The Coppell Invitational was hosted at the new Coppell West middle school on Saturday, September 22.  Recording-setting rainfall over the weekend produced heavy wet clay soil that stole shoes from athlete’s feet; this only grew worse as hundreds of feet churned up the 5K course.  In the end the Coppell Invitational was more about a determination to finish than a measure of speed.    

The cowgirls’ team placed 1^st overall in the Varsity Girls division, Coach Benton was impressed to see several of the freshmen girls stepping up this week.  Grace Turman led the girls she finished 1^st overall with a time of 26 minutes, 46.1 seconds.  Rebecca Centeno (3^rd, 28:26), Issabelle Ortizoga (5^th, 29:17.6), Jimena Benavides (7^th, 29:34.1), and Elizabeth Miller (9^th, 29:57.7) scored for the cowgirls this week.  

The Cowboys’ competed in the Elite Varsity Boys division with their top six runners absent from the lineup.  The boys placed 7^th overall.  Senior Grant Evans led the cowboys, he finished 16^th with a time of 21 minutes, 8.5 seconds.  Chris Figueroa (23:05.6), Riley Warner (23:10.1), Rith Bhattacharyya (23:51), and Andrew Thompson (25:31.9) rounded out the point scorers for Coppell.

The Coppell girls placed 3^rd overall in the JV division.  Coppell was led by Sophomore Bernice David (6^th, 32:31.9).  Avery Hancock (13^th, 34:35.2), Sarah Mobley (14^th, 35:11.3), Emily Settle (42:14.8) and Brooke Shortino (43:29.1) were team point scorers this week. 

The boys clinched 1^st place overall in the Varsity division, as well as the JV division.  The lead runners for Coppell in the Varsity division were Cole Lindbeck (2^nd, 22:51.4), Santiago Escalante (4^th, 23:40.2), Parker Hicks (5^th, 23:44.9), Drew Scrivner (24:45.7) and Ishraj Bhandari (27:32.6).  In the JV division, race chips did not register.  However Tyler Sewell, Collin Proctor, Ray Aquirre, and Jordan J. went home with medals.  

According to Head Coach Nick Benton the Coppell Invitational demonstrated the team’s toughness and willingness to compete regardless of the circumstances.  “These types of conditions may prepare us for what is ahead later on in the season,” said Benton.  Next on the schedule is the McNeil Invitational on Saturday, September 29.  The top 14 runners from both the girls and boys teams will travel to Old Settlers Park in Round Rock to compete on the 5K course that is the traditional site for the UIL State Championships.