FIRST...I would like to say THANK YOU, for all the people who took time away from their Saturday to come and SUPPORT this Program. We had a great showing by our community at the State meet on Nov.7, and these student/athletes appreciated all the support that showed up.

SECOND...I would like to thank our seniors for everything they have done for this program. Addison leaves the program as a 4-year letterman with 3 State Appearances and 1 bronze medal. Both Jaden Castro and Sebastian Garcia finish as 2-year letterman with 2 State Gold Medals and Nathan Garza leaves as a 3-year letterman with 3 State Gold medals. Their leadership will greatly be missed.

Though some people don't really understand or appreciate what this program has done, I get to experience it firsthand all year, but especially at the State meet. The respect that this program gets not only from the 3A schools but also from schools all around the state who have seen what we have accomplished in the last decade is remarkable and makes me proud of what we have created. When it comes to Distance Running...people know Lytle Cross Country (XC) and they definitely know that we come to compete!!!

Picture link below provided by Mrs. Wagner, Mrs. Galindo, Mr. Cortinas, and other parents (Reyna & Robinette)

STATE PICTURES

Additional photos are available at this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JiMN7bZ62khEYeay6

This year was the hardest schedule we have had since I started coaching cross country in 2003 with 3 runners (2 boys and 1 girl). It was made mainly most difficult for the boys as they competed in the 6A/5A division all year except for District, Regionals and State. It was meant to test them and get them ready for the State meet if we stayed healthy. But it also benefited the girls as they had to compete against some strong 4A schools which also got them ready for their championship stretch. Though I knew that we probably wouldn't win one invitational meet, it wasn't about that this year. It was about getting the best competition we could find to make sure that when the championship season started, we would be ready for whatever came our way. And a lot of things did come our way.

This program handled a lot of issues this year from your regular aches and pains to adjusting at times to see if we had an area big enough to practice. Things didn't always go as planned, but our kids handled it in stride and adjusted. Plus, it helped us understand that when things don't go your way, you need to learn to focus and adjust to get the job done. This group did exactly that all year!

THE PROGRAM (Boys and Girls) in the 2020s

• No 3A program has taken both groups (Boys and Girls) together to State more times in this decade than Lytle (5 of the 7)

• No 3A program has won more team medals together than Lytle (8)

• No 3A program has won more State Championships (4) in that span than Lytle

   

VARSITY GIRLS

The girls came in as big underdogs to get on that stand, so our goals were a little different this year. Our goal was to try and get in the top 10 and beat the schools that beat us at regionals. We accomplished one of our two goals as we finished 11th , just outside our first goal, but we accomplished our second which was we beat the two teams that beat us at Regionals (Florence and Poth).  

Annalise led the way again as she finished 31st with Elyse not far behind at 33rd.  It was a big improvement from regionals as they finished 26th and 12th  respectively in the region at regionals but improved to 4th and 5th in the region at State. Sophia Herrera finished 116th, Addison Wagner 126th and Kaycee Galindo 131st to help the team just beat out Poth for 11th.

I was very proud of this group for their resiliency. They had a lot of things thrown their way but they still managed to win District, get on the Regional medal stand and finish as the 11th best team in the State with only 5 girls!  Great job and great season!

VARSITY BOYS

The boys were ranked #1 all year, and they held serve. They were the fastest group we have ever had at STATE with a TEAM TIME AVERAGE of 16:33.6 which breaks last year's pace of 16:37.1.  They won by the biggest margin (65 points) of any team we have had at State as they scored 60 points to Randolph's 125. They broke the past two year’s records where we won both by scoring 68 points to 104. They competed against 123 6A/5A schools this year and went 100-23 against them. 

This group started off fast on Saturday, like they have all year and held on to win their 3rd STRAIGHT STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, 4th in the last 5 and a total of 5 overall. Both Jacob Cantu and Adrian Reyna got on the medal stand as they finished 3rd and 6th respectively and finished as ALL-STATE RUNNERS. We had 3 student/athletes have their best 5K's at the biggest stage as Adrian Reyna finished with a Personal Best 16:03.6 along with Nathan Garza's 16:47.0 and Frank Cantu's 17:06.6. Their performances along with those of Shawn Robinette, Sebastian Garcia and Jaden Castro helped capture their 3rd straight STATE CHAMPIONSHIP and solidify them as the best team in 3A for this decade.

OFFICIAL RESULTS in link below:

uil-cross-country-state-championship-2026/results

Girl's individual results

31 - Annalise Quintanilla - 12:36.7                  

33 - Elyse Cortinas - 12:40.7                

116 - Sophia Herrera - 13:46.7                 

126 - Addison Wagner - 14:01.5             

131 - Kaycee Galindo - 14:23.8 

146 RUNNERS

Boy's individual results

3 - Jacob Cantu - 15:48.6       

6 - Adrian Reyna - 16:03.6           

26 - Nathan Garza - 16:47.0       

35 - Shawn Robinette - 17:02.3         

37 - Frank Cantu - 17:06.6        

51 - Sebastian Garcia - 17:21.4               

52 - Jaden Castro - 17:21.6     

151 RUNNERS

THE BOYS FINISHED AS THE 24TH FASTEST TEAM AT THE STATE MEET IN ALL CLASSES (96 SCHOOLS). THEY POSTED FASTER TIMES THAN THE 4A STATE CHAMPION AND WOULD HAVE FINISHED 10TH IN 5A AND 15TH IN 6A

GIRLS

• Have had at least one girl at State since 2013 (EXCEPT for 2 years: '14 & '17).

• Have had a girls' team at State since 2021 (except '24 because of 3 injured runners)

• Have made it to State for the 5th time in the last 6 years.

 VARSITY BOYS

• BOYS 2026 RECORD:  163-24

  • 6A: 50-19

  • 5A:  50-4

  • 4A:    4-0

  • 3A:  48-0

  • PRIVATE: 11-1

• Have had at least one boy at State since 2006 (EXCEPT for 4 years: '07, '14, '16, '17)

• Have had a boys' team at State 12 times and been on the medal stand 10 of those times

  • 2009 - 3rd

  • 2012 - 2nd

  • 2013 - 1st

  • 2018 - 3rd

  • 2019 - 6th

  • 2020 - 4th

  • 2021 - 3rd

  • 2022 - 1st 

  • 2023 - 2nd

  • 2024 - 1st

  • 2025 - 1st

  • 2026 - 1st

- Coach Ruiz