The State Cross Country Championships took place at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on Saturday, November 9.  Both the Girls and Boys teams earned spots in the State UIL 6A Championship races.  Having both teams competing at the highest level in the state was a program goal and point of pride for Head Coach Nick Benton.  “From a coaching stand point, I am very proud of our program and our athletes,” said Coach Benton.  “I also appreciate the parents and athletes from Coppell that came to support our program at the state meet.”  

Coppell Girls claimed 4^th overall in the state team 6A championship with a 121 point finish.  Once again, the Girls did an outstanding job of running together.  The top five scorers finished within a 37 second split of each other.  Junior Morgan Colon led Coppell, she finished 21^st overall with a time of 18 minutes, 21.67 seconds.  Chloe Hassman (22^nd, 18:21.68) was right on her heels. They were followed by Shelby Spoor (27^th, 18:27), Natalie Fleming (52^nd, 18:44), and Waverly Hassman (66^th, 18:58).  Rebecca Centeno (132^nd, 20:25), and Reezon Eke (145^th, 21:30) also competed for Coppell.  This is the fourth consecutive year for the Coppell Girls team to compete at the State Championship.  Coach Benton pointed out that the girls have high expectations for themselves especially after claiming the 2018 title of State Champions.  He is proud of the girls’ accomplishments and fierce competitiveness.   

Coppell Boys also had a strong showing, finishing seventh as a team with a score of 166.  Evan Caswell led Coppell and reset the Coppell 5K school record to 14 minutes and 48.3 seconds.  He claimed fourth place overall.  Colin Proctor (45^th, 15:39), Rith Bhattacharyya (48^th, 15:41), Jackson Walker (56^th, 15:44), and Parker Hicks (99^th, 16:09) rounded out the scoring runners; Riley Warner (100^th, 16:10), and Vedant Bhattacharyya (126^th, 16:46) also competed.  The difference between a team finish of 5^th, 6^th, or 7^th was 3 points.  Coach Benton was proud of the boys’ grit and determination.  The last time Coppell boys competed in the State Cross Country team championship was in 2007.  The 2019 Boys team brought Coppell back to the State UIL competition.  The programs future looks bright with Caswell, Proctor, Bhattacharyya, and Bhattacharyya returning next season.  

There is one more competitive cross country event on the Coppell calendar.  The top 21 runners from both the Girls’ and Boys’ teams will travel to Bear Branch Park in the Woodlands to compete in the Nike South Regional meet on Saturday, November 22.  The Nike South Regional Meet is a qualifier meet for the Nike National Meet in Oregon.  The top 2 teams and top 10 individuals will qualify to run at the Nike National Meet.