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Pearland Dawson's Luster runs to 24-4A title
Published October 29, 2009
FRIENDSWOOD — Several local teams were hoping to extend their seasons Wednesday at the District 24-4A Cross-Country Meet at Centennial Park.
With threatening skies and a stiff wind, runners were trying to finish the race in the top 10, or place in the top three of the team standings to advance to the regional meet.
The Pearland Dawson Lady Eagles raced to a district title, their first in school history.
Freshman Mary Luster led the Lady Eagles by finishing the 2-mile course first in 13 minutes, 16.64 seconds.
“I think I was more nervous than they were,” Dawson cross-country coach Melissa Ward said. “Her first and second meet, she had other girls up there with her. But in our third meet of the season she just broke out and has been our top runner since.”
Luster led from start to finish and had a 7-second lead on a Friendswood runner after the first mile. In the last 200 yards of the race, both Luster and the Friendswood runner were neck-and-neck.
But in the final stretch of the race, the Friendswood runner hit a pothole and twisted her ankle and Luster surged ahead to the finish.
“Our cross country meet record at our third-year school was set in 2007,” Ward said. “Mary broke it in her third meet of the season. It was 13:38, and her fastest time this season is 12:39.”
Also finishing in the top 10 for Dawson were Ericka Taylor in fourth at 14:06.83; Allura Matz in fifth at 14:10.58; and Rachel Rhodes in seventh at 14:11.28.
Making a late push at the tape were the Brazosport Lady Ships. Ashley Waddy was eighth in 14:12.00 and Devonne Castro finished ninth in 14:15.29.
The Lady Ships qualified for the regional meet with 68 points and a third-place finish. Also finishing for Brazosport were Caitlynn Graham in 15:04, and Michelle Moreno, Alexandra Caro and Brenda Lopez in 15:42.
Qualifying as an individual for the regional race was Manvel’s Lauren Feuz, who finished in second place at 13:53.44.
“Lauren has been consistent and steady all year long,” Manvel cross country coach Duke Barrier said. “She is one that you can count on every race and is going to be top 10 for the most part.”
Feuz was fourth after the first mile, but her late push in the second mile got her closest to Luster.
“She doesn’t get out with those girls,” Barrier said. “She is more concerned with picking them off one at a time. In that last half-mile, she passed up two runners.”
The boys race was a runaway for Friendswood as it had four runners in the top 10, including three in the top four places, with Brandon Swindler winning in 16:25.
Angleton’s Harvey Manning placed third at 16:51, with teammates Daniel Ortega in fifth at 17:14, Ariel Landaverde sixth at 17:18; and Oscar Orizaba ninth at 17:22. The Wildcats garnered 42 points for second place as a team.
“From the standpoint of running his best time, Harvey ran 6 or 7 seconds better than what he has been doing,” Angleton cross-country coach Paul Eby said. “It was a good day for us and the guys ran well. Hopefully, we can build on this for years to come.”
Eby is in his first year as cross-country coach and coaches the track and field team.
Friendswood won the team title with 33 points and Pearland Dawson was third with 68.
Also landing in the top 10 were a couple of Brazosport Exporters — Mario Muraira was seventh in 17:18 and Josh Waddy finished 10th in 17:27.
“Dawson had 11, 12, 13, 15 and 17, so I think they edged us out for third in team standings,” Brazosport cross-country coach Ondra Waddy said. “We had two qualifiers, and that is the most since I’ve been coaching. They did an excellent job and their times were great.”
The Class 4A Region III meet will be Nov. 7 at Lone Star College in Houston.
Joel Luna is the sports editor for The Facts. Contact him at 979-237-0160.
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