This past Saturday both cross country teams qualified for the state competition after sectionals. The boys team placed 2nd while the girls placed 7th.

“All around this was a big day for us,” head coach Austin Enriquez said. “We had some key races.”

Senior Bankson Roach led the Panthers boys, finishing in 5th place with a time of 15 minutes, 48 seconds. Behind him was junior Nate Pacetti in 8th place at 16:07.

“I think I have had a good improvement,” Roach said. ”This was a good race for me, and I’m excited for state next week.”

The boys team placed 2nd overall with 66 points. Cambridge High School placed first overall with 55 points.

For the first time in school history, the boys had all seven runners finish in the top seven places in the region. Out of the 170 runners, all runners from Starr’s Mill were in the top 40.

“Our times are looking great, so we knew we were going to be fast,” Enriquez said. 

Junior Andrea Ramos led the girls team in 29th place with a time of 20:29. Behind her was senior Emily Aguilera-Morton in 33rd place with a time of 20:37.

“It was a really tough mile, and I pushed really strong at the end,” Ramos said.

The girls team placed 7th with 185 points. Overall, the winner was Harris County with 49 points.

The Panthers will run again at the state competition in Carrollton on November 8.