The La Porte High School boys and girls cross country teams swept all divisions at the District 21-5A District Cross Country Meet held at La Porte's Northwest Park on Oct. 25. Both teams will advance to the regional competition on Nov. 3 at Atascosita High School.
In the boys competition, the Bulldogs swept all three divisions for the third straight year with a one-point win over North Shore High School. Coach Zach Johnson said that the varsity runners had many outstanding individual performances to help boost the team to a first place finish.
Casey Timm placed sixth with a time of 17:03, and Wyssam Zaaban placed 11th with a personal record of 17:27. Other top finishers were Michael Davis, 13th; Kyle Haynes, 14th; Cameron Avina, 15th; Henry Blanchard, 16th; and Justin Moore, 24th.
The first place junior varsity team was led by Tim Gibson, who placed first with a time of 18:07, followed by Bryan Ramirez in third place with a time of 18:34. Other junior varsity competitors were Jose Chapa, sixth; Quentin Sanders, seventh; Evan Cook, eighth; and Nate Castillo, ninth.
Also placing for the junior varsity team were Cody McKay, 12th; Matt Sanchez, 16th; Avery Blanchard, 17th; Wilson Thomas, 20th; C.J. Williams, 26th; Chris Montano, 30th; and Gerald Wolfe, 36th.
Contributing to the freshman team's first place finish were Isaac Gonzalez, third place; Lief Hosea, seventh; Miguel Serrano, eighth; and Gabby Canizales, ninth. Austin Fiala placed 11th, followed by Jacob Reyes in 16th place and Chase Segall in 19th place. Noe Alipio placed 22nd, Bennie Flores placed 32nd, and Juan Gomez placed 46th.
In the open race, Dylan Basurto came in third, followed by Jhaneil George, who placed sixth. Andy Gonzalez placed eighth, and William Holt placed ninth. Other runners in the open race were Jeremy Claypool, 11th; Alvarro Gonzalez, 12th; Jonathan Blanchard, 13th; and Juan Salazar, 18th.
In the girls competition, the varsity Lady Bulldogs, under the direction of coach Carolina Rodriguez, placed first with 19 points, beating North Shore by 44 and Deer Park by 65 points.
Leading the way for the varsity was freshman Samantha Beacham, who placed first. Junior Arielle Price came in second after a fall in the first 50 meters of the race, and in third was freshman Caitlyn Cruz. In sixth place was first-year cross country runner Sam Fernandez, followed by freshman Jaylean Gonzales in seventh place and senior Dora Reynosa in eighth place. Sophomore Summer Barfield placed 18th.
At the junior varsity level, the girls placed first with 26 points, outscoring North Shore by 35 points and Deer Park by 87 points. Leading the JV team were Alicia Smith, first; Laura Dodson, second; and Savannah Riggenbach, fifth. Other competitors were Kayla Koch, seventh; Jillian Turner, 11th; Autumn Zinn, 12th; Anayeli Betancourt, 16th; Myriah Stoot, 17th; Lexi Foose, 25th; Adela Torres, 27th; Ashley Allen, 32nd; Heather Juel,21st; and Stephanie Castillo, 40th.
