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The Rice Raiders traveled to Corpus Christi to compete in the Regional Meet looking to build off a strong showing at the District Meet. Unfortunately, they could not punch their ticket to the State Meet.
The Raiders had seven runners competing in the boys’ race and one competing in the girls’ race. While they did not qualify for the State Meet, they still turned in good times.
The Raiders’ boys’ cross-country team had the best showing with more runners in the race helping them climb the standings and finish in 9th as a team for the Regional Meet in a race consisting of 160 runners. Jael Valles Serrano, Payton Engelbrecht and Hayes Dingler were the first Raiders to cross the finish line in 28th , 38th and 39th place respectively.
Serrano finished the race in 17 minutes and 54 seconds while Engelbrecht and Dingler finished three seconds apart with times of 18 minutes 12 seconds and 18 minutes 15 seconds. JD Fitzgerald finished the race next with a time of 19 minutes and 15 seconds which secured 65th place for the Raiders.
Another Raider trio was not too far behind Fitzgerald with Jose Briones, Noah Lujan and Jake Morales in 79th, 99th and 108th place. Briones finished with a time of 19 minutes and 33 seconds and Lujan and Morales finished only 18 seconds apart.
Lujan posted a time of 20 minutes 11 seconds and Morales finished with a time of 20 minutes and 29 seconds. While they did not qualify for the State Meet, the Raiders still have the District Championship in hand and their coaches are very proud of how the team competed all season.
The Raiders also had a runner in the girls’ race, and she finished in the top 60 out of 184 runners. Alexia Rangel finished the two-mile race in 14 minutes and 39 seconds to secure 58th place to cap off the Raiders’ participation in the Regional Meet.
The Raiders closed the chapter on their 2023 cross-country season, and what a season it was for the now defending District Champions.
