The Highland Park girls will return to the Class 5A girls state cross country meet next week, looking for the program’s 15th championship.
The Lady Scots qualified with a runner-up team finish at the Region II meet on Monday at Harold Patterson Park in Arlington. The state meet will be Oct. 31 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
Ryan Sontag paced HP with a ninth-place showing in 18 minutes, 54 seconds. Right behind her was teammate Finley Heckler (19:07) in 10th position.
The Lady Scots placed all seven of their runners in the top 40 individually, including Paisley Bassett, Presley Pate, Anne Cooper, Maddie Heckler, and Claire Deeken.
In boys action, Highland Park’s Spencer Haag is an individual state qualifier. The senior crossed the finish line in 16:24, which was good for 10th place overall.
The Scots placed seventh in the boys team standings, with Beau Stewart, Akash Shah, and Luke Hall also finishing inside the top 50.
Hillcrest’s Reese Widhelm and Connor Luce each crossed the finish line in the top 50 in the boys race. The Panthers were 10th as a team. Meanwhile, W.T. White freshman Samanta Posada was in the top 50 in the girls race.
