Cross country athletes in Texas are used to waking up early to train before the heat makes it unbearable, but Friday morning was an earlier start than normal for the Stratford boys and girls Cross Country Teams. Facing a 50-minute drive down to League City and a start time of 7:00 am, a bus full of sleepy runners left the school parking lot at 5:00 am for the Clear Falls XC Invitational. Resembling zombies when they stepped off the bus, they came alive when the starting horn sounded.

 

VARSITY BOYS

Despite two of our Varsity boys sitting this one out due to minor health issues, the guys that competed stepped up and beat all but one of the 23 other teams competing. On their way to winning the second-place plaque, two of our six boys finished top-5 in the individual standings and a third boy was top-20. Clear Lake HS won the team title and Clear Falls was third.

Senior Jona Morford ran aggressively from the horn and fought his way to a strong second-place finish overall. After having a breakout season on the track in the 3200m, Jona's strong start in cross country will begin to turn heads.

Senior Daylan Rushing ran patiently behind a lead pack that eventually fell apart, and used his speed as an 800m runner to pass several runners in the final 300 meters to earn a top-5 medal.

Junior Andrew Hopkins demonstrated how tough of a competitor he is by finishing 18th overall and earning a medal in his first Varsity race. Andrew will be a key player in the success of this year's squad.

Junior Samuel Jordan motored his way to a top-30 performance, and sophomores Jake Rodriguez and Eli Roberts are racing well and should continue to improve throughout the season as they gain experience.

Results - 4K distance - 183 finishers

Jona Morford - 2nd - 12:58

Daylan Rushing - 5th - 13:13

Andrew Hopkins - 18th - 13:36

Samuel Jordan - 30th - 14:07

Jake Rodriguez - 52nd - 14:30

Eli Roberts - 62nd - 14:38

 

VARSITY GIRLS

After qualifying for the State Meet six out of the last seven years, the Stratford girls team is re-building this season. Senior Niamh Collins is one of only two returning girls from last year's team that finished second at the Region III 6A meet and 14th at the State Meet in Round Rock. After finishing 57th in the individual standings at State last year, Niamh is in good form at the beginning of cross-country season following an impressive spring track season and a lot of hard work over the summer. On Friday in League City, she pushed to the front early and never looked back while rolling to a second-place overall finish on the 4k loop course.

Senior Amelia Bommer, the only other returner from last season's Varsity team, will be a key contributor this season and ran well on her way to a top-30 finish at Clear Falls.

Freshmen twins Savannah and Olivia Ceraudo were our other two Varsity runners this week, and their solid performances provided a glimpse into the bright future ahead.

With only four Stratford girls competing in the Varsity division this week, we didn't have the minimum number of five required for team scoring.

Results - 4K distance - 142 finishers

Niamh Collins - 2nd- 15:25

Amelia Bommer - 29th - 17:39

Savannah Ceraudo - 56th - 18:57

Olivia Ceraudo - 57th - 19:01

 

JV BOYS

Junior Ethan Shuck is proving to be one of Stratford's most improved runners this season after running extremely well in week one at the Cypress XC Relays, and following it up with a second-place finish this week at Clear Falls.

Sophomore Nathan Scott was a medal winner at 21st, and fellow sophomore Diego Ruiz barely missed making the top-30.

The JV boys finished 4th in the team standings out of 17 teams.

Results - 4K distance - 173 finishers

Ethan Shuck - 2nd - 14:52

Nathan Scott - 21st - 16:01

Diego Ruiz - 31st - 16;21

Matthew Dial - 36th - 16:22

Liam Osbon - 37th - 16:23

Charles Keen - 38th - 16:24

Nate Zoboroski - 49th - 16:34

Kaleb Bernat - 78th - 17:29

Kyle Gray - 85th - 17:43

 

JV GIRLS

Sophomore Laura Gonzalez, the reigning 17-6A JV District Champion in Cross Country, picked up where she left off last season and ran to a fourth-place result on Friday at Clear Falls.

Freshman newcomer Laura Lozano won a medal by finishing 18th, and Angelina Salel, Sophie Hare, and Tera Cvetkovic were all less than a minute behind her.

The JV girls earned 3rd place out of 19 in the team standings.

Results - 2-mile distance- 165 finishers

Laura Gonzalez - 4th - 14:35

Laura Lozano - 18th - 15:20

Angelina Salel - 27th - 15:51

Sophie Hare - 31st - 16:00

Tera Cvetkovic - 39th - 16:16

Amanda Gonzalez - 121st - 19:25

 

FRESHMAN BOYS

Freshman Braddox Overstreet battled a competitor down the final stretch of the freshmen boys two mile race, but came up two seconds short to capture the silver medal.

Wesley Shuck was a medal winner at 15th, and Nolan Brock, Bobby Carter, and William Ryan followed with valuable placements in the standings.

The Freshmen boys were 4th out of 10 in the team standings.

Results - 2-mile distance - 79 finishers

Braddox Overstreet - 2nd - 11:30

Wesley Shuck - 15th - 12:46

Nolan Brock - 27th - 13:15

Bobby Carter - 33rd - 13:35

William Ryan - 56th - 15:17

All Stratford Cross Country Teams will compete again next Saturday, August 26th at the Kingwood Classmates Challenge.