Burnet, Marble Falls boys cross country finish 1, 2 at district meet

CAPTION: Marble Falls senior Nick Dahl crosses the finish line of the District 24-4A meet. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

When it comes to middle distance running in District 24-4A, no county does it better than Burnet County. The teams in Kelly green and purple and gold proved it once more.

The Bulldogs won the boys varsity district championship at Marble Falls High School Oct. 9, while the Mustangs finished as the runners-up.

Burnet also won district titles in the girls varsity and junior varsity divisions and the boys junior varsity division.

The Bulldogs were paced by junior Victor Aviles, who won the 3.2-mile race in 15 minutes and 55 seconds, using a full-on sprint to speed away from from runner-up Nick Dahl, a Marble Falls senior. He finished in 16:02 and Marble Falls junior Tyler Hamblin finished third in 16:27. Burnet junior Isaias Zarate came in fourth in 16:38, while junior Blake Cockrell finished seventh in 17:21.

Burnet freshman Hector Vega was 10th in 17:29, the first of three consecutive Bulldogs to finish their races. Burnet junior Gustavo Vega was 11th in 17:53 followed by Burnet junior Miguel Valdez, who was 12th in 17:59. Their finishes ensured the district title for the Bulldogs.

“We win as a team,” Aviles said. “It takes everyone. We have to have everyone to go to the next level. It truly helps us to push harder in every race. We have the support from everyone by pushing each other at practices.”

Aviles said the strategy was obvious in winning the district title: run as a pack.

“That was definitely one of the goals,” he said. “We wanted to stay as close as possible. I think this team is better than last year. We’re not losing any races.”

He noted one of the most important members of the squad doesn’t get enough recognition for the accomplishments of the program — head coach Kristi Jones, who is in her first year of leading the program.

“I have to give some credit to coach Jones,” he said. “She is a wonderful coach. She pushes us hard. It truly helps us push hard every race.”

Zarate echoed Aviles.

“I was just trying to be in the top 10, and our goal was to win the district championship,” he said. “I think we were in a pretty good spot. Most of our team got new personal records. People are starting to notice a lot. We’re starting to get runners and making it a thing now.”

After he crossed the finish line, Dahl shook Aviles’ hand and congratulated him on a great race.

“Victor’s finish is what makes him a volatile runner,” he said. “If you’re not ahead of him with 800 (meters) to go, he’s going to beat you.”

Dahl, who was the third-place finisher a year ago in helping the Mustangs win the district championship, commended his teammates on their performances, too. He noted that freshmen Owen Martin and Connor Yaklin ran in their first district meet as varsity runners. Martin finished 16th overall in 18:36 and Yaklin was 25th in 19:52. Sophomore Hunter Holder was 21st in 19:25.

“I’m happy with how the team is doing,” Dalh said. “Our freshmen all did incredible for running a race their freshman year. It’s been inspiring to see them put in the work. I’m really proud of our team overall. Did we go out there and give it everything we have? The answer is yes. We’ll use the disappointment (of not repeating as district champions) as fuel for the next race.”

Mustangs head coach Chris Schrader wasn’t surprised by how well Dahl and Hamblin ran, pointing out they have been consistently good throughout the season.

“Nick and Tyler ran the race they could run,” he said. “Blake did a good job. He has some room for improvement. Regionals is two weeks away.”

The Mustangs knew the Bulldogs were bringing their best to the district meet. And they know with certainty what they must do if they want to return to the Class 4A state meet.

“Victor has an amazing finish. It’s like trying to stop a running horse,” Schrader said. “We’re going to have to get our back runners to run through pain. The regional race is an all-in race to advance to the state meet. There are some good teams in Region III.”

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RESULTS

BOYS

Varsity

1, Victor Aviles (Burnet), 15:55; 2, Nick Dahl (Marble Falls), 16:02; 3, Tyler Hamblin (Marble Falls), 17:21; 4, Isaias Zarate (Burnet), 16:38; 7, Blake Cockrell (Marble Falls), 17:21; 10, Hector Vega (Burnet), 17:29; 11, Gustavo Vega, 17:53; 12, Miguel Valdez (Burnet), 17:59; 16. Owen Martin (Marble Falls), 18:36; 19, Josvanny Ramierez (Burnet), 18:54; 20, Hays Bennett (Burnet), 19:04; 21, Hunter Holder (Marble Falls), 19:25; 25, Connor Yaklin (Marble Falls), 19:52; 28, Colton Rutland (Marble Falls), 20:06

