Highland Park junior Spencer Haag won an individual gold medal on Thursday at the District 12-5A cross country meet at Myers Park in McKinney.
The Scots also held off Frisco Reedy for the team title, while the HP girls also brought home a district championship.
The Lady Scots showcased their depth by placing four runners in the top six, led by a runner-up finish by sophomore Ryan Sontag, whose time of 18 minutes, 43 seconds was four seconds behind individual champion Presley Robertson of Frisco Wakeland.
Sontag was followed across the finish line by freshman teammates Paisley Bassett in third place and Finley Heckler in fourth. Maddie Heckler was just behind in sixth. All seven HP athletes were in the top 23.
On the boys side, Haag’s time of 15:58 earned him the title by more than 10 seconds. Two other HP runners, Bennett Blevins and Beau Stewart, also were in the top 10.
Both HP teams advanced to the Class 5A Region II meet on Oct. 22 at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie.
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Meanwhile, Hillcrest sophomore Connor Luce (16:39) won a gold medal while leading his team to the crown at the 13-5A meet on Wednesday at the Jesse Owens Memorial Complex.
Luce held off W.T. White’s Mateo Rodriguez by about 10 seconds to claim the top spot on the podium. Hillcrest teammates Max Payne, Reese Widhelm, and Elijah Flores also ran in the top eight.
In the 13-5A girls race, W.T. White senior Mia Oliver (18:10) was an easy winner as the Longhorns earned the team trophy. Dany Diaz took bronze for the Longhorns, followed by teammates Mary Washington and Gracyn Kowalewski.
Second-place Hillcrest was led by Lindia Orozco in fifth overall. The Panthers and Longhorns will each take both teams to regionals.
In Class 6A, Jesuit will take its team to the Region I meet after placing third as a team at the 7-6A championships on Wednesday at Prestonwood Polo Club in Oak Point. Brayden Higginbotham placed eighth to pace the Rangers.
