|
Lucas, TX as of |
|
|
girls lineup
boys
lineup
results (eventually)
course
map
info
location
Big Congratulations to our Cross Country and Track & Field athletes who signed National Letters of Intent yesterday to compete in college athletics.
Carly Littlefield
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
Carly Littlefield
The Texas High School Coaches Association recognizes senior high school athletes, trainers and managers who excel in GPA, class rank and ACT/SAT score.
The THSCA has recognized the 23 Lovejoy XC seniors listed below for the 2024-2025 academic year. Please applaud them for their commitment and dedication to perform with the highest of excellence academically and athletically.
| Lovejoy's THSCA 2024 Cross Country Academic All-State Honorees | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1st Team | 2nd Team | Honorable Mention |
|
|
|
The following awards were given for the fall 2024 Cross Country season at last night's banquet ...
| award | girls | boys |
| Newcomer of the Year: | Madison Simpson | Dylan Welch |
| Most Improved: | Dominique Iannarelli Harper Jaynes |
Carter Ewing Arjun Sharma |
| Servant Heart: | Dana Colston | |
| Most Inspirational: | Sofia Dominguez Rachel Dobbs Rachel Wheeler Cate Jackson Mia Binnings |
Brendan Hare Liam Dunleavy Aaron Wimbish |
| Running Leopard: | Camryn Benson | Aaron Wimbish Tyler Morefield |
| Teammate: | Talia Orshalick Kaylee Martin |
|
| Most Valuable: | Camryn Benson | Tristan Arceneau Joey Reid |
| Kailey Littlefield / Jason Abernathy: | Campbell Lester Mia Reaugh |
Joe O'Brien |
CLICK HERE for a description of the awards.
Congratulations to all the well-deserving award winners.
The 2024 XC/Track Booster Club Cross Country scholarship recipients ($500 each) announced at last night's end-of-season banquet are ...
CLICK HERE for a description of the scholarships.
Congratulations to the winners and best wishes to all of our college bound scholar athletes.
Our very own Campbell Lester was honored with the Scholar Athlete of the week. If you know Campbell, you know that this award is so well-deserved! Check out the news segment below!
Carly Littlefield
Camryn Benson has been an instrumental piece of the success of our team for the past 3 years. This year she led the team all season long and provided the low stick for us at the State meet. She earned the District and Regional Individual titles and earned 9th place at State on Saturday. She has had to train alone much of the season, which has been a big adjustment. I am very proud of her and the way she led the team. I look forward to seeing what she achieves over the next year and a half!!
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Congrats to the boys team on winning BACK TO BACK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! This is the 5th State Championship in Program History. A big congrats to our girls team on being STATE RUNNER-UP! The Smithson Valley girls ran a great race on Saturday — hats off to them on their performance.
I am super proud of the boys team and the adversity that they overcame this year and not giving up. This is a special team that united and believed in one another when it would have been easy to feel defeated.
Who would fill the shoes of these runners? We have been blessed with great depth on this team and depth was truly needed this year. We had many who were ready to step up to the challenge. Some of the top prospects to fill these shoes also suffered some serious blows during the season.
Even after those set backs we still persevered and rose to the challenge. This is a special group of young men and I am so proud of how they responded to the setbacks this year and banded together and accomplish our team goal of becoming state champions again!
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
Saturday was a fun day! Our boys won their 2nd State title in a row in an exciting race! The girls are the State Runner-Up! Yes, our goal was to win. But what many don't understand is winning 4 in a row is a very difficult challenge. Even getting on the podium 4 years in a row is rare. These young ladies had a very successful season and worked their tails off to earn this achievement. The majority of these girls improved DRASTICALLY from last year, and I am so proud of them and the way they raced. Smithson Valley won, and they ran out of their minds. They came on a mission, and they executed to absolute perfection. My hat goes off to that team! Please congratulate our girls when you see them!
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Both the boys and girls XC squads received medals and trophies at State again today. The girls finished as State Runners Up and the boys repeated as State Champions. This marks the 6th season in which the boys and girls have both made the podium at State.
The weather forecast had been threatening lightening storms which are one of the few things that will stop an XC race. But it turned into a very comfortable late morning with temps in the low 70s, a light breeze, and overcast skies. The course was in very good shape considering how dry the summer and fall have been. And the 5A championship races were the last to go off, so the course condition was especially impressive.
Lots of parents and families showed up, and the LISD Superintendent and LHS Principal were also on hand. The coaches max'd out their alternate additions to the varsity, so plenty of teammates were also on hand.
The 5A Girls Championship race was won by Smithson Comal Valley by a score of 54-97-145 over 2nd place Lovejoy, 3rd place Aledo and the other 13 State qualifying teams in the race. About 37 individual qualifiers also competed. Smithson Valley was unranked prior to the middle of this season. In 2023, they had one qualifier for State, but the team did not qualify for State or even Region. They had finished 5th at District.
Now in 2022, Smithson Valley finished 2nd at District, 2nd at Region and 6th at State. They also have an active and successful middle school program — never underestimate the value of a quality middle school program (including a quality coach).
The Lovejoy girls have done an amazing job this season (as has their coach) in replacing the 3-peat runners who have graduated over the past two years: Amy, Sara, Kailey, Peyton, and Kate. This should have been a year to rebuild with a State finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. Instead these girls took the challenge and literally ran with it all the way to a 2nd place State finish. That's exceeding expectations.
Looking at the dot chart, Lovejoy had a nice grouping at the front of the race. But Smithson Valley was shifted ahead of Lovejoy. Aledo did great with their #1 through #3 runners, but then had to wait forever to get their #4 and #5 runners in. And a nice grouping by 5th place A&M Consolidated. The runners for all the other teams were scattered.
Junior Camryn Benson (9th overall in 18:31.8) led again today as she has all season. Cam has been a money runner for the team since her first Lovejoy race freshman year. Junior Bridget Bernal (17th in 19:08.0) has had another great season while overcoming some re-emergent leg issues. Around the 19:30-mark came the scoring pack en masse: senior Campbell Lester (23rd in 19:28.8), Sofia Dominguez (25th in 19:30.0), junior Sophie Brooks (27th in 19:32.9), and junior Jocelyn Chapman (29th in 19:36.5). Finally Harper Jaynes (52nd in 20:03.8) put all of Lovejoy runners in the top one-third of the field.
Campbell has led the scoring pack almost every race this year, and for the second straight year stayed healthy for the UIL championship races. A big plus to have her available. Sofia had a breakout year and Jocelyn had a comeback year which provided excellent depth for the girls this fall. Sophie's rise was expected and important based on her terrific sophomore year on the JV. Harper showed some impressive flashes last fall, and has been much more consistent in 2024.
Please note that 6 of these 7 runners are juniors and returning next fall — only Campbell is graduating.
