Sigala and Carly Hogue finished third in Llano on Saturday.
By JASON GORDON
The Hays High girls and boys cross country teams made the drive to the Llano Meet worth their while on Saturday.
The Lady Rebels finished third out of 16 teams and the boys team finished fifth overall with more than 110 runners in each division at the meet.
“It was a great day for racing,” Hays head coach Cliff Buckley said. “The morning temperatures have cooled a little and the course was a series of hills and twists that were very challenging.”
Mariana Sigala once again led the Lady Rebels with a fourth-place overall finish, just ahead of teammate Emily Cromwell, who finished seventh. Carly Hogue (28th), Rose Hyak (43rd) and Marissa Sigala (62nd) also contributed to the Hays girls’ high standing in the team race.
“I was very pleased with the girls team,” Buckley said. “Mariana ran another strong race to grab fourth, but what was a real pleasant surprise was co-captain Emily Crowell worked her way up right behind her to grab seventh. This gives us a very solid 1-2 punch to work with. Sophomore Carly Hogue also ran a very good race. She has been getting stronger and stronger. These girls are very coachable so I expect we can make steady improvements across the board this season.”
For the Hays boys, it was their first 3.1-mile race, which will be the distance they will see at the district meet in late October.
Michael Normand once again led the way individually with a third-place overall finish. Ryan McSpadden (12th), Logan Lindsey (36th), Jacob Rodriguez (40th) and Tyler Andrade (45th) rounded out the field for the Rebels.
We still have too many gaps between runners right now,” Buckley said. “I am hoping as we progress they will be able to run in a closer pack. That is how a team advances on past district and that is the goal right now.”
Hays will host a meet on September 24 where it will face cross-town rival Lehman.
“We would love to see the community come out and support these great athletes,” Buckley said.
