Coppell Girls’ and Boys’ Varsity Cross Country teams traveled to Lubbock to compete on the Region I-6A Championship course at Mae Simmons Park on Monday, October 28.  Going into the Region Championship, Coppell knew the races would be close and the outcome hard to predict.  Coppell girls are the defending state champs and have recently claimed the 2019 District 6-6A title.  Coppell boys have been running well all season proving that they are capable of qualifying for state.  Only the top four teams from each region and the top 10 individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the state championships.     

Coppell Girls advance to the state championship with a second place team finish at the Region I Championships.   Senior Shelby Spoor led Coppell, she finished 7^th overall with a time of 17 minutes, 53.5 seconds.  Natalie Fleming (10^th, 18:10.2), Chloe Hassman (11^th, 18:10.3), Waverly Hassman (23^rd, 18:36), Morgan Colon (25^th, 18:42), Rebeca Centeno (78^th, 20:12), and Reezon Eke (106^th, 20:36) competed for Coppell.  Alternates for the girls’ team are Grace Turman, Izzy Iseley, Bernice David, Avery Hancock, Taylor Peltier, and Lulu Ehinger. 

Coppell Boys also qualified for state as a team with a fourth place Region I finish.  The Cowboys were led by junior Evan Caswell, who finished 2^nd overall with a time of 14 minutes, 41.6 seconds.  He was followed by teammates Colin Proctor (15^th, 15:13), Rith Bhattacharyya (37^th, 15:45), Jackson Walker (38^th, 15:46), Riley Warner (42^nd, 15:52), Parker Hicks (62^nd, 16:18), and Vedant Bhattacharyya (110^th, 16:57).  Alternates for the boys’ team are William Heatherington, Cameron Churchill-Dowd, Andrew Mullen, Andrew Crichton, and Kavin Chengavarayan.

Bringing both teams to the state championship has been a team goal for the past few years according to Head Coach Nick Benton.  “I’m proud to lead this program and excited to see how the Coppell athletes will compete at state,” said Coach Benton.  The UIL state cross country meet will be held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on Saturday, November 9.  The 6A girls and boys races are scheduled for 2:30 pm and 3:10 pm, respectively.