Cross Country teams from all across Texas gathered in Old Settlers Park on Saturday, September 25; for the opportunity to race on the 5K State XC Championship course at the McNeil Invitational in Round Rock.  Coppell runners from both the girls’ and boys’ team were among the competitors.  Meanwhile, Coppell also had teams competing in the Flower Mound Invitational on the 5K course at Shadow Ridge Middle School. 

Coppell placed 10^th overall in the Boys Gold division at the McNeil Invitational, in a lineup of 197 athletes.  Andrew Mullen was Coppell’s top runner, he finished 15^th with a time of 15:42.  Next in were Vedant Bhattacharyya (64^th, 16:27), Karthikeyan Parthipan (95^th, 16:45), Kavin Chengavarayan, and Ashan Habeeb.  In the Boys Silver division, CHS placed 14^th overall.  Henry Henze led the team; he finished 40^th with a time of 17:14.  Asheer Jiwani (76^th, 17:37), Krish Vinish (85^th, 17:44), Samarth Dubey, and James Tan scored team points for Coppell.

Coppell placed 3^rd place overall in the Girls Silver division, a field of 104 athletes.  Waverly Hassman led Coppell with a 24^th place finish at 20:16.  Mallory Sherrer (26^th, 20:21), Alyza Siddiqui (37^th, 20:47), Avery Hancock, and Elizabeth Grace Walker were the top finishers for Coppell. 

Coppell placed 5^th overall in the Varsity Boys division at the Flower Mound Invitational.  Junior Cameron Churchill-Dowd finished in 19^th place with a time of 17:37.  Aadarsh Sankar (26^th, 18:08), Jase Wilson (28^th, 18:12), Bunker Harris, and Rohan Shanbhag were the top finishers for Coppell.  Coppell also finished 5^th overall in the JV Boys division.  Sophomore Kyle Mobley led the boys, he finished 26^th with a time of 19:11. Grant O’Neal (29^th, 19:22), Dillon Khera (33^rd, 19:28), Kushal Kantharaja, and Rahim Hamid also scored for Coppell.    

CHS placed 5^th overall in the JV Girls division at Flower Mound.   Rachel Arrington finished in 13^th place with a time of 21:54.  Mahek Khandelwal (21^st, 22:18), Lucy Martinson (25^th, 22:25), Jeana Scheurich, and Isabelle Ortigoza rounded out the point scorers for Coppell.

Head Coach Landon Wren was encouraged by how many athletes ran well.  “Highlights include the Girls’ Varsity team finishing 3^rd in the Silver Division at McNeil, as well as Andrew Mullen finishing in 15^th place in the Boys’ Gold Division,” said Coach Wren.  “I was also excited to see the times Cameron Churchill-Dowd and Rachel Arrington posted at the Flower Mound Invitational.”  The entire team will be back together for the Jesuit Classic at the Prestonwood Polo Club in Oak Point, on Saturday, October 2.  This is the final Invitational of the regular Cross Country season.  Coppell will start the Championship season off at the District 6-6A Championship on October 15.  Going forward Coppell will be lining up against some of the best teams in the State at both the district level and the regional level.  Go Cowboys!