Cross country season is nearing the finish line after area schools, Pilot Point and Tioga, competed at their respective regional meets Monday and Tuesday.
Pilot Point’s teams competed at the UIL 3A Region I Championship in Lubbock, where the Lady Cats placed sixth overall out of 24 teams and the Bearcats placed 13th out of 24 teams.
“We didn’t have the regional meet the kids were hoping for; obviously they had aspirations of getting out and getting to state, and we didn't accomplish that, but I was really proud of the season they had overall,” said Jeff Price, Pilot Point head cross country coach.
Freshman Gracie McCracken was the Lady Cats’ top performer, finishing 22nd overall with a time of 13:10.5 and earning the final individual qualifier spot for the 2026 UIL Cross Country State Championship.
This was the second time the teams had run the course at Mae Simmons Park, and McCracken said the previous experience paid off in Tuesday’s race.
“There is a really big hill on the first turn, and after we ran the course a few weeks ago, we started working on hills in practice,” she said. “That helped me improve and feel confident with that section of the race, and I'm really glad our coach gave us the opportunity to run that course before regionals so that I was ready.”
McCracken’s qualification marks the 14th time in 15 years that the Lady Cats will be represented at the state meet, and she shared her excitement for her first appearance on the big stage.
“I'm looking forward to competing with the top runners from around the state,” she said. “I'm hoping to get a good feel for the course and run competitively. My goal has been to make it to State, and I'm excited for the opportunity to compete at the highest level.”
Madison Coronado (24th), Sophia Garcia (31st), Emmalyn Brocato (62nd), Emily Castillo (74th) and Ellasyn Chaney (141st) helped power the Lady Cats’ Top 10 performance.
Humberto Garcia was the Bearcats' top runner, placing 42nd, with Anthony Jaime, Blake Warren, Colby Lubich, Jesus Martinez, Parker Neal and Giovanny Rodriguez rounding out the teams’ Top 20 finish.
Jillian Rodriguez was Tioga’s lone representative at the UIL 2A Region II Championship in Fort Worth, where she finished 15th overall and as the eighth individual runner, with a personal record time of 13:08.5, punching her ticket to the 2026 UIL Cross Country Meet.
“I’ve improved a lot since last year, but also since district,” Jillian said. “I’ve been working really hard to make my time better, and my main focus was to have a positive mindset before the meet and throughout the race, and that helped me finish and beat some of the runners that I beat before.”
Jillian ran with the Lady Bulldogs’ relay team at the state track meet this spring but said she’s excited to make her first appearance at the cross country state meet.
“I’m really looking forward to the experience of competing at the highest level and accomplishingmy goal of placing in the top 30,” she said.
Halie Martin, Tioga's head cross country coach, also shared her elation at Jillian’s performance at the regional meet.
“I am so proud and impressed with how well Jillian ran at Regionals,” she said. “She had the confidence and was determined to qualify for State, and she made it happen. … Now, we’re going to continue working on improving her time so she can reach her goal of breaking 13 [minutes] and also work on hills to prepare for the state course.”
Jillian will run in the 2A Girls 3,200-meter race at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 6 and Mc-Cracken will run in the 3A Girls 3,200-meter run at 10:55 a.m. Nov. 7, with the two-day state championship event being hosted at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
