Lake Creek pair leads area at state meet
Senior Emma Little and junior Carter Gordy have become the dynamic duo for Lake Creek.
The runners produced strong individual performances in the Class 5A races at the UIL state cross country championships Friday at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
Little, a three-time state qualifier and the Region III-5A champion, finished the 5,000-meter course 17th out of 152 runners with a time of 18 minutes, 48.1 seconds. It was a significant improvement on her 72nd position as a sophomore and her 30th-place finish as a junior last year.
“It was definitely bittersweet,” Little said of running her final high school cross country race. “But I was super happy crossing the finish line knowing that I had completed my goal. I mostly use cross country as a way to train and continue staying in shape for track season, so I feel like this was just motivation for track season to keep training over the winter and keep getting even better.”
Little, competing as an individual, was the top girls performer from the Houston area. Magnolia West sophomore Valerie Haros (19:19.8), who finished 41st, was next to cross the line.
“I think the more she’s done it, the more she’s able to handle the nerves and those kinds of things,” Lake Creek coach Danny Granberry said of Little. “She’s grown as a runner, and we’ve added more mileage to her this year than what she’s done in the past. I just feel like she’s just maturing as a runner, and she’s already really mature mentally. I think she learns from her experiences and grows, and that’s all you can ask any young runner to do.”
Katy Jordan, making the program’s first appearance at state, was the top Houston team in the final standings. The Warriors took 14th place out of 16 teams with a score of 351. Friendswood (383) and La Porte (450) finished 15th and 16th, respectively.
Lucas Lovejoy was the girls team champion with a score of 65. Boerne Champion (71) and Dripping Springs (86) took second and third, respectively.
Canyon Randall senior Cameron McConnell (17:15.4) won the girls individual title.
Gordy, a two-time state qualifier, led the Houston area in the boys race. He finished 12th out of 152 runners for the second consecutive season with a time of 15 minutes, 33.7 seconds.
“I thought he ran really well,” Granberry said. “That’s by far his best time this season. I thought he ran his best race when it counted, which is always good. He’s getting better at being patient. I think before he wanted to lead everything, but it seems like he’s getting more comfortable letting some other people do the work early for him, which I think is a great thing for him. He’s got another year left, and I really look for big things from him if we can keep him healthy.”
The Region III-5A champion was followed by Friendswood sophomore Zade Kayyali (16:05.0) and La Porte junior Brady Axtell (16:12.4), who finished 26th and 29th, respectively.
La Porte was the top team from the Houston area, finishing ninth out of 16 teams with a score of 241. Friendswood (320), meanwhile, finished 14th.
Grapevine won the boys team title with a score of 53. Denton (104) and Lovejoy (126) were second and third, respectively. Grapevine senior Walker St. John (15:06.6) won the individual title.
Brazos junior Esmeralda Garcia finished as the runner-up in the 3,200-meter Class 3A girls race with a time of 11 minutes, 48.9 seconds. East Bernard was the lone team from the Houston area competing and finished 10th out of 16 teams with a score of 248.
New Waverly junior Hutton Edney took ninth place in the 5,000-meter 3A boys race at 16 minutes, 33.7 seconds. East Bernard junior Colby Kurtz (16:39.2) finished 15th.