Mount Pleasant High School hosted the 40th annual Titus County Fair Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, September 28. This year’s meet was attended by 41 schools and approximately 1200 runners. The results of both the boys and girl’s teams could prove to be a preview of the district meet, as all but one of the district teams were represented in Saturday’s competition.

The girls varsity won the 5A/6A division with a team score of 28. The Lady Tigers were led by two seniors: Estela Dorantes who took 2nd with a time of 19:09 followed by Christina Gordon in 3rd with a time of 20:19. Freshman Leilani Jimenez, appearing for her first time on the varsity team, placed 6th. Juniors Buendy Fraire and Jennifer Soto rounded out the scoring in the 7th and 10th positions. The varsity team also included sophomore Katherine Ochoa, freshman Heslie Castenon, and senior Maritza Gonzalez.

The MPHS boy’s team continued its successful season by dominating their matchup with a team score of 24, winning the 5A/6A division as well. Leading the Tigers was senior Brian Ramirez with a 2nd place finish and a personal best time of 15:49 on his home course. Following was sophomore Pedro Robles in 3rd, junior Gill Landaverde in 4th, freshman Geovanni Calderon in 5th, and freshman Gilberth Landaverde in 10th place. Senior Antonio Landaverde and junior Juan Gonzalez completed the boy’s varsity team with 15th and 16th place finishes respectively.

The strength and depth of the boy’s team carried over to the JV team with a 1st place finish and a score of 45 points. Freshman Christopher Escobar won the JV division followed by freshman Aundre Alaniz in 4th, sophomore Johnathan Sandate 6th, junior Didier Serrano 14th and sophomore Sharir Ramirez in 20th.

The JV Lady Tigers had a respectable showing with a 3rd place team finish. The JV team was led by senior veteran Katia Lopez in 5th and newcomer and freshman Virginia Landaverde in 6th. Rounding out the JV team was sophomore Arlette DeJesus, sophomore Jordan Neal, and senior Yessenia Serna.

The Tiger cross country teams compete in the district meet at Sam Parker Stadium on Wednesday, October 9. The race schedule for the district meet is: 9:00AM Varsity Girls, 9:45AM Varsity Boys, 10:30AM JV Girls, and 11:15AM JV Boys.

**Photos by John Whitten and MPHS Photography student Faith Logan

Pictured:
Boys & Girls Varsity teams with coaches Bryan Trickey and Jesus Garcia

By Kelly Cowan