This marks the 4th year in a row that the girls have earned a podium spot at State and 6th year in a row the girls have qualified for the State Championships — that's quite an accomplishment for Coach Littlefield and helps explain her award as the NFHS Texas State Coach of the Year for 2023.
[results girls 5A Championship]
The 5A Boys Championship race was the final (UIL) exclamation point for the Lovejoy XC boys class of 2025. Coach Kelly has been saying for 5 years that they would win State as seniors (if not sooner), and he rarely makes such pronouncements. The guys have led in this season's CCCAT polls from the beginning, and officially proved their mettle today defeating 2nd place Boerne and 3rd place Frisco Wakeland by a score of 77-137-157.
One of the biggest factors behind the success of the boys class of 2025 is their depth. This fall has seen the greatest number of injuries and illnesses in program history. Yet Coach Kelly was always able to assemble a winning Varsity squad due to depth. This showed up a bit in the District JV races where the guys won handily but did not dominate overwhelmingly as they have in prior seasons.
The dot chart shows a higher than usual spread for Lovejoy. And 2nd place Boerne did a great job with their #1 through #4 runners. But Boerne's #5 finished 80th which is more than the total points that Lovejoy scored. Wakeland looked good, just not fast enough. Similarly with Grapevine, but they were slower than Wakeland. And the runners for the other teams were just scattered.
Despite all the accolades dues the Class of 2025, a sophomore, Tristan Arceneau (9th overall in 15:54.0), led the team as he did at Region. Senior Will Carlson (8th in 16:04.4) completed a stalwart season — the picture of reliability which was sorely needed this fall. And then came another underclassmen, junior Joey Reid (10th in 16:11.0) who has led Lovejoy in more races this fall than anyone. Having 3 runners in the top-10 (in scoring) put Lovejoy in a solid position for the win. Of the 4 remaining runners, the order of finish was certain to be a surprise. Seniors Liam Dunleavy (23rd in 16:30.1) and Tyler Morefield (33rd in 16:40.6) locked down the victory. For insurance, seniors Jack Thompson (35th in 16:43.4) and Aaron Wimbish (49th in 16:50.8) put all the guys in the top one-third of the race.
As an interesting note, Aaron was only 7.4 seconds behind Jack, yet 13 runners separated them. And that's how State works — lots of fast runners filling gaps.
[results boys 5A Championship]
CLICK HERE for the meet photo album.
Here's the early info on the annual summer running camp for Lovejoy Boys XC. This camp is for incoming freshmen and returning LHS runners. Runners are highly encouraged to attend if they plan to run for LHS next school year. See below for details!
CLICK HERE to let me know if you plan to attend or not — you can select yes or no on the google form. Please RSVP by November 30th, 2024. This form is for me only and not shared with the camp organizers.
I highly encourage the incoming freshman to attend this camp if they plan to run in high school. It is a great way to get to know their teammates and the program. I spoke to the boys about this at the team breakfast the other morning. Coach Mueller will be continuing practices two times per week this winter and he will be working with our runners again in track season. We are super excited about having his help at WSMS. Let's keep their success from the XC season going! Our high school program just qualified for the State Championship for the 17th year in a row and won their 9th Regional Championship in a row. We are looking forward to adding this talented and hard working 8th grade class to the High School program next year!
| dates: | June 23-28, 2025 (a Monday thru a Saturday) |
| location: | Angel Fire, NM |
| cost: | $700/runner (includes travel, lodging, food at camp, etc.) CLICK HERE to pay/register |
| purpose: | team bonding; learn about LHS XC |
| travel: | via vans covered by camp cost |
| lodging: | Wheeler Peak Lodge |
| camp website: | CLICK HERE |
| details: | CLICK HERE for a sample outline (from 2024) |
Let me know if you have any questions.
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
Congrats to the boys team on winning their 9th Regional Championship in a row. This also marks the 17th consecutive year of qualifying for the state championship!
CLICK HERE for full results.
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
I am so proud of our girls for the nearly perfect execution of our team race plan on Tuesday at Lynn Creek Park! Cam got out and took a commanding lead and our 2-5 were in the chase pack the entire race with 6-7 not too far behind! They ran together and utilized each other's strengths to pull us to a big win and some super solid times! Like I told the reporter, this 5th title was extra special because after graduating 3 big runners all at once ... these younger girls who have been waiting their turn had the opportunity to step up and keep the legacy alive — and they did just that! We have one more big opportunity ahead! We will compete in Round Rock next Saturday at 10:45 am followed by the boys. We would love it if some teammates are able to make the journey to support the racers. We are certainly prepared to FIGHT FOR FOUR!
The rest of the girls also had tremendous races:
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Lovejoy XC has dominated its District Championships for many years, but now that dominance has extended to the Region Championships as well with the Leopards once again winning both their Region races today. That makes 5 in a row for the girls and an amazing 9 in a row for the boys. And the races were not close with the girls coasting on a 49-point margin of victory and the boys enjoying a 69-point margin. The team has earned another trip to the State Championships on Saturday, November 2nd in Round Rock — the 6th in a row for the girls, and the 17th in a row (no kidding) for the boys.
The weather at Lynn Creek Park today was just as pleasant as at District with the addition of a nice breeze. Lots of teammates elected to attend via the spirit bus, and a surprising number of parents showed up — surprising for a Tuesday that is. With the 5A State Championships taking place in the last time slot on a Saturday, it will be easier for would-be fans to attend and support Lovejoy.
While many/most of the XC courses this fall have provided a rough running surface (the OSU course excepted), the Region course today was quite smooth albeit hard. So theoretically the Lovejoy times should have been fairly fast. But instead the Leopards were noticeably slower than last year on this same course. Our runners measured the course at 3.16 miles. And the other teams were posting slower times as well, so it wasn't just Lovejoy.
The 5A Girls Championship Race was dominated by Lovejoy from the get go. Lovejoy's order of finish was 1-6-8-11-13-(17-18). Seven other teams had their #1 runners interspersed with Lovejoy's top-5 finishers, but no other team had their #2 runner finish before Lovejoy's top-5 had locked down the win. That's dominance. And all 7 of Lovejoy's runners finished in the top-20 of a 174-runner race.
Junior Camryn Benson (1st overall in 18:26.07) won the individual championship, and deservedly so. She has been dominant all season in leading the Leopards. Cam was trailed much of the race by a returning junior Bridget Bernal (8th in 18:53.23), but senior Campbell Lester (6th in 18:52.16) spliced herself in between during the last 600 meters. Campbell and Dominique Iannarelli are the only seniors on the girls Varsity for this championship run.
About 15 seconds later, juniors Sophie Brooks (11th in 19:09.86) and Sofia Dominguez (13th in 19:11.93) closed out the win. That gave the Lady Leopards a 1-5 split time of 45.96 seconds, which stands as their most significant of the season with Cam way out front.
