Girls cross country teams in the area used the 2021 Odessa Invitational Thursday at UTPB Park to tune up before their district meets next week.
The Permian and Odessa High girls got to see four of the teams they’ll compete against in next Friday’s District 2-6A meet at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.
The Lady Panthers placed third in the Division I race, while Odessa High finished in fourth.
Miranda Chavez paced Permian with a ninth-place finish after clocking in at 21 minutes, 6.30 seconds and Jazira Perez finished in 11th for the Lady Bronchos with a 21:38.90 time.
Odessa High head coach Ricky Santiago said his team didn’t look as good as it has in recent meets, noting that some of athletes were running flat.
“I don’t know if they were kind of overwhelmed because it’s a home course and the four freshmen that I moved up, I think they were overwhelmed,” Santiago said. “We ended up getting fourth, so I think we have a chance.”
Getting to see district competitors a week early gave Santiago confidence for what his team could do, but the only uncertain at this point is what Wolfforth Frenship might do since they weren’t at the Odessa Invitational.
The top three teams at the district competition advance to the regional meet, which will also take place at Mae Simmons Park.
Santiago believes he needs to get his team’s mindset turned around to where it believes that it’s as good as teams like Abilene High, San Angelo Central and Permian.
Lady Panthers head coach Darchelle Welch said she believes getting her No. 3 runner back in the lineup will help her team achieve better results than its third-place finish.
With 81 points, Permian essentially tied with San Angelo Central for second place.
“We knew we weren’t going in with a full squad,” Welch said. “We’ll have her back next week and knowing that, I don’t think it’ll be a tie for second. I think it’ll be a solid second and that makes me very excited.
“Shooting for the future, we only lose one senior girl off of the team. It gives me a future to look at as growing my girls team to be like the boys team is now.”
Welch added that her girls team got nervous at last year’s regionals because of a hill at the park in Lubbock, so she made it a point to have them compete at hilly courses this season.
Although it’s hard to find areas with hills in Odessa to train on, Welch and her team found places to simulate the terrain and they took them on more than once.
In the Division II race, the Compass Academy girls got a confidence boost by placing first as a team.
Mandy Dobbs paced the Lady Cougars with a second-place individual finish, while Bailey Jones placed seventh and Madison Johnson finished in ninth.
Compass Academy assistant coach Evelia Reyes said the girls team is well-prepared for the District 5-3A Meet Monday in Crane.
“They stayed where I wanted them to stay,” Reyes said. “By what they did today, we should probably make it to regionals as a team. We should be good.”
>>Follow Chris Amaya on Twitter at @OA_CAmaya
2021 Odessa Invitational
Thursday, UTPB Park
Division II
GIRLS (2 miles)
Team Standings
- Compass Academy, 75; 2. Tahoka, 99; 3. Odessa High, 135. 4. Greenwood, 148. 5. Marfa, 152. 6. Midland High, 169. 7. Stanton, 171. 8. Lubbock Estacado, 180. 9. San Angelo Lakeview, 197. 10. Alpine, 210. 11. Presidio, 215. 12. Permian, 235. 13. Midland Legacy, 320.
Top 10 Individuals
- Ummi Chanez, Marfa, 13:39.90; 2. Mandy Dobbs, Compass Academy, 13:42.10; 3. Amy Tew, Tahoka, 13:53.90; 4. Jaedyn Kuhlmann, Greenwood, 14:02; 5. Kelsey Chapman, Lubbock Estacado, 14:26; 6. Lillian Morrissey, Tahoka, 14:31.50; 7. Bailey Jones, Compass Academy, 14:39.80; 8. Anastasia Brayer, San Angelo Lakeview, 14:41.40; 9. Madison Johnson, Compass Academy, 14:44.20; 10. Ayslin Hermosillo, Presidio, 14:45.70.
Other Area Runners
Compass Academy: 24: Chloe Harshbarger, 15:50.20; 33: Amberlynn Glasscock, 16:14.90; 44: Hannah Padilla, 16:36.40; 56: Lily Hulsey, 17:01.80; 79: Alyssa Holmes, 18:05.60.
