BOSSIER CITY, La. — Ruston High School’s cross country teams both turned in solid performances Thursday with the girls taking first place overall and the boys coming in second at the LHSAA D1 – Region 1 held at the South Bossier Course and hosted by Parkway.
“Today was a good day for us,” The kids did such a good job of running within their capabilities today and competing really well. This led to a large number of our kids running around their best times of the year or in some cases smashing their personal records (PRs). Any time we go out there and we can get some really steady racing from most people and a breakthrough performance or two, we’re always going to finish in a good spot. The kids know that and they did that today, even under the pressure of the Regional Championships.”
The girls took first place with 33 points (1+2+8+9+13(20+25)) — 49 points better than second place Byrd. Sophomore Eden Dawsey led the way with the overall victory at 18 minutes, 09.40 seconds, while senior Hallie Hebert grabbed second at 18:26.80. Junior Maddison Morris finished with a time of 19:24.50 for eighth place, while senior Maddy Parkman finished right after her at ninth with a time of 19:30.40. Junior Addison Brister rounded out the scoring for Ruston at 19:53.20.
“Our region is huge and covers the entire state, excluding Baton Rouge and New Orleans. For our girls to go out and win it, they’re really doing something, and they’ve now won five times in the past six years. I really like the tone the leaders set today. Eden and Hallie did a phenomenal job controlling the race, and they didn’t give anyone a chance to hang around them and beat them on a fluke at the end. I thought the Maddy’s ran really well and Addie Belle sealed the deal for us. She held her spot well throughout the race. Then we even got a huge PR from junior Aydan Murry (20:25.50) which displaced the Byrd runners’ scores and put them further away from us.”
Cochran also mentioned the effort from sophomore Mary Hammond, who placed 26th with a time of 20:42.10.
“It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t talk about Mary too,” Cochran said. “She missed being all region (top 25) by one spot and she was really upset. But, I’m so proud of her and the growth she’s shown this year as an athlete. Our girls wanted her to hold the trophy in all the photos because they know what she means to the team. I was very proud of them all today.”
On the boys’ side, the Bearcats took second with a total score of 75 points (4+8+18+21+24 (30+32)) as Parkway won overall at 50 points. Senior Al-Amin Wilson led the pack for fourth at 15:23.60, while senior Joshua Daulton took eighth at 15:39.40. Junior Preston Parker finished 18th at 16:19.60, while senior Ben Boudreaux took 12th at 16:23.40. Junior Wyatt Hancock was Ruston’s final scorer at 24th with a time of 16:27.20.
“The boys got runner up today and I’m very proud of them as well,” Cochran said. “They fought very hard against a Parkway team that probably has the best runner in the state and a great core of front runners. I couldn’t find a bad thing to say about the parkway guys. They’re top notch people. AJ went out today and ran a huge PR (15:23) to get us started and we gave it a good run behind them. We just couldn’t quite finish. We were really missing Luke today. He’s been our best guy at times and was a for sure top 10 guy. He got a little injury before district and he’s tried really hard to nurse it and be ready. He gave it a go today and just couldn’t complete in the front. The kid is all heart and I knew he wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t try. I’ll take a loss with him on our team any day. He’s that special of a kid. Preston Parker has a phenomenal run today and gave us a shot to still get in the team title mix. We were there until the last kiloment. There was a really fun intense battle with Parkway going on during the entire race.”
Cochran also praised the junior varsity squads for competing in the “Last Chance Meet” with both the girls and Kellen Ketchum making great showings, as well.
“What’s even better is when we got to the JV races we dominated,” Cochran said. “The girls put 5 in the top 10 and the boys put 10 in the top 13 to take the team titles. Kellen Ketchum stayed focused and ran a huge PR (16:15) to take the win and punched his way onto the state team for us. I look at performances like today and it shows the depth and dedication of our kids. We don’t just coach the best ones. We’re trying to give every kid a chance to develop at Ruston and when I see days like today it makes me proud of our team. It’s a great group of people to be around. Somebody from this race today will make a huge impact on the varsity race next year for us. I have some names in my head and I’m confident that will be true. It’s been a great year and we’re all looking forward to state.”