Juniors Jocelyn Chapman (17th in 19:23.55 and Harper Jaynes (18th in 19:27.68) concluded Lovejoy's race. Harper won a nice little battle at the finish with a Wakeland runner.
Lovejoy defeated the other 3 State qualifiers from Wakeland, Highland Park, and Frisco Reedy by a lopsided score of 39-88-111-132. In the most recent CCCAT rankings, Wakeland is 8th and HP is 6th. The girls main competition at State will be #2 ranked Smithson Valley who also scored 39 points in winning the 5A Region 4 Championship on Monday.
The 5A Boys Championship Race was a bit more contentious with two of the other teams #2 runners finishing ahead of Lovejoy's 3-5 scoring pack. But really not much of a contest. Lovejoy defeated the other three State qualifiers from #8-ranked Wakeland, Highland Park, and #7-ranked McKinney North by a score of 52-121-141-141. The top-5 average times are even more telling with Lovejoy's 16:15.26 well ahead of the 16:48.29, 16:50.80 and 16:53.12 posted by the other 3 State qualifiers.
You have to feel for Frisco Lebanon Trail who placed two runners in the top-8 overall, but then couldn't get even their #3 runner in until 107th in scoring. Fortunately their top 2 runners do qualify as individuals for State — Cross Country is such an inclusive sport.
Sophomore Tristan Arceneau (4th in scoring at 15:58.24) has been resting recently, and today this paid off well for both him and the team. Senior Will Carlson (6th in 16:07.78) has been this fall's most reliable performer — he wins the photography staff's Running Leopard award. These two won top-10 medals for their races today.
The real strength of the Lovejoy boys (and girls for that matter) is that their scoring pack comes in so quickly and just stamps out the other teams. It's nice to have a top-10 runner or two, but winning championships requires a thorough team performance, and that's where Lovejoy has separated itself so well in recent years. Today seniors Liam Dunleavy (13th in 16:20.69), Aaron Wimbish (14th in 16:22.66) and Jack Thompson (15th in 16:26.91) brought down the hammer.
Junior Joey Reid (20th in 16:41.96) had an off day (for him), and that happens — all of the guys (except Will) have had an off day or two this fall. He's still in line for the photography staff's MVP award. Senior Tyler Morefield (46th in 17:17.17) is coming back from an illness and got his lungs some much-needed exercise today.
At State, the boys' competition is quite mixed. None of the other State qualifiers is jumping out. Theoretically that means they're all a threat. So the boys need to take care of business at State and put this season to rest.
CLICK HERE for the meet photo album.
We will be competing next Tuesday for a Regional title - if we win - this will make 5 in a row! Highland Park will be giving us a run for our money! We are taking a spirit bus for all athletes. They MUST bring a spirit item to attend and be excused from school. (face paint, sign, etc - no noise makers)They must also let me know by Monday if they plan to attend.
For those attending the meet, we will return to school after the meet.
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
The 2024 UIL 5A District 9 XC Championships provided yet another opportunity for Lovejoy harriers to showcase their depth and running prowess. Lovejoy secured all four team championships with perfect or near perfect scores. While the boys saw better competition than in prior seasons, the girls set a record for dominance. Both varsities advance to the Region II championships on Tuesday, October 22nd in Grand Prairie.
Lots of parents and boosters showed up to support the Leopards, and the Lovejoy Sports Medicine team provided great treatment to runners in need. Atypically no LISD administrators were able to attend. The coaches, boosters and other volunteers labored hard on Monday to put down 300 bags of mulch — that's in addition to the 160 bags applied for Fall Fest. Myers Park has suffered a rough summer weather wise: the course is peppered with large cracks and presents a rock hard surface. But the mulching efforts made the course sufficiently safe for the runners. Otherwise, the risk of foot, ankle, etc. injuries would have been great.
The weather turned cool and a bit breezy for this morning's races with a temperature of 63°F at the start of the Girls Varsity race. And finally the course ran a little longer than usual (or so it seemed).
The Varsity Girls Championship race differed from the past couple seasons in that the Lovejoy girls were truly going all out. No tempo runs today. Predictably this resulted in a lopsided Lovejoy victory as the Lady Leopards defeated McKinney North, Walnut Grove, Melissa, and Sherman by a score of 15-70-83-102-111. Greenville did not field a Varsity girls squad today, and two other schools had fewer than 5 runners.
Junior Camryn Benson (1st overall in 18:16.7) steadily built up a 34.8-second lead over junior Sofia Dominguez (2nd in 18:51.5). Senior Campbell Lester (3rd in 19:05.1) was about 10 seconds ahead of the scoring pack that rushed in almost simultaneously: junior Sophie Brooks (4th in 19:16.8), junior Jocelyn Chapman (5th in 19:17.0), sophomore Talia Orshalick (6th in 19:17.2), and junior Harper Jaynes (7th in 19:17.3). That's a 0.5-second delta between Lovejoy's #4 and #7.
And then came a 14.4-second gap before the first runner from any of the other schools finished. The Lovejoy girls were taking no prisoners today. Their 1-5 average time of 18:57.4 was 1:24.8 faster than 2nd place McKinney North's. Ridiculous! The 60.3-second split time is acceptable with Cam pushing it so much. Bridget Bernal should be back in te line up for Region helping the split time to shrink some.
[results from Varsity Girls race]
The Varsity Boys race racked up Lovejoy's 18th District championship in a row (arguably Lovejoy's most prestigious athletic accomplishment). Despite the apparently longer District course this fall, the guys achieved a Lovejoy record-low 1-5 average time of 16:04.4 to go along with a 31.0-second split time. Still, McKinney North, Walnut Grove, and even Anna factored in the results. The boys' competition has gotten stiffer in recent years. Anna senior Bryce Denton won the individual championship with a 22.5-second lead. North and Walnut Grove had almost all of their top-5 runners finish within the top 20 overall.
With senior Caden Gary not running until Region, junior Joey Reid (2nd in 15:49.1) had no trouble in finishing as Lovejoy's #1. Then came senior Will Carlson (3rd in 15:57.2) and senior Aaron Wimbish (4th in 15:59.4) bang bang. After McKinney North's #1 finished came senior Jack Thompson (6th in 16:16.0) showing great stamina this season. Senior Tyler Morefield (7th in 16:20.1) closed out the Leopard scoring and secured the victory. Tyler is the photography staff's candidate for most improved this season.
After a few other runners finished, in came senior Liam Dunleavy (13th in 16:41.4) and senior JT Reid (14th in 16:46.2). Note that 6 of Lovejoy's Varsity 7 boys are seniors, as opposed to the Varsity girls who ran only 1 senior, a bunch of juniors, and 1 sophomore. Lots of credit to McKinney North (CCCAT's 6th-ranked 5A team) and Walnut Grove for throwing such a good challenge at Lovejoy today. Greenville did not run a Varsity boys squad today.
