Lady Bulldogs cross country shines at Lake Belton
R.J. SANDOVAL Special to the Press
TEMPLE — At the Lake Belton Bronco Invitational held last Thursday morning, Thorndale High School girls varsity cross shined and came across the finish line in first place. Despite being a Class 2A school with an enrollment of just 240 students prior to the last University Interscholastic League realignment process, Thorndale registered to run among the Class 3A and Class 4A teams with enrollments ranging from 700 to more than 2,000.
The decision appears to unfavorably skew the field for the Lady Dogs, but the results prove the opposite.
Thorndale had three girls place in the top six out of 91 competitors.
Freshman standout Raven Sandoval led Thorndale with a first-place performance, producing a time of 13:43.60 seconds in the two-mile run, while Freshman Nadia Gonzalez (14:08.20) and Freshman Skielee Bear (14:10.50) crossed the finish line consecutively, placing fifth and sixth, respectively. Jarrell — a Class 4A program — was Thorndale’s closest competitor, capturing a second-place finish, by senior Jasmine Benavidez in 13:44.50.
Following Lady Bulldogs and Bulldogs varsity cross country getting to compete on Sept. 26 at the Moody Bearcat Invitational, Thorndale will host the Bulldog run on Oct. 4 as the teams get their last preparation for the upcoming district meet on Oct. 7 at Cameron.
