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VAN VLECK – The Rice Raiders’ cross-country team continued their stretch of strong performances this season with another quality outing in their most recent competition. The reigning district champs had a triplet of top-10 placements as they secured second place as a team at the meet. While the varsity boys were competing well for Rice, the JV girls and boys were also representing Rice as they put together some strong performances throughout the day.
The varsity team was led by many of the same names that have been contributing at a high level all season. Payton Engelbrecht, the name for the Raiders that often ranks in the top placements, took another medal in this meet as he finished in third place with a time of 17 minutes and eight seconds. Hayes Dingler and Jael Valles Serrano are often in the top placements as well, and they found a similar level of success in this meet as well with seventh and eighth place respectively. Dingler finished in 17 minutes and 44 seconds while Valles Serrano completed the race in 17 minutes and 33 seconds.
JD Fitzgerald took the next spot for the Raiders, finishing the race in just over 19 minutes to take 26th place. Jake Morales finished a few spots later in 31st with a time of 19 minutes and 31 seconds. Jose Briones took 36th place after finishing in 19 minutes and 46 seconds.
Luke Engelbrecht and Victor Flores finished with back-to-back placements at 45th and 46th place respectively. Another pair of Raiders finished in sequential order as Noah Lujan took 54th place while Joe Luke Morales finished in 55th place.
The JV girls had some strong performances themselves as Taylor Eichelberger and Alexia Rangel took top five spots for the Lady Raiders. Eichelberger finished the race in 15 minutes and 13 seconds for third place while Rangel finished in 15 minutes and 23 seconds for fifth place. Adela Suarez came in 59th place, and Melanie Gutierrez came in 62nd.
The JV boys just missed out on having a top-20 runner as Kevin Estrada took 21st with a time of 14 minutes and 33 seconds. Luis Tellez took 32nd place after finishing in 15 minutes and 29 seconds. Gus Peacock took 46th place while James Thompson and Daniel Ibbotson finished in back-to-back placements in 56th and 57th place.
The varsity team returns to compete in the Splashway 5000 on Sept. 9.