[results from Varsity Boys race]
The JV Girls race may be Lovejoy's most lopsided victory ever when facing actual competition. In October 2008 Lovejoy was the only school that brought a JV Girls squad to the XC District championship, so (of course) Lovejoy won all the JV girls hardware. But today Lovejoy faced 4 other 5A teams. Greenville even ran its #1 girls squad in this race. (Melissa, Denison, and Anna did not run full squads and did not score as a result.) The top 12 finishers were Leopards, and 28 of the top 35 finishers were Leopards. Kinda krazy numbers.
Junior Cailee Horinek (1st in 19:49.6) won the individual championship with senior Dominique Ianerelli (2nd in 19:50.4) only 0.8 seconds behind. Senior Rachel Wheeler (3rd in 19:55.5) has had her best season and did not disappoint in her final XC race. The 6 other runners finishing under 21 minutes were junior Kaylee Martin (4th in 20:01.0), sophomore Kennedy Johns (5th in 20:31.2), junior Mia Binnings (6th in 20:36.5), sophomore Lily Fogle (7th in 20:40.9), freshman Leila Bailey (8th in 20:41.2), and freshman Kate Roberts (9th in 20:43.5). Note that amongst these 9 JV runners and the 7 Varsity runners, there are only 3 seniors. Lots of returning youth for next fall.
In terms of field size, the race had 82 finishers of whom 37 were Leopards. Coach Littlefield and her girls simply overwhelmed the competition today.
[results from JV Girls race]
The JV Boys race provided an interesting victory for Lovejoy for a couple of reasons. First, injuries this fall have depleted Lovejoy's JV ranks down to where Coach Kelly only fielded 23 runners in this race. Second, the competition was much stronger/bigger this year — for example, 2nd place McKinney North also had 23 runners in this race.
Junior Arjun Sharma (1st in 16:55.8) broke the 17-minute barrier and won the individual championship. Senior Joe O'Brien (2nd in 17:06.6) concluded his best season and Lovejoy XC career. Joe has steadily improved over the years has worked for the kind of success you want all Lovejoy runners to enjoy. Senior Adam Morefield (3rd in 17:29.0) gave Lovejoy a 1-2-3 start with yet another intense finish. Junior Adam Rogers (5th in 17:42.7) and sophomore Carter Ewing (6th in 17:54.5) locked in Lovejoy's 17-point score.
Junior Daxton McKnight (11th in 18:35.8) and senior Knox Tokarz (13th in 18:45.4) put all of Lovejoy's top 7 runners in the race's top 15. Knox had a 58.9-second improvement over his previous best at Myers (another great way to finish an XC career).
[results from JV Boys race]
Congrats to our boys team on winning their 18th District Championship in a row for Varsity and JV! The varsity team will compete next at the Region II-5A Championship in Grand Prairie on Tuesday, October 22nd.
A big thank you to all parents who helped make the district meet a success!
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
We have had a great run at the District Championship the past several years, but yesterday was a new BEST. We put a big exclamation mark on our season. Not all times were magnificent, but it is Myers Park, after all. The way the girls ran was nothing short of amazing. The JV girls ran absolutely stellar putting 12 girls in front of any other team's first finisher! So not only a perfect score of 1-5 ... but 1-12! This goes to show why we have the #1 ranked JV team in the state according to MileSplit. (across all classifications)
The Varsity girls did not disappoint. We had a perfect score of 15 ... AND put all 7 in front of any other team's first runner. This group will move on to the Regional Championship on October 22nd.
I am so proud of the season that all of these girls have had. The commitment that they show all summer long is apparent when we line up to most other teams. Their effort in hard workouts is truly unmatched. So many of these girls have learned to push their bodies beyond what they ever knew they were capable of, and that is what Cross Country is. Who can hurt longer than the next runner? Who can push through that wall when everything in your body just wants to collapse? Who can find the strength in last 400 meters to overcome as many opponents as possible? So many of these young women have developed that mindset and realized that they ARE tough, and they CAN do hard things! I am a proud coach! What a season!
CONGRATULATIONS TO MIA REAUGH ON HER COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE HER ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC CAREER AT BROWN UNIVERSITY! We are so proud of her and so grateful for everything she has brought to this team! Her incredible work ethic, attitude, and dedication have paid off!
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
We had some great racing this week. Decatur was a spectator friendly course, and we ran some fast times there. The OSU racers had the opposite with a VERY hilly and challenging course. Overall as a whole we ran faster times compared to last year at OSU which is a positive takeaway. We also gained some important and valuable racing experience as we head into the Championship Season. It's officially time to be at the top of our game for the next month.
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
We had some great racing this week. Decatur was an interesting course, and it was pretty fast; we ran some great times there. The OSU racers had the opposite with a VERY hilly and challenging course. We did run better times than last year which is great; the girls are much stronger! We also gained some important and valuable racing experience as we head into the Championship Season. It's officially time to be at the top of our game for the next month.
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
The level of competition at Fall Fest is arguably the best at any Texas meet all season except for State and NXR South. And even at State, the best 6A, 5A, and 4A teams compete in separate races. So the Varsity Elite races at Fall Fest are arguably more challenging. Below is a list of the top teams that competed at Fall Fest.
Unlike so many top meets, the Lovejoy coaches kept the field sizes at very reasonable levels. The girls races ranged in size from 214 to 275 runners, while the boys races were a little larger with a range of 254 to 342 runners. Overall almost 2,200 high school runners competed. There were no middle school races this year. In future years, the Fall Festival's advantage of uncluttered field sizes could be useful in advertising the meet.
To beat the expected heat, Coach Kelly overlapped the races somewhat. The course layout at Myers Park has evolved to where there are no criss-crossing intersections, which allows for multiple races on the course at the same time. It's taken Coach K a few years to develop this configuration, but it looks like a winner for years to come.
The Varsity Girls Elite race had 4 girls under 18 minutes, including Denton Braswell's Macy Wingard (17:09.7), the 2nd-ranked girl in the state. Lovejoy finished 3rd to Rogers (#1 Arkansas team) and 6A #7 ranked The Woodlands. Camryn Benson (6th in scoring at 18:29.4) had a top-10 finish. Jocelyn Chapman (26th in 19:12.2) smashed her previous best time on the Myers course. Campbell Lester (32nd in 19:19.0) also greatly improved on her Myers time (by 40 seconds). Harper Jaynes (33rd in 19:20.5) broke the 20-minute mark at Myers for the first time.
All 9 of the Lovejoy girls finished under 20 minutes — no other girls squad could say that today. Lovejoy's top-5 averaged 19:10.5 with a 61.8-second split time. A work-on perhaps.