Junior varsity

1, Zachariah Apachito (Marble Falls), 19:23; 2, Adrian Morales (Burnet), 19:58; 3, Matthew Resendez (Burnet), 19:58; 8, Jason Suarez (Burnet), 21:04; 11, Andrew Resendez (Burnet), 21:47; 12, Tres Maltos (Burnet), 21:47; 14, Ricardo Flores (Burnet), 22:06; 16, Marco Campos (Burnet), 22:22

Eighth grade

1, Graham Groggans (Marble Falls), 11:35; 4, Clark Yanez (Burnet), 12:22; 5, Christopher Hernandez (Burnet), 12:32; 14, Isaac Vega (Burnet), 13:37; 16, Max Melendez (Marble Falls), 13:55; 25, Landon Fletcher (Marble Falls), 14:36; 29, Blaze Bailey (Burnet), 14:49; 31, Santiago Gaytan (Marble Falls), 14:52; 33, Hudson Dehorty (Marble Falls), 15:15; 37, Bobby Krause (Burnet), 16:44

Seventh grade

1, Jerry Walker (Marble Falls), 12:30; 3, Hector Flores (Burnet), 13:03; 4, Gabe Castillo (Burnet), 13:13; 7, Alejandro Aviles (Burnet), 13:41; 10, Travis Rodgers (Burnet), 13:59; 14, Gatlin Gilmore (Burnet), 14:23; 18, Rhett Blasienz (Burnet), 14:27; 20, Justin Morales (Burnet), 14:34; 28, Tait Schmidt (Burnet), 15:09; 31, Eli Gates (Burnet), 15:21; 33, Eli Pirie (Burnet), 15:28; 41, Tanner Alford (Marble Falls), 16:27; 42, Gabriel Elmore (Burnet), 16:31; 44, Ryan Neman (Marble Falls), 16:54; 46, Brandon Rodgers (Burnet), 16:59; 51, Ander Shaffer (Burnet), 17:27; 54, Nolan McMinn (Burnet), 17:48; 55, Adrian VAlera (Burnet), 17:48; 57, Zeke Maynard (Burnet), 18:02; 61, Nicholai Raynor (Burnet), 18:27; 62, Taylor Alford (Marble Falls), 18:28; 65, Aiden Arnold (Burnet), 19:21; 74, Easton Carey (Marble Falls), 21:19

GIRLS

Varsity (Burnet)

1, Asah Roy, 11:55; 2, Abby Bennight, 12:40; 7, Amelia Griffin, 12:59; 8, Brooke Bowman, 13:07; 9, Kayce Banton, 13:07; 10, Adriana Briggs, 13:08; 11, Kori Haile, 13:26

Junior varsity (Burnet)

1, Marissa Aviles, 13:22; 2, Halle Maxwell, 13:50; 3, Cierra Blunt-Culpepper, 13:53; 4, Hannah Webster, 14:04; 5, Haylie Bartlett, 14:14; 6, Erica Flores, 14:39; 9, Josie McDavid, 15:07; 10, Jaylee Messer, 15:07; 11, Amberlyn Glasscock, 15:23; 12, Savannah Griffin, 15:50; 14, Makayla Cox, 16:11; 16, Carina Flores, 16:15

Eighth grade

10, Avery Barth (Burnet), 14:30; 11, Savannah Hamblin (Marble Falls), 15:05; 14, Daphne Collard (Burnet), 15:32; 19 Hadalye Hernandez (Marble Falls), 16:17; 23, Amaria Schmidt (Burnet), 16:28; 24, Neveah Perez (Burnet), 16:29; 30, Rylee Culpepper (Burnet), 17:31; 31, Ava Saldivar (Burnet), 17:57; 33, Natalie Clifton (Burnet), 18:06; 36, Alexis Whitley (Burnet), 18:53; 53, Katelyn Folts (Marble Falls), 23:38

Seventh grade

4, Marlei Faz (Marble Falls), 15:06; 7, Breckyn Langley (Burnet), 15:28; 8, Katrina Mosley (Marble Falls), 15:38; 11, Shaylea Ally (Marble Falls), 16:10; 13, Fallon Gibson (Marble Falls), 16:34; 17, Emma Martin (Marble Falls), 17:07; 23, Camila Palacios (Burnet), 17:53; 30, Lily Trevion (Burnet), 18:23; 31, Brooklyn Flores (Burnet), 18:26; 33, Rayleigh Handsel (Burnet), 18:37; 34, Kaylen Mendoza (Burnet), 18:34; 35, Emmersen Ramos (Marble Falls), 18:44; 38, Sapana Khatri (Marble Falls), 19:20; 38, Elleight Chelette (Marble Falls), 19:29; 40, Grace Campbell (Marble Falls), 19:30.