Thank you, Coach Gilbert Ruiz for this summary of our runners at Uvalde.
Your Lytle Pirates traveled down to Uvalde September 12, 2024, and got one more shot at some 5A/6A schools to get us ready for our big meet next week in Round Rock. This time it was Laredo's best that got a chance at LYTLE XC and they found out that Lytle was not going out without a fight.
Our three JV girls started the day participating in the Small School Varsity Division and they had a great day in a varsity field as Andrea Gomez led the girls with a 34th place finish and not far behind were Isabella Sewell (38th) and Payton Devaney (39th).
After our varsity girls felt disrespected a few times by the bigger schools before the race started, they soon found out that Frances Scotello wasn't having any of it. They tried to take her out into the deep water the first mile by starting off at a blistering pace, but little did they know that others have tried and have failed as well. In the end, she was the one that outlasted them coming back from 20m back with 600m to go and winning by a little over 10 seconds and helping the team to a 3rd place finish. After the race, I found out where our girl's mentality is at the moment. Freshman Kaycee Galindo asked me after the race if I was mad or disappointed with their finish...and I responded with a HECK NO. We got 3rd in a 5A/6A meet, running a distance we normally do not and only lost to 6A Laredo United South and last year's 5A Regional runner-up (Laredo Nixon) to Boerne Champion, how could I be disappointed or mad with that? But now I know that their expectations are a lot higher than they were when we started the season, and I can't wait to see what happens next week. Especially since they feel slighted since they dropped a spot in the polls after all the hard work, they have put in. Good things hopefully to come.
They JV boys participated in the Small School Varsity division and though they were down a man, they still managed a 5th place finish with freshman Adrian Reyna(6th ) leading the charge with his top 15 finish along with Nathan Garza (10th ) and Sebastian Garcia (14th ). This group has competed all year in mostly the 1A-4A varsity divisions and are showing that they will be ready when their name is called.
The Varsity boys finished the day with the team title edging out a talented Laredo Nixon team who was the last team to beat us last year going into the championship season. This time the boys turned the table on them and had great finishes by 4 of our 5 runners to help secure the victory. Four of the five finished in the top 15 and now get themselves ready for Round Rock. They too feel slighted as they also dropped a spot in the polls down to 3rd.
The team now travels to Round Rock next week, the site of the State meet. We now will get to see what are chances will be on trying to get on that stand in November. At Round Rock, your #4 (Lytle) girls team will get to take on the #1(Holliday), #3(Dalhart), #5(McGregor), #6(Pilot Point) and #10(Poth) teams in 3A, while your #3 (Lytle) boys team gets to take on the #1(Holliday), #6(Lubbock Roosevelt), #8(Altair Rice), #9(Presidio), and #10(Progreso) teams in 3A.
We are at a great time in LYTLE XC right now and I know that I am blessed with great kids who share the same vision. Now it's time to start taking that vision and making it REALITY!
LET'S GO AND MAKE HISTORY!
OFFICIAL RESULTS: