"but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles; the will run and not grow weary.
Is 40:31a
This was the prayer for my athletes that I voiced to the One who watches over those who seek Him. The District Meet was first scheduled for next Tuesday with the High School. Then it was changed to October 8th. The results are found on the following website: Athlete Guild.
We began with the ladies racing the course. The “follow me” vehicle took a quicker turn making the course shorter than 2 miles, but every lady ran the same course, so I was fine with the race. The ladies ran with heart today in less humid but warm conditions. After the race was over the results were held until the awards ceremony. Because all the girls ran together it was difficult to tell who was a 7th Grader and who ran for the 8th Grade. I felt the ladies ran well and I want to highlight one 7th Grade young lady. Celeste Guerrero started on the first day of practice and she never missed a practice. She didn't practice fast, but she worked. At Devine she ran her first mile at 11:00. Today she ran a 9:03 and finished as the fifth girl at 20:13. Her effort allowed every lady to receive a 3rd place team medal and a plaque.
I will move on the boys' race. The 8th Grade boys were the favored team for the District title even with Gabriel Alcorta out due to injury and another runner out due to grades. The Lytle 8th grade team bested the team from Dilley by the score of 37 to 51. Our fifth lad, Aiden Martinez, beat Dilley's fifth lad Aiden also. The 7th Grade boys had finished behind Cotulla all year. In Lytle we don't worry about those Meets. We focus on District. With a strong showing by Yandel who medaled 8th and Tristan who finished 14th. It was up to Zacharee. Even though he didn't run his best he did enough to finish 20th and allow Lytle to win with 49 points to Jourdanton's 58 points. By the by, Cotulla finished 4th with 84 points.
The highlight for me as a Coach for two years has been the 8th Grade ladies. These are truly all-around athletes. Isabel, Samantha, Annabella, Brianna, Lola and Mila are Cheerleaders. Isa, Annabella, Mila, Lola and Brianna play Volleyball. Also, many of these ladies are in Mrs. Mask's advanced math class. Fatima was just elected student body President. I could go on and on about how these ladies exemplify the goal that Mrs. Smith gave us on "Shape our culture where student pride results in persistence and commitment to producing quality work." Sarah Beth Tondre came to us from Nueces Canyon this year. She finished 10th and finished out the ten medals. We were the first introduced with Sarah and Annabella placing 9th and we were the last team mentioned with the individual District Champion, Celeste Martinez.
This will be my last Cross Country write up for this year. We finished the year with the 8th Grade boys, 7th Grade boys and 8th Grade girls District Championship teams. The 7th Grade girls placed 3rd which would have allowed them to advance to Regionals if they were in High School. We had the individual District Champions, 8th Grade girls, Celeste Martinez, 7th Grade boys, Luke Estrada. We had two 7th Grade ladies medal in the top ten. Valentina Ayala, 4th and Addison Criado 6th. Three 7th Grade lad medals, Luke, Johnny Alvarez 7th and Yandel Esquivez 8th. Four 8th Grade boys, Rudy Cepeda 2nd, Able Sanchez 3rd, Brandon Obando 4th, Stefan Grisgby 7th. Five 8th Grade girls, Annabella Lopez 9th, Sarah Beth Tondre 10th, Samantha Mujica 5th, Isabel Arce 3rd, and Celeste.
All I told them was that this was a beginning. I hope they will continue to improve and enhance the Cross Country legacy of Lytle High School. From the Board to the Superintendent to Transportation and the Cafeteria are all due thanks. We could not do anything without their support and help. To the parents who rise in time to get the students to practice at 6 and to Meets on Saturday as early as 5:30, Thank you. The athletes truly loved their goody bags. To the teachers who instill in them the desire to learn. My principal, Mrs. Stewart for allowing me to run during the week at Meets. Thank you to the Lytle Leader News who put some of the pictures in the paper. It does an old soul joy to see student's carrying newspapers and the excitement of their pictures in newsprint. Thanks to Ms. Dale and all her wizardry with the cyberweb. It is very spooky to me. Thank you to the Coaches for sharing their athletes with me. I could go on and I am sure there are many I am forgetting but finally I must thank Coach Ruiz for letting me hold his coattails and drive his busses.
"We are Lytle JH CC and Lytle JH XC takes care of its own"
See photos at Google Album: