Sunday, October 31, 1999
Abilene High, Cooper boys and girls qualify
for regional
By AL PICKETT
Sports Editor
It was as great day for both Abilene High and Cooper at the
District 4-5A cross country meet Saturday at Sherrod Park.
The Abilene High girls and Cooper boys both won district titles
as expected, but the Cooper girls finished third and the Abilene
High a surprising second to also qualify for the Region I-5A meet
next week in Lubbock.
“Our goal was to win our fourth district championship
in a row and get as many runners qualified as possible,”
Abilene High girls coach Rene McAden said.
The Lady Eagles did just that, easily winning the meet with
24 points and placing five runners among the top nine finishers.
Leading the way for AHS was Kristen Adkins, who won her second
straight individual district title.
“My goal was to win district my senior year,” Adkins
said. “ I wasn’t worried about my time. I like the cold
and the rain, but the wind bothered me today.”
Adkins’ winning time was 12:48.86 over the soggy two-mile
course, 34 seconds ahead of second-place Keleigh Wentworth of
Midland High.
Also placing in the top 10 for Abilene High were Shanon Watson
third, Tiffany O’Neill fourth, Donna Garrett-Evenden seventh
and Michelle Belsha ninth.
Odessa Permian took second and Cooper edged San Angelo Central
by eight points for third place.
“I knew it was going to be close,” Cooper girls coach
Nema Westmoland said. “We had some kids run well today. Our
second, third and fourth runners really made a big difference.
We had two freshmen who had been playing volleyball run today,
and they made a big difference in the team score.”
Kelly Garcia placed fifth as Cooper’s only runner among
the top 10.
In the boys race, Cooper easily won the boys title with 29
points and Dwayne Benoit outdueled Josh Vickers of Odessa Permian
to win the individual boys championship.
“He passed me with a half mile to go,” Benoit said.
“He led until about 400 meters left. It was an all-out sprint,
and I got him.”
Benoit, a senior at Cooper, ran a 16:48.28 over the three-mile
course, his best time at Sherrod Park. He beat Vickers by three
seconds.
“It was muddy,” Benoit said of the course conditions.
“I’d rather it be cold, but you couldn’t accelerate
up the hills. He beat me last year, so I wanted to get him back
this year. But I’m 20 times more glad the team won.”
“We’ve been working hard on winning this thing,”
Cooper boys coach Eric Bengs said. “We’ve won six of
eight meets this year. It’s been a great season. We’re
trying hard to get to Austin. That’s our next goal.”
Odessa High was expected to be the main challenger to Cooper
for the boys title, but Abilene High finished second, beating
the third-place Bronchos by 21 points.
“I’m very proud of them,” Abilene High boys
coach Michael Wiersema said. “I think the big key was it
was in our backyard. We run out here every day from Abilene High.
By the time we get here, the course is a piece of cake.”
Abel Sanchez placed third as Abilene High’s top runner.
Al Pickett can be reached at 676-6772 or picketta@abinews.com.
Varsity girls
Team standings — 1. Abilene High 24; 2. Odessa Permian
73; 3. Cooper 84; 4. San Angelo Central 92; 5. Odessa High 93;
6. Midland High 136
Top 10 individuals — 1. Kristen Adkins, AHS, 12:48.86;
2. Keleigh Wentworth, Midland, 13:22.63; 3. Shanon Watson, AHS,
13:28.59; 4. Tiffany O’Neill 13:29.92; 5. Kelly Garcia, Cooper,
13:34.45; 6. Amanda Dugan, Permian, 13:35.29; 7. Donna Garrett-Evenden,
AHS, 13:37.57; 8. Brittney Staha, Central, 13:41.78; 9. Michelle
Belsha, AHS, 13:42.45; 10. Stacy Cabral, Central, 13:44.90
Other Abilene High runners — 22. Amy Bruton 14:22.94;
28. Aelis Wadley 14:39.01
Other Cooper runners — 14. Brittany Allen 14:06.61; 15.
Kellie Kiser 14:11.71; 25. Amy Petrencik 14:31.92; 27. Beth Brown
14:37.10; 34. Angie Hernandez 15:23.85; 41. Natalie Weems 15:59.31
Junior varsity girls
Team standings — 1. Abilene High 24; 2. Odessa High 31;
3. Midland High 84
Top five individuals — 1. Belinda Galloway, Ahs, 14:12.08;
2. Angelica Garcia, Odessa, 14:33.34; 3. Krista Palmer, Ahs, 14:37.19;
4. Myrta Cortez, Odessa, 14:43.19; 5. Haley Lemond, AHS, 14:45.38
Varsity boys
Team standings — 1. Cooper 29; 2. Abilene High 54; 3.
Odessa High 75; 4. Odessa Permian 88; 5. San Angelo Central 141;
6. Midland Lee 161; 7. Midland High 199
Top 10 individuals — 1. Dwayne Benoit, Cooper, 16:48.28;
2. Josh Vickers, Permian, 16:51.50; 3. Abel Sanchez, AHS, 17:24.20;
4. Chris Wilson, Cooper, 17:33.39; 5. Thomas Rocha, Permian, 17:56.42;
6. J.R. Diaz, Cooper, 18:10.37; 7. Joey Love, Cooper, 18:11.78;
8. Disraeli Arnold, Odessa, 18:13.81; 9. Moses Castillo, AHS,
18:17.40; 10. Martin Campos, Odessa, 18:17.40
Other Cooper runners — 11. Matt Sickbert 18:32.68; 13.
Josh Torres 18:40.20; 23. Nathan Southard 19:08.73
Other Abilene High runners — 12. David Evanden 18:32.68;
14. Michael Brown 18:40:20; 16. Doug Smith 18:45.22; 17. Jorge
Portillo 18:46.91; 30. Michael Bell 19:56.60
Junior varsity boys
Team standings — 1. Cooper 16; 2. Abilene High 50; 3.
Odessa High 72
Top five individuals — 1. Ruben Estrada, Cooper 18:21.47;
2. Matt Cortinaz, Cooper, 18:29.81; 3. Jesse Hernandez, Cooper,
18:34.48; 4. Anthony Garrovillo, Cooper, 18:35.58; 5. Chris Guerra,
AHS, 18:56.86
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Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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