Lytle Pirate Cross Country proved one thing this year: we don't REBUILD...WE RELOAD! The Varsity girls qualified for the 4th time in the last 5 years. The Varsity boys qualified for the 8th year in a row and 11th overall.
GIRLS The varsity girls made it back to the State Meet this year after not qualifying last year due to injuries. Going into the State Meet, there was no clear favorite to win the title, but we knew that it would be a tough, fast, and even field. We would have to be firing on all cylinders if we wanted to make it on that medal stand. The pace was fast from the start, and after the first mile, we were in 8th place out of 16 with Frances Scotello leading the group. The girls finished better in the second half of the race as they moved up three spots to finish 5th overall. Senior Frances Scotello finished 13th and was named All-State(top 15) with her efforts. The next Lytle finisher was Kaycee Galindo(48th), followed by Elyse Cortinas(49th), Svetlana Lopez(64th), Klayre Cook(87th), Annalise Quintanilla(105th) and Addison Wagner(127th out of 151). The girls battled through a lot of adversity this year and still found the strength to advance to State and compete at a high level. It was admirable how they handled all the obstacles thrown their way and how they fought all the way to the end. This group loses three great seniors (Frances, Klayre, and Svetlana) who have each been to the State Meet 3 out of their 4 years, and they will surely be missed.
BOYS We felt that this year it would be difficult to repeat as State Champions since we had to replace our top 2 runners from last year's State Championship Team. But we also knew we had a chance if we could work hard throughout the year to keep our running pack tight. That is exactly what we did. We started fast and took the lead in the first mile and kept extending the lead every mile after, winning by the same score as last year. They ran great as a team, running the fastest average we have ever had at State (16:37). Freshman Jacob Cantu had another great outing, finishing 6th, the highest individual finish since 2012 when Cesar Gonzalez won the individual title. We had 3 All-State runners, the most ever. The Reyna brothers (Diego and Adrian) were not far behind as they finished 13th and 14th, which made them All-State runners. That helped put the pressure on all the other teams. Of course, if it wasn't for the back end closing the gap a lot better than we did at regionals, we would not have won our second straight, as Sebastian Garcia, Nathan Garza, Bryan Montes-Rodriguez, and Jaden Castro all finished strong. This group loses two seniors (Diego and Bryan), who have been part of a great run and will also be missed. They have been around for a great four-year run, where they competed against well over 400 4A-1A schools.
Right now, some teams have a stranglehold on classifications 6A down to 3A on the boys' side. Southlake Carroll(6A) just won their 7th straight and is going after Luling's(3A school) State Record of 8 straight. Grapevine has been the dominant team in 5A, winning 4 of the last 5. Canyon in 4A with its 4th straight and Lytle in Class 3A winning 3 of the last 4 State titles(2nd in 2023 by 5 points).
It was a great season for our program. Both groups had to go through a lot of adversity this year, but learned great lessons that they will take with them.
Below are the Individual finishes:
Girls
(5th Team Finish/16 teams)
13 Frances Scotello 12:07.20
48 Kaycee Galindo 12:37.80
49 Elyse Cortinas 12:38.20
64 Svetlana Lopez 12:49.00
87 Klayre Cook 13:05.10
105 Annalise Quintanilla 13:25.90
127 Addison Wagner 13:50.10
Out of 151 Runners
Boys
(State Champions)
6 Jacob Cantu (16:00.7)
13 Diego Reyna (16:22.2)
14 Adrian Reyna (16:27.4)
47 Sebastian Garcia (17:05.6)
51 Nathan Garza (17:09.5)
60 Bryan Montes-Rodriguez (17:16.5)
77 Jaden Castro (17:35.2)
Out of 151 Runners
Below are links to the State Results and Pictures provided by our parents
2025 STATE RESULTS: https://www.mychiptime.com/searchevent.php?id=16846
Cross Country State Runners Sirens-and-Lights Escort Home 10-31-2025 photos by Lorrianne Migura https://photos.app.goo.gl/QzbaonDdLrGv3twX7
Cross Country STATE CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 ROUND ROCK 10-31-2025 photos by Deborah Wagner https://photos.app.goo.gl/uUupjWSMSPmNw7cj7
Cross Country State Championship Round Rock 10-31-2025 photos by Shavan Galindo https://photos.app.goo.gl/JafwNgMwS9QaD8BR9
Cross Country State Championship 10-31-2025 photos by Stephen Cortinas https://photos.app.goo.gl/xhmpmedQKit1KwP89
Coach Gilbert Ruiz