BURLESON — The Waxahachie Lady Indians cross-country team boasted the top two individual finishers in sophomore Emilee Jones and senior Cori Morgan on Friday morning in the varsity girls’ Class 6A division of the Mansfield Legacy Invitational at Chisenhall Park.
Jones won the gold medal, running the 5,000-meter course in 18 minutes, 16.87 seconds. Not far behind was Morgan, who took the silver medal by crossing the finish line in 18:29.71. Both Jones and Morgan were Class 6A state qualifiers as medalists last fall.
The next three Lady Indians finished in a pack as freshman Lyndsay Giles was 31st in 20:29.17, sophomore Whitley Blankenship was 33rd in 20:34.67 and senior Tessa Dominy was 34th in 20:39.12. Senior Cameron McBride also competed in the race.
The Lady Indians finished fourth in the 6A girls’ varsity division team standings, behind Keller Timber Creek, Lewisville Hebron and Abilene. However, they finished ahead of District 11-6A colleagues Mansfield High, Duncanville and Mansfield Lake Ridge, which also competed in the meet.
The junior varsity Lady Indians finished sixth in their division, led by a 25th-place finish by sophomore Gabby Calderon.
On the boys’ side, the varsity Indians faced a tougher field, finishing eighth in the team standings. Freshman Jaime Gonzalez managed a top-10 finish in a time of 16:03.62.
Junior Braden Buegeler was 40th in 17:08.60; freshman Ezra Perez was 57th in 17:44.17; sophomore Eli Nance was 60th in 17:47.08; and senior Lucas Molina was 65th in 17:55.95. Senior Dakota Moreno also participated for WHS.
Sophomore Conner Schmidt led the JV Indians with a 26th-place finish.
The WHS runners will get a glimpse of the University Interscholastic League state championship course this Saturday in the McNeil Invitational at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.