Girls’ cross country team wins state title
Dark mornings. In. Sore Muscles. Out. Paced steps. In. Paced Breaths. Out. Every morning at 5:30 and again in the afternoon, the shoes of the Lady Raider cross country team are not only filled with dirt and sweat, but the feet of champions.
For the first time in school history, the girls cross country team won the 4A state title this past weekend in Round Rock. Out of the seven girls who ran, freshman Karyss Betzen and junior Erika DeWitt both placed among the top 10. Betzen finished third behind two seniors and DeWitt came in sixth.
“Winning made me feel great,” Coach Rebekah James said. “All that work [we] put in finally [paid] off for the girls.”
The team began practicing June 17 for the chance to claim their first state championship.
“This was a great season for the Lady Raider cross country team,” James said. “No matter who ran it was about winning as a team.”
As a team, they put on many miles and ran through pain for each other and their school.
“Success doesn’t just happen,” James said. “You have to work for it and they worked their butts off for the State Championship.”
STATE TOURNAMENT RESULTS:
Karyss Betzen 3rd place 18:33 Team place 2nd
Erika DeWitt 6th place 18:41 Team place 3rd
Bernise Altamirano 18th place 19:15 Team place 7th
Samantha Jones 31st 19:42 Team place 14th
Adriana Martinez 43rd 19:55 Team place21st
Briana Hernandez 51st 20:06 Team place 26th
Danielle Mendoza 66th 20:26 Team place 38th
