It was a historic day for the Anderson Cross Country program at the 5A Region 3 Meet in Huntsville, as the Anderson Girls’ Team became the first cross country team in school history to qualify for the State Meet.
In addition, Faith Murphy, who finished fourth in 19:07.54, broke the Anderson school record, previously set by Lanie Jordan (19:24) in 2018.
The girls’ team race was incredibly tight with Anderson and Friendswood battling for the fourth and final spot to state. After over ten minutes, the officials finally declared the Trojans fourth. Anderson and Friendswood tied, 148-148, but the Trojans claimed the final spot based on the sixth runner, Ashley Marron-Rodriguez finishing two spots ahead of the sixth Mustang runner.
Emily Scholtz was the second Trojan to the line in 20:46. Close behind was Lucy Gibson, with her season’s best 20:48. Freshman Caroline Talarcek wasn’t far behind, grabbing 40th place in 20:54. The final scoring runner was Bojana Rutkousky, who ran a season’s best 21:14.
On the boys’ side, Colby Huntress earned his second consecutive trip to the State Meet by finishing sixth in a time of 15:55. The boys team finished in ninth overall in a tight and competitive region.
Seniors Jett Murphy (17:18) and Sebastian Cruz, who ran a season best 17:32, were the next Trojans crossing the line for a couple of top-50 finishes to end their Anderson careers. Andrew Saeger and Manny Garduno were the final two scoring runners for the squad.
The UIL State Cross Country Meet will be held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on Saturday, November 2. The girls will race at 10:45. Colby will run at 11:25.
VARSITY GIRLS’ RESULTS
4 Faith Murphy 19:07.54
34 Emily Scholtz 20:46.77
36 Lucy Gibson 20:48.44
40 Caroline Talarcek 20:54.16
49 Bojana Rutkousky 21:14.79
60 Ashley Marron-Rodriguez 21:44.00
105 Leah Heckmann 23:17.27
VARSITY BOYS’ RESULTS
6 Colby Huntress 15:55.89
42 Jett Murphy 17:18.41
48 Sebastian Cruz 17:32.31
70 Andrew Saeger 17:58.78
74 Manny Garduno 18:05.34
128 Owen Phillips 19:29.47
160 Christopher Lee 21:27.80
