Cross country: Permian girls qualify for state

LUBBOCK Permian High School's girls are headed to Round Rock.

The Lady Panthers finished third in the team standings Saturday afternoon in the Region I-5A Cross Country Championships at Mae Simmons Park, earning a trip to the UIL State Championships.

Defending 5A state champion Southlake Carroll won the regional girls team title with 45 points, Plano West was second with 63 and Permian finished third with 120. Permian finished ahead of Flower Mound Marcus (135 points) for the third and final team berth to the state meet.

Jamia Graham, a freshman, led the way for Permian in 11th and was followed by seniors teammates Lakeisha Johnson in 14th and Laura Porras in 15th. Bianka Cortez and Monick Garcia, a sophomore and a freshman, were the fourth and fifth scoring runners for Permian in 39th and 81st.

Also running for the Lady Panthers was Reagan Ryan in 91st and Desiree Bustamante in 96th.

Permian will run Nov. 15 at the state meet at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, marking the second consecutive year an ECISD team has qualified. Odessa High advanced to state last year, becoming the first ECISD team to advance to the UIL State Cross Country Championships.

Odessa High's attempt to earn a return trip to state fell short despite a solid sixth-place finish. OHS and Lubbock Coronado -- District 2-5A schools like Permian -- both scored 277 points, but Odessa High earned the sixth-place position based on the finish of its sixth-place runner.

Kirsten Taylor was Odessa High's top finisher in 30th, Gaby Valeriano was 51st, Myranda Lara and Mindy Navarette were 69th and 70th while Mia Hignojos closed out the OHS team scoring in 97th. Tiffany Barrera, a senior, was the tiebreaker for the sixth-place team finish, taking 110th while Coronado's No. 6 runner was 124th.

Permian's girls won't be representing the Permian Basin by themselves, though. Not even close.

In Class 2A, the Kermit and Crane boys both earned trips to the state meet with second- and third-place team finishes.

Trey Bale finished second and Leeroy Garcia was ninth individually to lead the charge for Kermit's second consecutive trip to the Class 2A state meet, while Joey Escalante was fourth and Zach Daniel was 11th to help lead Crane's effort.

Wall won the Region I-2A title with 46 points, Kermit was second with 64 and Crane took third with 73 points, well ahead of fourth-place Bowie's 111.

In the Class 3A boys race, Andrews senior Tomilee Loyd earned his second consecutive individual trip to the state meet by finishing third.

There is one change, however. Loyd will be joined this year in Round Rock by a teammate as freshman Lucas Marquez finished ninth.