Cy-Fair girls team qualifies for state cross country meet

November 9, 2009 — The Cy-Fair High School girls cross country team qualified for the UIL Cross Country Championships after placing in the top three in the team race at the Region II-5A meet in Arlington on Saturday. In addition, two boys and two girls from CFISD qualified after placing in the top 10 among individual runners.

The Cy-Fair girls placed second overall. The following Bobcat runners, listed with their times, contributed to the team’s success:

• Faith Banker, 12:04; Katie Boane, 11:57; Haley Culpepper, 13:03; Lauren Fritz, 11:45; Karen Hunsicker, 12:10; Madeline Livergood, 11:59; and Katherine Wright, 12:34.

“I’m really proud of the team for coming such a long way in a short time. It takes a lot of talent and a lot of hard work to go from second in district to second in the region in one season, especially after losing our No. 1 and No. 2 runners from last year to graduation,” said Cy-Fair coach Tom Kennedy. “These girls weren’t intimidated by the strongest regional field in years and it showed when they got out front from the start of the race. They are a tough group and they run like they mean it. We’ve enjoyed the regional finish and now we're going to try to bring home another medal from the state meet.”

Fritz, a freshman, also placed in the top 10 at 10th place overall among individual girls. Joining her in the individual race will be sophomore Leslie Schilsky of Cypress Creek, who placed eighth with a time of 11:37.

In the boys’ competition, Cypress Creek senior runner Richard Renteria placed sixth overall with a time of 15:11 and Cypress Woods sophomore runner Craig Nowak placed seventh with a time of 15:13 in the 3.05-mile course.

The state cross country meet will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. The girls’ race is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., with the boys’ race to follow at 12:50 p.m.