Roman Rabel (bib No. 759) and Sadiki Mburu (bib No. 760) helped to lead the Sachse boys cross country team to fourth place in the elite boys varsity race at the McKinney Boyd Bronco Stampede last Saturday. Photo by Tina Lopez / C&S Media

By David Wolman

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The Sachse cross-country team conquered the steep hills and tight turns at McKinney’s Myers Park last Saturday.

Paced by five top 20 finishes, the Mustangs placed fourth in the team standings in the elite varsity boys race with 95 points, while Sachse’s girls tied with McKinney Boyd for fifth place with each squad scoring 188 points. Byron Nelsno, ranked No. 5 in the latest Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas Class 6A state poll, won the boys team title with 82 points. Bentonville, Arkansas, had a little more breathing room in the girls’ division as they captured first place with 30 points – 22 ahead of runner-up Byron Nelson (52).

Leading the efforts of the Sachse boys at Myers Park was junior Samuel Ledbetter, who ran to seventh place in a time of 16:14. Sophomores Dominic Richardson and Sadiki Mburu also cracked the top 20. Richardson placed 17^th in 16:34. Mburu finished one second behind Richardson in 18^th place with a time of 16:35.

Senior Roman Rabel placed 26^th in 16:42, followed by junior Ozzy Heredia, who ran to 27^th place in 16:43. Senior Henry Lesley placed 55^th in 17:10, while sophomore Grayson Redden took 89^th in 17:50. 

Junior Abigail Leonard turned in another strong performance for the Lady Mustangs. She placed seventh in McKinney with a time of 18:52. Sophomore Arora Ngo turned in the next fastest time for Sachse, placing 18^th with a 19:46. Sophomore Alicia Payne also cracked the top 25, placing 22^nd in 20:04. Adeline Moss, also a sophomore, captured 76^thplace with a time of 21:25. Senior Maicen Keefer ran to 81^st place in 21:32. Senior Keiry Guadarrama Bravo placed 106^thin 22:23. Senior Sophia Olade finished in 112^th place with a time of 22:58. Junior Brighton Cook rounded out the efforts for the Lady Mustangs, earning 120^th place in 23:40.

Senior Austin Oliver (57^th, 18:57), senior Reese Deines (67^th, 19:06), sophomore Ryan King (72^nd, 19:09), freshman Brave Cook (74^th, 19:13), junior Justen Manning (80^th, 19:16) and senior Joshua Smith (125^th, 20:17) competed for the Mustangs in the open varsity boys 5-kilometer race.

Sachse is scheduled to return to race action this Saturday in College Station for the Texas A&M Invite.