GRAND PRAIRIE — Rockwall-Heath will be sending two boys qualifiers to 6A state, the first in school history to advance beyond the regional meet. Evan Herrera finished fifth in 15:37.53 and Evan Martin was 19th in 16:02.68. Both are seniors.
“It is an exciting day, feeling the energy,’’ said Herrera.
Rockwall-Heath finished fifth as a team, one spot away from state qualification.
Return trip
The last time Waxahachie’s boys team qualified for the state meet in 1998, Edward De La Cruz was a team member. De La Cruz is now the coach, and the Indians secured state qualification with a fourth-place 6A finish behind three Houston-area programs.
“The guys have been putting in the work and they deserve it,’’ said De La Cruz.
Leading the way was senior Graham Scott with a seventh-place individual finish in 15:45.08 over the 5K course, a leap of 17 places from the previous year.
“We were supposed to make it last year and we had a bad day, but now I can look back knowing we have established a standard for the program,’’ Scott said.
Reeling them in
It was a productive morning for the Bartos family. Freshman Reese, a Waxahachie freshman, made a determined effort to qualify for the 6A girls state meet and her 11-year-old brother Westin caught several fish nearby at Joe Pool Lake.
“He always brings his fishing pole to cross country races because there is usually a lake close,’’ explained Reese, who drew inspiration from three hand-printed messages on the inside of her forearms.
“It was a struggle for me because I went out too fast, but I really wanted to go to state.’’
Bartos finished 16th in 18:45.90.
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.