PC, Junction City run in state meet
Looney earns All-State
Parkers Chapel’s Ali Looney earned All-State honors for the second straight season Friday as she finished 15th in the 1A/2A State Cross Country Championships at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs.
The Lady Trojans finished 13th out of 17 schools.
Looney, a sophomore, led the way with a time of 22:03.40.
“I think I ran well,” said Looney. “I thought it was going to be super helpful that I ran that course a couple weeks ago but the mud puddles all over the course added a little challenge I wasn't really prepared for. I'm super proud of making all state for a second year. Can't wait for basketball now.”
“Ali had a great run,” said Parkers Chapel coach Justin Welch. “I’m glad to see all of her hard work and dedication pay off. She’s been putting in a lot of extra time running after basketball practice.”
Jana Avery ran 23:25.20 and finished 23rd in the field of 143 runners. Madison Sullivan (115th, 28:29.90), Kenlee McAuliffe (118th, 28:53.50) and Rebekah Hardy (136th, 30:11.60) rounded out PC’s runners.
“Jana’s been training really hard for this meet so for her to do so well was good to see,” said Welch. “I’m really proud of all my runners in general. Both groups, boys and girls, are fun groups to work with.
“I think we had solid performances against a really tough field. The course was very tough because of all the recent rain. There were lots of mud puddles and slippery conditions.”
In boys, Junction City’s Ty Disotell finished 53rd out of 204 runners with a time of 20:41.5. He was followed by Alex Graves (114th, 22:16.9), Trey Walker (123rd, 22:33.1), Ryan Allen (132nd, 22:48.1), Zac Brown (135th, 22:56.6), Chase Fennel (191st, 25:00.5) and Alex Prado (197th, 25:32.1) rounded out the Dragons.
Parkers Chapel’s Korbin McAuliffe led the Trojans with a time of 22:37.9, good for 126th. Spencer Frisby (166th, 23:59), Wyatt New (168th, 24:06.7), Thomas Hardy (173rd, 24:17.0) and Mason Dougan (194th, 25:14.1) rounded out the Trojans.
The senior boys are a really young group that I’m hoping will stick it out and improve upon each year,” said Welch. “I only had one senior, Thomas Hardy, who we will miss a lot next year. He’s been here with me all four years that I’ve been the cross country coach at PC. His leadership has really helped me out and I truly appreciate him.”