In terms of 5A competition, Lovejoy bested 3rd ranked Highland Park (225 point, 19:37.7 avg, 113.0-second split time) and 5th ranked Frisco Wakeland (239 point, 19:45.0 avg, 114.8-second split time). At the Texas A&M meet yesterday, 2nd ranked Aledo finished 2nd (19:25 avg, 1:18 split time), but that course may have been long.
[results from Varsity Girls Elite race]
The Varsity Boys Elite race also saw some great competition from 1st place Austin Vandergrift (6A 2nd ranked) and 2nd place The Woodlands (6A 7th ranked) who beat Lovejoy by a score of 49-106-152. Joey Reid (13th in 15:42.5) and Aaron Wimbish (22nd in 15:56.2) had sub 16-minute times and their best Myers outings. Will Carlson (16:09.4), Tyler Morefield (16:20.9), and Liam Dunleavy (16:21.2) provided a very tight scoring pack. Will is quietly having his most solid XC season ever and Tyler has made himself a permanent fixture on the Varsity. Liam and Tyler had a great little battle at the finish with Tyler just 0.3 seconds faster than Liam.
JT Reid (16:32.7), EJ Morrow (16:34.7), Ethan Murray (16:40.9), and Jack Thompson (16:42.7) all finished under 16:45. No other team had their top 7 in under 16:45, while Lovejoy had its top 9 accomplish this. That's quite a statement about Lovejoy's depth (and with Caden, Devin and Tristin out).
Lovejoy's top-5 averaged 16:06.0 with a 38.7-second split time. 5A 2nd ranked Frisco Wakeland (8th with 328) was the only 5A competition worth mentioning. They had a 16:38.3 top-5 average and 42.0-second 1-5 split time.
The Frisco Wakeland Wolves (Lovejoy has been battling them since 2007 at District) are the boys biggest 5A competition this fall. Wakeland's coaches have consistently run the same 7 guys all season (with a small exception at the Rock Hill Twilight). They've been healthy. They're consistently averaging about 20+ seconds slower than Lovejoy with a noticeably higher split time. This bodes well for Region and State. Today was Lovejoy's first and only true head-to-head with the Wolves before Region. Their star finished between Will and Tyler, and their other 4 scorers finished after Liam. Wakeland won't be at the Cowboy Jamboree, but they will run two more 5K meets before District (ouch).
[results from Varsity Boys Elite race]
With the stressful expectations of the Varsity Elite races concluded, the coaches get to have some (a little?) fun and creativity with their remaining runners. For the Varsity Girls race, Coach Littlefield assembled a very diverse set of runners, and came up with Lovejoy's only 1st place finish of the day. A rather lopsided score of 50-115-132- ... over McKinney North, Plano East, and 26 other teams. Note that McKinney North ran its #1 Varsity squad in this race, but couldn't overcome Lovejoy's depth.
Veterans Dominique Iannarelli (2nd in 19:47.3) and Kaylee Martin (5th in 20:04.1) took off at the start and never looked back. A surging Kennedy Johns (8th in 20:23.9) is really attacking courses this fall. Freshman Kate Roberts (12th in 20:41.2) was following junior Mia Binnings (27th in 21:09.2) early on and playing it conservative (this being her first 5K on the Beast that is Myers Park). But she got her sea legs after the first half of the race, and picked up the pace. Between Kate and Mia came Lovejoy veteran Lily Fogle (23rd in 21:02.4). And finally yet another freshman, Leila Bailey (36th in 21:22.6) was successfully feeling her way around Myers for the first time. She finished 36th out of 233 runners!
So this minimally sized heterogeneous group just went out and skunked the competition.
[results from Varsity Girls race]
Lovejoy fielded sparse squads for the Varsity Boys race and later JV race due to the number of injuries the team has sustained as well as an overcrowding by Lovejoy of the Varsity Boys Elite race earlier. So finishing 23rd is forgettable. Had this squad run in the Elite JV Boys race, they would have finished 3rd out of 36 teams. The important point is that the individual performances were the best or near best that these Lovejoy runners have ever turned in on the Myers course.
Senior Adam Rogers (18:11.3) led and was only 19.1 seconds off his best Myers time. This was his 5th race at Myers. Carter Ewing (18:22.1) beat his previous Myers best by a whopping 99.0 seconds. While this was only Daxton McKnight's second run at Myers, he still had a 30.8-second improvement over last fall's Fall Fest. Similarly, Aiden Oye (18:54.1) improved by 20.3 seconds over his two 2023 races at Myers.
Dylan Welch (19:20.2) cracked the 19:30 mark in his first Myers race — a solid achievement for a freshman. While Primo Chandrasekaran (19:26.5) was about 30 seconds off his best effort from a year ago, this was his 6th race at Myers and today's time is his second below the 19:30 mark. Similar to Aiden, Connor Katerberg (19:35.2) ran twice at Myers last fall and today sported a 40.7-second improvement. Knox Tokarz (19:59.4) only started running last fall, and his time today is on par with his previous two races. Freshman Evan Wheeler (20:07.0) was so close to breaking the 20:00 mark, which gives him a challenge to look forward to at the District meet next month.
So when you consider the level of improvement shown, this was probably the best race of the day for the Lovejoy boys.
[results from Varsity Boys race]
The Elite JV Girls race saw another great Lovejoy effort with Coach L's #17 through #34 runners competing. Lots of Lady Leopards out today due to injuries, the ACT, choir, alternative sprint practice, discipline, etc. Still Lovejoy finished 2nd to 3A 7th ranked Eustace which ran its #1 Varsity squad in this (a JV) race. Well, ok.
Mia Reaugh (3rd in 21:11.0) started off Lovejoy's scoring. Then Chloe Long (5th in 21:33.2) and Grace Peay (6th in 21:34.5) came in with top-10 finishes. Ella York (15th in 22:33.1) — finally returning to action — and Cate Jackson (22nd in 22:58.4) closed out the scoring.
[results from Elite JV Girls race]
The Elite JV Boys race was Lovejoy's last of the day. Typically our 11 guys in this race would have run in an open JV race. And Lovejoy would run 35+ guys in the District JV race, but injuries and Varsity overloading left this squad much, much thinner than usual. But they all put forth a solid effort worthy of the meet's host team.
Lovejoy's scoring runners were Carson Caban (20:57.8), Christian Harris (21:05.6), freshman Drew Crum (21:12.8), Bryce Moore (21:25.9), and freshman Aiden Martin (21:29.7).
[results from Elite JV Boys race]
CLICK HERE for the meet photo album.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU WHO HELPED WITH OUR HOME MEET!!!! It was another successful one! Friday was a long, looooong day for many of you who helped with course set-up! We bought 150(ish) bags of mulch to patch the holes and cracks along with our regular pre-meet set-up. THANK YOU! Course monitors, parking help, registration, chute workers, hospitality ... and on and on. Your support is what makes this one of the best run meets in the state — and probably the nation. The kids were extra motivated to tear down and clean up this year! I think we should schedule Fall Fest every Homecoming dance! ;) But seriously, the kids did an amazing job of clean-up ... many hands make light work!
