The Wylie East girls cross country speaks to a member of the media after earning fourth place in the Region II-6A cross country meet on Oct. 21. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
When Luke Scribner was hired as Wylie East head cross-country coach in May 2023, the program had already achieved sustained success.
The Lady Raiders had qualified for the regional meet three times. However, state success had eluded the team. But Scribner, who previously coached at Frisco Reedy, raised expectations. He was hopeful that Wylie East would match Wylie as one of the top teams in Class 6A and achieve the same amount of success that the Pirates have enjoyed in recent years, starting with former head coach Calley Conner.
“He’s really pushed us and keeps us accountable,” said sophomore Reagan Tolar.
Success came rather quickly.
Wylie East won its first district championship in girls cross-country just five months later. It was the first of two consecutive district titles won by the Lady Raiders. Wylie East repeated as the District 9-6A champion in October 2024, and Madison Akers, now a senior, was crowned the 9-6A individual champion.
“It was great because that was about our ceiling at that point in time,” Scribner said. “We had to start the program somewhere, and that was a good stepping point in the path to where we are today.”
Despite winning back-to-back district championships, disappointment followed. Wylie East failed to qualify for the state meet in both years. Last season, the Lady Raiders placed eighth at the Region II-6A meet, ending the team’s quest for a berth in the state meet because only the top four teams qualify.
That disappointment lit a fire in the Lady Raiders.
Sophomore Isabelle Price said that the eighth-place finish created more accountability among the team.
“This season, we’ve just gotten so much closer as a team and run closer together and have just wanted it so much,” she said. “All of our workouts, all of our runs are done together.”
Wylie East also got a boost with the addition of sophomore Evangeline Williams. Williams was born in Wylie and lived there for six years before moving with her family to California.
As a freshman, she competed for Trabuco Hills (Mission Viejo, California). Williams had a standout cross-country season, helping her team qualify for Nike Cross Nationals, where they finished seventh. She then had a breakout track and field season, finishing fifth in the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) finals in the one-mile run.
When Williams moved back to the Dallas area earlier this year, she sought to find a school that best fit her academic and athletic talents.
Wylie East proved to be a perfect fit.
Williams said that she didn’t know much about Wylie East’s cross-country team initially but was quick to see the team’s potential once she started running with her new teammates.
“I saw a lot of great potential,” she said. “Once we got started up, I knew that we had a chance to make it to state, and I think that really encouraged everyone. We wanted to work hard to make sure that everyone made it to state.”
Williams made a quick impression. At the Southlake Carroll Invitational on Sept. 6, she placed third with a time of 17:36 and broke the school record for the fastest 5K by 41 seconds. Williams showcased that same type of domination at the District 9-6A meet, where she placed first in 18:11 and defeated the meet’s second-place finisher by 29 seconds.
Williams also took on a leadership role.
“She always makes sure that I’m running,” Akers said. “She’s the best cheerleader. She’s the person who leads and believes in us the most. She’s just shown us the potential that we have and the improvement that we can make.”
All seven runners for Wylie East have made huge improvements with their times from the time they started until now. Akers has reduced her time from 19:48, Price from 20:45 to 19:59, senior Alexis Schmidt from 21:50 to 20:48, Tolar from 22:20 to 21:11, senior Layla Talbott from 21:37 to 20:43, and sophomore Amiya Runsewe from 23:04 to 20:26.
“Just sticking together,” Talbott said. “We just made sure that we stayed in a pack together and are coming together during races.”
Wylie East saw its run of consecutive district championships come to an end a few weeks ago. Although the Lady Raiders qualified their entire team for the regional meet, a third-place finish at the district meet left them wanting more.
Williams said that disappointment lit a fire in the team.
The Lady Raiders more than made up for that disappointment at the regional meet while also exacting a measure of revenge. Wylie East placed fourth with 172 points to earn its first berth in the state meet while edging fifth-place Sachse (202), which won the 9-6A title.
Williams paced Wylie East with a second-place finish in 17:48. Akers also cracked the top 20, placing 13th in 18:58. Price took 36th in 19:59, Runsewe was 55th in 20:25, Schmidt placed 80th in 21:02, Tolar was 99th in 21:33, and Talbott took 105th in 21:44.
“It’s an unreal moment,” Akers said. “This is our goal since day one. Last year, we didn’t get what we wanted. We worked hard to get back here.”
Wylie East won’t be satisfied with just making state.
“We’re hoping to leave a legacy and a tradition,” Akers said.
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