Sending a team to the Class 3A Cross Country State Championship meet for the first time in school history, Clifton boys place 10th overall; Lady Cub Barsh runs personal best
In their first appearance at the Class 3A Cross Country State Championship as a team in school history, the Clifton boys made their presence known. And in the meantime, the lone Lady Cub advancing to state delivered a personal best performance on the biggest stage.
Led by junior Ray Ochoa, the Clifton boys finished the season as the 10th best team in the state, behind state champion Great Hearts Northern Oaks of San Antonio. With seniors Clay Kennedy, Eddie Gaona and the injured Andres Devora providing leadership, junior Jonah Payne, sophomores Brayden Stone and Tristan Ward as well as freshman R.J. Hikel helped carry the Cubs to new heights Nov. 3 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
“Coming out of this meet as one of the top 10 teams in the state is something our guys are very proud of,” Clifton cross country head coach Ryan Hunt said. “When you have success, it’s always a result of an accumulation of work that has been done to get to that point. These guys have been working for years and to see them break through and have success at the highest level of competitions is something I’m very proud of as a coach.
“A big thanks to our seniors, Clay, Eddie and Andres, for all the time and effort they have put in to make our cross country program successful now and in the future.”
Individually, Ochoa placed 45th among 150 of the state’s best distance runners, completing the 5,000-meter course in 17.21.6 as Noah Strohman of Holliday won the gold medal with a time of 15:31.2. With Clifton’s top five runners finishing in the upper half of the field, Kennedy placed 51st (17:54.2), Stone in 59th (18:00.0), Hikel in 62nd (18:08.1) and Payne in 75th (18:40.6).
Running the two-mile course in the girls division, Lady Cub junior Camy Barsh posted a personal best time of 12:37.9 to place 41st in the field of 152 as Sophia Bendet of Universal City Randolph captured the gold medal with a time of 11:13.0, while Holliday claimed the state championship team title.
“Camy stepped up big today. We talked a little bit about what would be a good time on this course and she beat that mark by a significant amount. She had her best effort at the biggest meet of the year. She rose to the level of competition and that is always great to see from an athlete.”
REGIONAL RECORDS SET
Competing in the Class 3A, Region III Cross Country Championships Oct. 23-24 at Kate Barr Ross Memorial Park in Huntsville, the Clifton boys team finished third overall to advance to state, while Barsh placed among the top 15 to earn a trip to state individually.
“It was special to have both of our teams competing at this meet,” Hunt said. “When you get to this point, the competition gets tough. And I’m extremely proud of the way all of our kids are willing and ready to meet the next challenge.”
Led by Ochoa crossing the finish line in 16th place with a time of 17:40.90, the Clifton boys finished with 127 points to third place behind regional champion Eustace with 64 points and runner-up East Bernard with 83, as well as Payne, Gaona and Ward.
Other Cubs with strong performances among the 186 regional qualifiers in the 5,000-meter run were Kennedy in 22nd place with a time of 18:01.18, Stone in 24th with a time of 18:07.24, and Hikel in 27th with a time of 18:11.29.
Chris Kopecky of East Bernard captured the individual gold medal with a time of 15:58.11, followed by silver medalist Carlos Jose Cortez of Troy (16:02.06) and bronze medalist Benjamin Castro of McGregor (16:12.92).
“The boys are going to be the first team that Clifton has ever had at the state meet,” Hunt said. “Everyone had to be their best on the same day. And from top to bottom, our guys all did their job to make it happen.
“They gained a lot of confidence from winning the previous four meets they competed in. I couldn’t be more happy for these guys and what they have accomplished this year.”
Leading the way for the Lady Cubs, Barsh placed 11th with a time of 13:04.59 behind regional golf medalist Makayla Stephens of Maypearl (12:09.57), silver medalist Brynleigh McFarlin of Keene (12:22.47) and bronze medalist Jessika Valdez of McGregor (12:26.01).
Overall, the Clifton girls finished 11th as a team in the two-mile run with strong performances from junior Kyndall Hunt, freshman Natalia Cathcart and freshman Alli Hunt among the 174 runners.
“Camy has run well all year, but she was at her best today when she needed to be,” Hunt said. She’s a very talented runner who keeps getting better and better. I’m excited to watch her compete against the best runners in the state.”
DISTRICT DOMINATION
After building momentum meet after meet, the Clifton boys and girls cross country teams brought it all together at just the right time to blaze their own trail at the District 17-3A Cross Country Championship Meet Oct. 9 at Rex Callicort Park in Keene.
Led by individual gold medalist Ochoa and bronze medalist Kennedy, the Clifton boys finished with a low score of 27 points to edge host Keene with 28 points for the boys team championship. The Chargers were led by silver medalist Ricky Santos.
Led by individual fourth place medalist Barsh, the Lady Cubs captured second place as a team with 48 points, just behind district champion West with 42. Maypearl’s Makayla Stephens claimed the individual gold medal with a time of 11:27.96.
“I’m extremely proud of the way our kids represented Clifton today,” Hunt said. “Our Varsity and JV both had a good day, and that’s a reflection of all the work they have been putting in. It’s a great district meet when you are able to advance both varsity teams to the regional meet. We are excited to see what we can do moving forward.”
With the district’s first and second place teams advancing to regionals, both the Clifton boys and Lady Cubs move on to the next level to compete Oct. 23 at Kate Barr Ross Park in Huntsville.
Ochoa won the boys individual gold medal with a 5,000-meter run time of 17:29.33 ahead of Keene’s Santos with a time of 17:31.79 and teammate Kennedy in 17:35.46. Contributing to the team effort, Hikel placed sixth with a time of 18:09.15, followed by Stone in seventh place in 18:10.94.
In the varsity girls division, Barsh ran the two-mile course in 12:32.26 to finish just behind bronze medalist Sheridan Van Blarcom of Maypearl with a time of 12:20.03 and silver medalist Brynleigh McFarlin of Keene in 12:03.21.
Other Lady Cubs with strong top 10 finishes included sophomore Evy Kennedy in seventh place with a time of 12:47.19, followed by Hunt in eighth place with a time of 13:00.87.
“We could see the improvement that we made since the last time we ran at Keene earlier in the season,” Hunt said. “It’s been fun watching us get better from week to week. Our kids committed to getting better every week, and you could really start to see it paying off in their performances as the season came to a close.”
Photos by courtesy of KALLIE JACKSON & the CLIFTON HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK STAFF
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