GREAT MEET SATURDAY!!! Varsity Open ladies take the WIN! Varsity Elite
takes 3rd, and JV Elite takes 2nd! Medal Winners in the middle.
The 2 BEST MANAGERS (Dana and Sam)
EVER!!! They help me SO MUCH!
FUN FACT: It was an XCTF SWEEP in the homecoming festivities! This just says so much to me about the girls in our program. They are well-rounded, kind to others, and willing to take risks! Also, there is strength in numbers, and we pull for each other! I love that we were represented in each category! (except fine arts, I believe)
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
No PR's on Saturday, but overall our kids ran very well on one of the most challenging courses in the state of Texas. The elite boys were able to place 3rd overall behind two great 6A teams — Austin Vandergrift and The Woodlands. We were able to beat Byron Nelson (6A), who beat us last weekend at Southlake. Byron Nelson sat our one of their top runners and so did we with Tristan. Keep in mind we are still running very well without two of our other top runners — Caden and Devin.
You can view complete results HERE.
A big thank you to our booster club and parent support in helping make sure the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival was great success. It takes a LOT to make this big event a success. Donations of food and water - concessions - coaches tent workers - finish chute workers - course monitors - bus parking - spectator parking - ordering portable restrooms - arranging EMS - picking up awards - putting out signage - setting up for the course etc. The list goes on and on. Thank you to the parents who spent their Friday engaging in back breaking work of putting out over 150+ bags of mulch on the course to fill the massive cracks at Myers Park. There was a lot of sweat, time, and heat endured doing that!
A big thank you to Jennifer Thompson and Kristen Murray. They help me with a lot of behind the scenes prep for the meet that many do not know about.
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Another great race for the leopards on Saturday! Our top boys group placed 3rd overall in the Elite Varsity Boys division behind a great Southlake (6A) team and emerging Byron Nelson (6A) team. Teams we were able to beat at this meet included 2023 4A State Champs — Canyon, 2023 6A Arkansas State Champs and NXN Qualifier — Bentonville, 2023 Oklahoma 6A State Champs — Deer Creek, and #8 6A ranked — Waxahachie.
We had a total of 6 boys under the 16-minute mark for the 5K course. Our team split from 1-5 was only 26 seconds and split for out top 7 was only 41 seconds — very impressive!
Overall we had 19 career PR's on the day. We also had 9 runners that beat their time from the Southlake meet last year even with last years course being a shorter course in distance.
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
What an awesome Saturday! Our girls ran lights OUT!! We were 3rd in every division — but keep in mind those placements are behind big 6A schools with great programs. (also, most of them don't race all 4 divisions like we do, so we spread our talent thinner than they do) With our full 7 (didn't race Bridget this week) we would have beaten Southlake — which is the #2 ranked 6A team. The girls continue to amaze me each week with their improvement and the way they compete when racing. We had Kennedy Johns break 20 minutes for the first time this week going 19:48! Campbell and Talia broke 19 for the first time! And several girls dipped under the 21 minute barrier for their first time — and YES it was a full 5K! Lily George and Emily James both had over 2 minute PR's, and our sprint group completed their first ever 5k (for many of them) and they were amazing! This will pay off for them when they hit the track as they will be leaps and bounds tougher than their competitors.
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Lovejoy took on some serious 6A competition at this morning's Southlake #1 XC Invite. Lots of spectators showed up in the dark to watch racing that started pre-dawn. This turned out to be a great preparation meet with District only 31 days away.
The weather was very cooperative. At 6 am, the temperature was a scant 70°F and actually cooled to 68°F by 7:15 am. The wind hovered around 8 mph gusting at times to 18 mph. Last year on August 26, 2024 the temperature as the meet started at 88°F and rose to about 95°F by the end of the meet. Quite a difference.
The race format was a little unusual with the Varsity Elite Boys kicking it off at almost exactly 6:50 am. The last of the Lovejoy runners finished at 7:07 am which was a minute before sunrise. So Lovejoy's full race was in pre-dawn light.
The competition was substantial (presumably why the Lovejoy coaches chose this meet) with several ranked teams — #1 ranked 6A Southlake Carroll, #7 ranked 6A Byron Nelson, #8 ranked 6A Waxahachie, Arkansas's #1 ranked Bentonville, and #4 ranked 5A Aledo. Lovejoy is still without Caden Gary, and Devin Muaina was on the sideline in a boot. Joey Reid (16th in 15:30.0) led for Lovejoy, but was immediately followed by an extremely tight scoring pack of Aaron Wimbish (18th in 15:36.5), Tyler Morefield (24th in 15:45.8), Will Carlson (30th in 15:52.0), and Tristan Arceneau (37th in 15:56.0). For good measure, Liam Dunleavy (41st in 15:59.3) was right on Tristan's heels, and gave Lovejoy 6 runners under 16 minutes.
While the Lovejoy guys finished 3rd, their results are quite solid for a few reasons. First and foremost, they had a 26.0-second 1-5 split time. That will win State for you. Second, the guys were running in pre-dawn light on an unfamiliar course. Third, there wasn't a 5A team anywhere near Lovejoy — this was mostly a meet for top 6A teams. And finally, this is first meet (other than the Time Trial?) for the boys top runners.
[results for Var Elite Boys]
The Varsity Elite Girls started two minutes after the boys, so the two races were run concurrently. Again, top 6A competition with Flower Mound (60 points) winning, Southlake Carroll (99 points) placing 2nd, and Lovejoy (111 points) taking 3rd. 5A Aledo (close with 124 points) bounced back this week and finished 4th. Only 3 girls in the race eclipsed the 18-minute mark indicating a slow course for the second week in a row.
Camryn Benson (5th overall in 18:02.1) was way out front for the Leopards. Then a 43.5-second gap before Sophie Brooks (17th in 18:45.6) led in the scoring pack: Campbell Lester (27th in 18:58.6), Talia Orshalick (29th in 18:59.9), Jocelyn Chapman (34th in 19:06.8), and Harper Jaynes (38th in 19:11.4).
While that's a solid 2-6 split time of 25.8 seconds, the gap with Camryn will hopefully tighten up. Bridget Bernal was out today accounting for part of the gap.
[results for Var Elite Girls]
The next tandem of races started with the Varsity Open Boys race. Lovejoy finished 4th to three ranked 6A teams. Joe O'Brien (9th in 16:40.7) and Arjun Sharma (11th in 16:48.0) battled up front with the the race's other top runners. And then Adam Morefield (24th in 17:08.1) and Adam Rogers (25th in 17:08.5) came in bang-bang setting up Carter Ewing (38th in 17:25.4) to close out the scoring. So a 37.4-second 1-5 split time — another example a great team running by the guys.
