On Monday, October 24, the S&S Rams and Lady Rams cross country team traveled to Pottsboro to compete in the biggest race of the season so far: the district race. In order to advance to the next level, the regionals race, runners would have to place in the top ten in their field. The top three teams would also advance to regionals. When they arrived, they discovered something odd; they had trouble seeing the course due to the enormous fog that encompassed the entire course. This is what the varsity girls would be required to run through, along with a wet, soggy ground.

In the varsity girls’ two mile race out of 37 runners, S&S came away with two girls placing in the top ten. Sophomore, Callie Woolsey, placed 8^th with a time of 14:30 qualifying for her second year in a row. Freshman, Paulina Wells, placed 10^th at 14:35. The next S&S girl to come in was sophomore, Kirsten Marshall, placing 14^th and crossing the finish line at 14:49. Kirsten had to say this about her recent accomplishment. " I think it's a good accomplishment that our team has made. My goal is to get better each year so there's no worries, just confidence and strength to better us. And I hope that we can make this a tradition to go every year!" Junior, Matti Bolin, and freshman and first time runner, Sarah Barber, came in back-to-back in 25^th and 26^th with times of 15:44 and 15:54. Senior, Rebecca Roberts, would cross four places later at 15:58 and sophomore, Tammy Chumley, finished at 17:50. The girls were able to rack up enough points to place third as a team, sending the entire team to regionals. When asked what it felt like to advance to regionals, Matti Bolin said, "Considering this is the first year I have done cross country, it's really exciting. I have been to regionals in UIL, but to go for a sport is more intense and fun because you get to see how all your hard work has paid off."

The next to run would be the varsity boys in the 5K race. By this time, the fog had vanished, but the muddy ground still remained a factor. However, in a field of 35 runners, junior, Nolan Beilstein, placed 4^th overall with a time of 18:54 qualifying for his second time. The next of the S&S boys to finish would be junior and first time runner, Brad Lovick, placing 23^rd and a time of 22:10. Junior, Dylan Gann, finished the one place after at 22:43. Tyler Wood crossed the finish line with a time of 23:17 and Lucas Robertson, who was just cleared to run by his doctor days before the race, finished at 26:39.Unfortunately, the boys would not have enough points to place in the top three teams.

The JV girls were next on the list. In a field of 26 runners, sophomore, Breiana Garcia placed 11^th with a time of 16:54. Natalie Robertson and Marleny Martinez finished back-to-back at 13^th and 14^th with times of 17:48 and 18:00.

The last to run would be the JV boys. Freshman, James Gleason, sophomore, Jessie Bullard, and freshman, Grant Smith finished back-to-back-to-back at 24:37, 24:41, and 26:05. Then freshman, Mason Yeary, crossed at 29:41 followed by sophomore, Dustin Gann at 30:21. The JV boys would place third as a team.

Callie, Paulina, Kirsten, Matti, Sarah, Rebecca, Tammy, and Nolan will compete in the regional meet in Arlington at Vandergriff Park on November 5.