Wylie East sophomore Evangeline Williams, center, finished in seventh place at the Class 6A state cross country meet, becoming the first Raider in program history to earn a podium finish. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
There were a lot of firsts for the Wylie East cross country team last Saturday.
The Lady Raiders were making their first-ever team appearance at the Class 6A state cross country meet in Round Rock, while for sophomore Kaleab Endale, he concluded what was a breakout season in which he competed in the state meet for the first time.
But of all the firsts made by Wylie East, the biggest was the program having its first state placer in several years.
Sophomore Evangeline Williams earned a podium finish after she ran to seventh place with a time of 17:49 at Old Settlers Park.
“Our race plan was to stay patient through the first two miles and then push hard over the final half of the race,” said head coach Luke Scribner. “With the leader going out in 5:04 and the pack through in the 5:18 range, we knew the race would be decided in the back half. Evangeline executed the plan perfectly, finishing strong to place seventh.”
Senior Madison Akers also impressed in Round Rock, placing 48th with an 18:46 as he finished just short of matching her personal-best time.
Sophomores Amiya Runsewe and Isabelle Price also stepped up for the Lady Raiders. Scribner said that he was impressed with how well they handled the pressure, adding that the experience that they gained of running at the state meet will help them in the future. Price placed 131st with a 20:13 and Runsewe took 135th in 20:24.
Senior Alexis Schmidt placed 147th in 21:24, sophomore Reagan Tolar was 148th in 21:28 and senior Layla Talbott ran to 150th in 21:36.
On the boys’ side, Endale captured 124th place with a time of 16:46.
“It was a huge experience for him,” Scribner said. “Coming from running in the 17-minute range as a freshman to finishing in the 15:50s this year shows how much he’s grown. Now he has the confidence and experience that will help him lead as we aim to bring a full team to state next season.”
Scribner hopes that this year is the start of even bigger things for a program that is on the rise.
Both the boys’ and girls’ teams finished in second place in the district meet with the Lady Raiders earning fourth place in the Region II-6A meet less than two weeks later to earn their first-ever team berth for state.
“It was a tremendous season,” Scribner said. “We’ve reached a point where we can compete with anyone. The goal moving forward is to continue raising expectations and strive to be on the team podium at state. With powerhouse programs such as Southlake Carroll, Flower Mound and the top Houston schools, it’s going to take full team commitment — but I believe we’re capable of achieving something special.”
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