[results for Var Open Boys]
The Varsity Open Girls race went off two minutes after the guys. It was a crowded course today. The girls finished a very respectable 3rd (77 points) behind #3 ranked 6A Byron Nelson (43 points) running its #1 squad and #1 ranked 6A Flower Mound (65 points). Sofia Dominquez (19:13.2) absolutely starred finishing 1st overall with a 4.1-second cushion over the 2nd finisher. Madison Simpson (8th in 19:40.5) with a top-10 finish, Kennedy Johns (11th in 19:49.1), Lily Fogle (26th in 20:23.9), and Mia Binnings (31st in 20:30.2) completed the scoring.
[results for Var Open Girls]The JV Boys race really crowded the course with 422 runners and was joined two minutes later with 269 runners in the JV Girls race. So that's 691 runners out on the course at the same time. The Southlake coaches were apparently in a hurry to finish this meet quickly, and the races were all over by 8:30 am. Injuries (and absences?) to the Lovejoy boys left them short-handed with only 10 runners in their race. The girls had an 18-runner squad and finished 3rd with Rosslyn Vaughn (8th in 21:19.5) turning in a top-10 finish.
CLICK HERE for the meet photo album.
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
I couldn't be more proud of the way our girls ran on Saturday — it was probably the best our team has looked overall - ever. We had a lot of outstanding performances with many PR's and some dominating team scoring!
Our Elite Varsity finished 2nd behind Flower Mound — soundly beating both Highland Park and Aledo and showing Texas that we are still the team to beat in 5A! It was truly awesome to see the girls step up and be confident in their roles and racing!
Our Varsity Open ladies had a DOMINATING race finishing 1,4,5,9,13 for our top 5 and scoring only 27 points! Our JV Elite team was also 2nd behind 6A Flower Mound ... and we had some really big races here. And then the 2-mile group which consisted mostly of our sprint group — also took the win with 33 points! It was fun to see middle schooler, Bronwyn Vaughan in the mix with the girls, and we will look forward to having her at the HS in the future!
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Great start to the season! Our top boys group placed 5th overall in the Elite Varsity Boys division without some of our top runners entered.
Overall we had 19 career PR's on the day along with 8 runners completing their first every high school 5K race.
Some of the biggest improvements on the day (over 1 minute PR) were the following runners:
![Lovejoy's Boys Elite Varsity squad at the Marcus Coach T Invite [photo credit to Rick Murray]](./files/2024/photo_20240831_marcus-753149.jpg "Lovejoy's Boys Elite Varsity squad at the Marcus Coach T Invite [photo credit to Rick Murray]")
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
![Lovejoy reunion at OSU Cowboy Preview (left-to-right): Amy Morefield (Tulsa), Katie Armstrong (OSU), Kailey Littlefield (OSU), Peyton Benson (OU), Sara Morefield (Tulsa)[photo credit to Kate Morefield]](./files/2024/photo_20240830_cowboy_preview-0755.jpg "Lovejoy reunion at OSU Cowboy Preview (left-to-right): Amy Morefield (Tulsa), Katie Armstrong (OSU), Kailey Littlefield (OSU), Peyton Benson (OU), Sara Morefield (Tulsa) [photo credit to Kate Morefield]")
Photo credit for Kennedy and Rosslyn to Anna Frost!!!
The team really spoiled me again for my birthday ... I was overwhelmed with the sweetest cards and a framed collage they all had a part in. Mia Reaugh and I share a birthday, so we had "Birthday Queen" and "Birthday Princess" sashes! :)
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Lovejoy XC Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, September 14th. We need parent support to make this a success. This is our big event, and we need everyone on board to help. We will be hosting around 70 teams. It is one of the largest meets in Texas and the premier 5A meet (none better than Lovejoy's).
Every volunteer will have the opportunity to see their child run. Please sign up to volunteer for at least 1 shift.
We also would love some help setting up the course Friday, September 13th.
The annual LLI Golf Tournament is being held Monday, September 23rd at The Golf Club at Twin Creeks. There's a 1:30 pm shotgun start (check-in starts at 12:00 pm).
This is one of two big fundraisers for Lovejoy athletics in part benefiting the XC/Track booster club. Please consider participating in the tournament, and sign up your golfing friends.
CLICK HERE for the tournament information and registration/sponsorship links.
Lots of sponsorship opportunities are available ranging from $500 to $3,000.
Please join our Booster Club for the 2024-25 school year. The form and dues payment are available online at Cheddar Up.
Your booster club membership supports both the XC and Track & Field programs. Our goal is 100% family participation!
Different membership levels are available. Membership is per family. If you have athletes at both LHS and WSMS, you only need to join once at the High School level. Booster club members should be prepared to volunteer at one fall event and 3-6 hours in the spring. We need you.
Membership dues and donations enable the club to provide season celebrations for Willow and HS teams, senior scholarships, uniforms, meet equipment, meet hospitality and more.
Please contact the 2024-2025 VP of Memberships, Amelia Carlson (e: ameliacarlson@msn.com) if you have any questions.
We had a great start to our season at the Rock Hill Twilight! Despite the HOT early start and the LATE finish ... we had a lot of girls who raced really well. We finished 1st in the JV Open, JV Elite and Varsity Open, and we were Runner-Up to 6A Prosper in the Varsity Elite division. Most schools do not race all 4 divisions ... so it says a lot about our depth that we are able to spread our talent out and still dominate the competition!
We have this weekend off, and then we have 3 weekends of BIG racing with big competition. We will be seeing Aledo in the upcoming weeks, and they are looking very strong right now. It will be interesting to see where we stack up against them at this point — as I believe the State title will come down to the two of us. (with Highland Park and Colleyville Heritage in the mix as well).
CLICK HERE for the full results.
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
CLICK HERE for race results.
Drew Crum is this week's Boy Runner of the Week. Drew had a big time performance and improved his 2-mile time by 65 seconds compared to his time at the Time Trial!
The purpose of this meet was to gain racing experience and kick the rust off for the majority of our team. Overall team placement results did not reflect in this meet because we did not race our top 15 boys in this meet — and that is okay. Many of our younger runners seasons will end sooner — District meet, compared to the top boys on the state in which their seasons will extend further — State, NXN, NXR. Although I know we could have dominated and ran well at Rock Hill racing our top runners, I think it is more important to keep the big picture in mind and being patient so that we can better achieve our goals down the road.
As a reminder to parents, spectators, friends that come to watch. Please do not visit with your runners at the team camp area or start line before a race. This helps the runner focus on their race and team first. As discussed in the parent meeting, those areas are our "locker room" or "sideline" etc. Parents don't come to visit with their kid in the locker room or down on the sideline in other high school sports, so please help us adhere to those expectations.
