PHOTO BY RICHARD AKRIDGE Tiffany Fagg placed eighth overall at the District 25-4A cross country meet and will advance to regionals. The Lady Badgers did not defend their crown, but they still found a way to reach the regional meet.

One year after winning the District 25-4A title, the Lady Badgers' varsity cross country team placed sixth at the district meet last Thursday at Long Branch Park in Killeen.

Despite dropping in the ranks as a team, the Lady Badgers received a pair of impressive performances from Tiffany Fagg and Ashley Moore.

Both placed in the top 10 and will advance to the regional meet in San Antonio this weekend.

Fagg claimed eighth overall with a time of 13:48.19, and Moore crossed the finish line just over six seconds later (13:54.85) to take ninth place. Both lowered their pace per mile in the district meet, according to head coach Trent Lancaster.

The top three teams and the top 10 individuals advance to the regional meet.

The next Lady Badger to complete the course was Desirae Yazzie, who placed 37th. Moments later, Stephanie Taylor (38th) and Jordan Davis (39th) finished to round out the team.

The LMS eighth-grade teams try to make their way to the front of the pack. Pictured, from left, are Felipe Valles, Laura Bynum, Shelby McGehee, Michaela Ellison, Danesha Toro and, behind her, Sierra Rash. Lake Travis won the girls' championship, followed by Hendrickson in second place.

While the course was still damp after rains that postponed the meet for several days, Lancaster was pleased with the running conditions. Unfortunately, some of his harriers were under the weather.

"We caught a break from the rain and had a decent, though windy, day to run," the coach said. "Because of illness, we ran only one complete team -- the varsity girls."

Jonathan Lohmann had the best individual performance for the varsity Badgers, placing 23rd overall. Joseph O'Rourke (26th), Rico DelaCruz (30th) and Michael Fisher (32nd) also competed.

The varsity boys' district title was won by Killeen for a third consecutive time. Hendrickson was second, and Lake Travis finished third.

In junior varsity competition, Nicolai Mertens was the top Badger runner, placing 18th. Zach Adams was 20th and Scott Sokolowski took 26th for Lampasas.

"Ironically, Mertens ran the identical time as Lohmann, and Adams ran the same time as O'Rourke," Lancaster said.

***

The Lampasas Middle School cross country teams also competed for the district title last week.

Running on their home course, the seventh-graders had the most success.

Led by a pair of top-10 finishers, the Lady Badgers placed third behind winner Marble Falls and second-place West Ridge. Lampasas was just three points shy of tying West Ridge for second.

Tara Johnson (third overall, 14:08) and Caitlyn Shaughnessy (fifth, 14:47) led the squad, with Presli Peters (11th), Blake Webb (14th), Eilaina Calvillo (25th) and Kristina Ward (26th) also competing. Chancy Fletcher ran, too, finishing 27th overall with a time of 19:34.

The seventh-grade boys also placed third behind Mason Morris' ninth-place finish. Morris needed just 13:31 to clear the course.

Tristan Schroeder (15th), Cory Winchell (16th) and Westin McIntire (18th) were next to cross the line. Luke Argo (23rd) and Christopher McGehee (24th) finished back-to-back to complete the team.

Marble Falls won the title, with West Ridge finishing second.

The eighth-grade girls finished fourth behind Dripping Springs, Marble Falls and Hill Country.

Michaela Ellison (13:20) led the way for LMS, placing fourth overall. Danesha Toro (14:16) also cracked the top 10, placing 10th.

Sierra Rash was 21st overall, with Laura Bynum and Shelby McGehee placing 27th and 28th, respectively.

The eighth-grade Badgers had only one runner, Felipe Valles, who placed ninth overall with a time of 12:23.

Marble Falls won with West Ridge, Dripping Springs and Hill Country following.