Photos by Nicole Flowers
September 11, 2023
Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs finish strong at Steve Golemon Invitational
By Brady Keane
The Bandera Prophet
The Bandera varsity Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs cross country teams both finished in the top 3 at the second annual Steve Golemon Invitational, continuing to show improvement while trending in the right direction as the season progresses.
On the boys side, junior Ruben Ruiz-Palacios used a strong start to fuel a 14th place finish individually with a time of 17:51. Sophomore Zach Goodin was just six seconds behind Ruben and finished 15th to continue his breakout season, and senior Mack Robinson completed the 1-2-3 grouping in 16th with an 18:01.
Junior Nino Martinez, who was off last week, had a big performance while posting an 18:21 (a 44 seconds PR) to place 21st overall.
Other varsity finishers included Fili Quintero in 25th (18:38), Mariano Casas in 26th (18:40), Hudson Jackson in 27th (18:48), Kyle Moore in 31st (19:03), Ben Adamietz in 32nd (19:10) and Ayden Sarver in 40th (19:48).
The varsity boys finished second as a team with 55 points behind a strong TMI squad that finished 2nd at the TAPPS 5A State Championships last year. The Bulldogs were in front of district competitor Fredericksburg, which placed third.
JV
At the JV level, Bandera placed first out of five teams with just 43 points. Juniors Layne Timmons (13th) and Hayden Swalve (14th) led the way while Chris Hoffman (16th), Keaton Sarver (18th) and Jacob Tuma (22nd) also contributed to the first-place finish. Other JV competitors included Carter Rissmiller, Kelton Raab, Rami Roque, Michael Verhey, Adan Sixtos, Dominic Garcia, Travis Niccum, David Roque and Marcus Gonzales.
“I was very pleased with our performance this week,” Coach Sam Farrell said. “Our home course at the river is known as a tough course and the guys continue to show improvement. We had six runners set 5K PRs, and from last year to this year our top 5 average has improved by a full minute. Our grouping continues to be great, and our 1-5 split was only 47 seconds.”
Lady Bulldogs
On the girls’ side, the Lady Bulldogs were paced by another strong outing from sophomore Taytum Moeller, who earned a 7th place medal while improving her time on the home course by 1:45 from last season. Freshman Merry Robinson (13:03) placed 15th and senior Carlye Niccum knocked 30 seconds off last years’ time to place 16th. Senior Emily Presa was 20th, and senior Trinity Butler was 21st for the Lady Bulldogs.
Other varsity finishers included junior Jazlyn Dickerson in 24th (1:30 faster than last year), junior Madi Lewis in 33rd, senior Layney Bowman in 34th, Kierstin Brown in 37th (1:00 faster than last year), junior Kinlee Lawlis in 38th and sophomore Riley LaLanne in 40th (1:45 faster than last year).
The Lady Bulldogs were 3rd overall as a team behind Fredericksburg and Lytle.
JV
At the JV level, the Bandera girls were 2nd as a team behind Fredericksburg. Jalyn Lamb, Lori King and Riley Noon each earned a medal to lead the way, and other JV finishers included Lydia Devigny, Julia Freeman, Onna Shaw, Rosa Espino, Kylie Minton, Dariana Mendoza, Katja Ramirez, Yamne De La Rosa, Celeste Martinez, Mariska Collazo, Amy Rodriguez and Sarah Le.
Both the girls and boys cross country teams will be off this weekend before traveling to compete at the McNeil Hoka Invitational, a preview of the state course, on Sept. 22, in Round Rock.
“I am extremely pleased with the individual progress the girls are making,” Coach Brooke Ashcraft said. “I am seeing tremendous amounts of growth from last year to this year and I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the next few weeks.”
On the boys side, junior Ruben Ruiz-Palacios used a strong start to fuel a 14th place finish individually with a time of 17:51. Sophomore Zach Goodin was just six seconds behind Ruben and finished 15th to continue his breakout season, and senior Mack Robinson completed the 1-2-3 grouping in 16th with an 18:01.
Junior Nino Martinez, who was off last week, had a big performance while posting an 18:21 (a 44 seconds PR) to place 21st overall.
Other varsity finishers included Fili Quintero in 25th (18:38), Mariano Casas in 26th (18:40), Hudson Jackson in 27th (18:48), Kyle Moore in 31st (19:03), Ben Adamietz in 32nd (19:10) and Ayden Sarver in 40th (19:48).
The varsity boys finished second as a team with 55 points behind a strong TMI squad that finished 2nd at the TAPPS 5A State Championships last year. The Bulldogs were in front of district competitor Fredericksburg, which placed third.
JV
At the JV level, Bandera placed first out of five teams with just 43 points. Juniors Layne Timmons (13th) and Hayden Swalve (14th) led the way while Chris Hoffman (16th), Keaton Sarver (18th) and Jacob Tuma (22nd) also contributed to the first-place finish. Other JV competitors included Carter Rissmiller, Kelton Raab, Rami Roque, Michael Verhey, Adan Sixtos, Dominic Garcia, Travis Niccum, David Roque and Marcus Gonzales.
“I was very pleased with our performance this week,” Coach Sam Farrell said. “Our home course at the river is known as a tough course and the guys continue to show improvement. We had six runners set 5K PRs, and from last year to this year our top 5 average has improved by a full minute. Our grouping continues to be great, and our 1-5 split was only 47 seconds.”
Lady Bulldogs
On the girls’ side, the Lady Bulldogs were paced by another strong outing from sophomore Taytum Moeller, who earned a 7th place medal while improving her time on the home course by 1:45 from last season. Freshman Merry Robinson (13:03) placed 15th and senior Carlye Niccum knocked 30 seconds off last years’ time to place 16th. Senior Emily Presa was 20th, and senior Trinity Butler was 21st for the Lady Bulldogs.
Other varsity finishers included junior Jazlyn Dickerson in 24th (1:30 faster than last year), junior Madi Lewis in 33rd, senior Layney Bowman in 34th, Kierstin Brown in 37th (1:00 faster than last year), junior Kinlee Lawlis in 38th and sophomore Riley LaLanne in 40th (1:45 faster than last year).
The Lady Bulldogs were 3rd overall as a team behind Fredericksburg and Lytle.
JV
At the JV level, the Bandera girls were 2nd as a team behind Fredericksburg. Jalyn Lamb, Lori King and Riley Noon each earned a medal to lead the way, and other JV finishers included Lydia Devigny, Julia Freeman, Onna Shaw, Rosa Espino, Kylie Minton, Dariana Mendoza, Katja Ramirez, Yamne De La Rosa, Celeste Martinez, Mariska Collazo, Amy Rodriguez and Sarah Le.
Both the girls and boys cross country teams will be off this weekend before traveling to compete at the McNeil Hoka Invitational, a preview of the state course, on Sept. 22, in Round Rock.
“I am extremely pleased with the individual progress the girls are making,” Coach Brooke Ashcraft said. “I am seeing tremendous amounts of growth from last year to this year and I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the next few weeks.”