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
William Gundy of Texas MileSplit has published articles on the fall 2024 top 5A XC teams and runners. Both the Lovejoy boys and girls are included, and there are spotlights on senior Caden Gary and junior Camryn Benson. Below are links to the articles.
A subscription may be required to read the articles.
All of Coach Kelly's comments/caveats about pre-season prognostications also apply here. But the articles are fun to read.
District is in 53 days.
The Cross Country Coaches Association released its Pre-Season poll on Friday 8.9.24. Both the boys and girls teams are currently ranked pre-season #1. Recognition is nice, but we have not stepped foot on a starting line yet. We have accomplished nothing as of yet this year. There is still a lot of work to be done and a long journey ahead.
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Every year the Lovejoy runners get faster at the Time Trial. Statistically. Lots of PRs and a welcome look at the 2024 edition of Lovejoy's harriers. Good weather: mid 70s at the start. And lots of alumni in attendance (Amy, Rohan, Andrew, Sara, Kailey, Peyton, Caroline, etc.).
This year the coaches divided their squads into groups which competed against each other for team bragging rights, and (in the girls' case) a trophy and medals. This is only the third time in team history that the coaches have arranged such an intra-squad scrimmage, which Coach Christensen referred to as a WWE Intra-squad Smackdown.
Coach Kelly divided the boys into 3 groups: black, white and red. The Reds took the win over the Blacks and the Whites by a score of 35-42-43. But no hardware. Joey Reid (1st overall in 9:39) was close to the all-time record for the guys. Tyler Morefield (4th in 9:52) set up the win. The Reds finished it off when their #3 thru #5 runners finished 9-10-11: JT, Devin, Arjun.
Six of the WSMS boys decided to get an early start to their season. A good thing since the middle school program runs concurrent with the high school program this fall (Lovejoy did concurrent seasons once before in 2006).
[results]
The girls were divided into 4 groups: Blazing Blue Baddies, Speedy Piggies, Sprinting Sprouts, and Bounding Barneys. The Blues won the trophy and got medals.
Cam took 1st as expected and finished 30+ seconds ahead of Campbell who came in 2nd. Running almost in tandem with a 9-second gap between them were Bridget, Cailee H., Harper, and Jocelyn. So five girls under 12 minutes with Jocelyn oh-so-close at 12:01. But last fall's top-5 averaged 11:32.2 while today that average jumped to 11:48.8 (a 16.6-second increase). Then again last fall Lovejoy's top-5 girls at State were an average of 29.6 seconds ahead of the next best team. In that context, today's numbers look quite promising. Depth, depth, depth.
The photography staff really appreciated the colorful and contrasting jerseys — much better for the camera than the historical black. Admittedly the girls resembled a basket of Easter eggs, but they looked great doing so.
Approximately 5 WSMS girls also ran with the high schoolers.
[results]
The 2023 season was special because of the double championship. Quite rare. But this season promises to be more interesting.
First, the girls team is coming off a State Championship three-peat. Unless you play volleyball, that's a very unique accomplishment at Lovejoy. But the core team that won those championships has mostly graduated. Coach Littlefield is fresh out of Morefield sisters, daughter Kailey is off to Oklahoma State, and we're down to one Benson sister (albeit an excellent Benson sister, but two Benson sisters are always better than one Benson sister). And Kate Carlson is gone — quite an ace in the hole. Ah, but there's returning depth. Bridget had a breakout season last fall. Campbell stayed healthy and added great finishing strength. Kaylee Martin and Harper should step up to fill needed Varsity roles. This looks to be a comeback season for Jocelyn. And you can add Sofia and/or Talia to the mix. Don't count out the freshman triumvirate of Dani, Madison and Kate who will be heard from by season's end. Maybe even senior Mia Reaugh (arguably the best overall athlete on the girls squad). And, yes, Rachel Wheeler and Dominique. And ... well ... this could go on for a while, but you get the point. How coach re-invents a Varsity squad between now and Region will be great fun to watch.
Second, the boys. Coach Kelly has been talking about the boys class of 2025 since they were 7th graders. No kidding. Well, now they're seniors. It's time. As expected, there will be injuries and other distractions. Caden, for example. Logan has to navigate a thin line to team victory: these boys know what to do and have been training toward it for five years, so a heavy hand is unnecessary; but coach still has to keep them healthy, focussed and on an edge. Quite the coaching challenge. Let's just say that the boys' prospects also look promising. Today the boys had seven runners under the 10-minute mark. In a typical State podium year, the guys only have five runners under the 10-minute mark. Winning with numbers.
If you are a parent (or know of a parent) who only shows up for the District race that your athlete competes in, this is the season to alter course. You'll want to come early and often to all meets and stay for all races. In the opinion of the photography staff, this will be Lovejoy's most interesting and watchable season ever. So please show up for as many competitions as possible. You won't regret it and the team will appreciate it. Spread the word.
CLICK HERE for the online photo album.
Thank you to all who attended the time trial and team breakfast on Saturday. Special thank you to our amazing booster club for helping host the breakfast. The runners had a great time at the team breakfast / pool party!
Overall the boys ran very well at the team time trial on Saturday. We had a lot of runners improve quite a bit compared to last year. You can see the results below. The chart below also includes past results so you can see improvements.
This year we had 7 boys under 10 minutes. Last year we had 4 boys under 10 minutes.
[results]
Logan Kelly
cell: 903-821-8399
The girls ran really well, and we are looking great right now! You can see the results below. I have also included the chart that has past results so you can see improvements. This was the most we've ever had under 13:00 minutes and under 14:00 minutes. We had 5 sub 12 today and 5 sub 12 last season. (but today was without Sophie, and she will be sub 12) We've got a lot of work to do ... but if we stay healthy and keep working hard ... it looks to be another great year for LOVEJOY XC AND TF!!!! (sprinters were also amazing today!!!!)
[results]
THE BLAZING BLUE BADDIES TAKE THE GOLD TODAY! They overcame the Speedy Piggies by 6 points!
STRONGER. FASTER. TOUGHER.
CHAMPION MINDSET.
FIGHT FOR 4!
Carly Littlefield
Lovejoy's Region and District alignment for fall 2024 has changed quite a bit. For starters, Lovejoy is now in Region II, District 9 (only one slot away from transferring to Region I).
And Anna has been added to our District (that's Coach Kelly's alma mater). Little Ol' Princeton has been bumped up to 6A.
Prosper Walnut Grove joins the District and brings some serious competition. Last fall their girls finished 7th at the 5A Region II Championships and their boys finished 14th. Great results for a school that only opened its doors last fall (2023).
Click HERE to see the official UIL Conference 5A district alignments.