Odessa High: 16: Sofia Carrasco, 15:19.70; 22: Alyssa Ooppapan, 15:47.50; 27: Angelina Antillon, 16:00.30; 30: Leila Almance, 16:11.60; 40: Jolexi Galindo, 16:27.90; 53: Maria Meraz, 16:56.10; 64: Mackenzie Gonzalez, 17:16.80; 66: Tatum Ray, 17:21.90; 67: Alexis Medina, 17:22.40; 68: Katelyn Chapa, 17:26.50; 71: Natalia Harris, 17:38; 81: Samia Sotelo, 18:14.50; 100: Nevaeh Hinojos, 21:18
Greenwood: 15: Kylie Knapp, 15:14.90; 21: Raygen Romney, 15:44.80; 43: Kodi Hartman, 16:37.80; 69: Reese Napolitano, 17:31.80; 80: Johnie Bird, 18:07.80.
Marfa: 11: Aundrea Garcia, 14:59.30; 37: Lesly Torres, 16:27; 47: Soraya Vallez, 16:42.20.
Midland High: 18: Hannah Frieschmann, 15:33; 19: Nevaeh Banda, 15:39.80; 31: Mariana Sanchez, 16:14.
Alpine: 28: Hope Dominguez, 16:00.70; 29: Lauren Penders, 16:04.40; 41: Vanessa Rice, 16:32.90.
Permian: 23: Laila Alvarado, 15:47.60; 35: Kalissa Hayes, 16:21.20; 57: Leksi Maurico, 17:06.70.
Midland Legacy: 20: Kaila Anderson, 15:44.10; 66: Eliana Ballinas, 17:41.30; 71: Karrhysa Dunn, 17:55.
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BOYS (5K)
Team Standings
- Presidio, 31; 2. San Angelo Lakeview, 57; 3. Permian, 79; 4. Compass Academy, 111; 5. Abilene High, 144; 6. Greenwood, 175; 7. Stanton, 182; 8. Odessa High, 204; 9. Midland Legacy, 215; 10. Lubbock Coronado, 267; 11. Lubbock-Cooper, 295.
Top 10 Individuals
- Luke Garcia, Permian, 18:37.40; 2. Jaden Fuentes, San Angelo Lakeview, 19:10.90; 3, Jose Fernandez, Presidio, 19:16; 4, Justin Vasquez, San Angelo Lakeview, 19:19.50; 5, Edgar Galindo, Presidio, 19:32.50; 6, Sebastian Franco, Presidio, 19:33.60; 7, William Zamorano, Permian, 19:46.40; 8, Cristobal Zuniga, Presidio, 20:18.50; 9, Orion Pierre, Presidio, 20:19.20; 10, Daniel Perez, San Angelo Lakeview, 20:23.60.
Other Area Runners
Permian: 18: Noah Llanez, 20:56.90; 22: Jack Mathis, 21:22.90; 31: Jovany Olivas, 22:11.60; 35: Jesaiah Lezama, 22:40.80; 58: Noah Garza, 25:36.20.
Compass Academy: 14: Dakota Stratton, 20:34.60; 17: Austin Spruill, 20:48.40; 21: David White, 21:19.30; 27: Jacob Prieto, 21:43.70; 32: Logan Gilley, 22:32.40.
Greenwood: 19: Landen Stewart, 21:04.40; 23: Angel Sosa, 21:28.30; 34: Sawyer Morrow, 22:38.20; 44: Hunter Fontenot, 23:46.90; 55: Brayden Westcott, 25:16.20.
Odessa High: 20: Inri Martinez, 21:13.70; 24: Alonso Navarrete, 21:38.30; 50: Toby Blankenship, 24:48; 53: Nathan Orozco, 25:16; 57: Gabriel Mendez, 25:36.20.
Midland Legacy: 13: Aidan Montes, 20:29.30; 40: Ty Grigsby, 23:04.30; 45: Preston Evans, 24:06.80; 51: Matthew Rodriguez, 25:00.40; 66: Caden Lightfoot, 32:24.10.
Alpine: 32: Martin Sablatura, 22:05.40; 36: Aaron Miller, 22:35.; 72: Landon Velasco, 26:36.
Midland High: 26: Isaiah Orozco, 21:40.80; 60: Aidan Goodner, 24:55.20; 67: Hijinio Olvera, 25:36.20.
