Plano East senior Meena Mulford placed second at the District 7-6A cross country meet with a time of 19:30. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
Plano East head cross country coach Robert Reed felt the Panthers were as prepared as any team heading into the District 7-6A meet.
While some teams competed on flatter courses, Plano East wasn’t focused on chasing faster times. Reed believes that approach can create a false sense of confidence. Instead, the Panthers competed at venues that better prepared them for the hills of Myers Park in McKinney.
In fact, the District 7-6A meet marked Plano East’s second appearance at Myers Park this season. The Panthers previously competed against a much larger field at the McKinney Boyd Bronco Stampede on Sept. 12.
Plano East also raced on similar courses at Hoblitzelle Park in Plano, Pecan Grove Park in Sherman and Oklahoma State University.
That preparation paid off in a big way last week.
Plano East returned to Myers Park and captured its second consecutive district title in the girls’ division while finishing second in the boys’ race. It marked the first time since 2017 that Plano East qualified both its boys’ and girls’ teams for regionals in the same season.
“We were really prepared,” Reed said. “When the day is hot and the footing is tough, it’s about who has a tougher mentality. We did a good job of that. We have run on four of the toughest courses, other than Lubbock. I was trying to get the kids to understand that you can run faster later in the season, but it was about getting ready for district.”
Having conquered the district meet, the Panthers hope their experience on hilly courses will help them tackle another challenging venue: Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock, site of next Monday morning’s Region I-6A meet.
If Plano East competed in a different region, the Panthers might have had a state qualifier last year. Despite finishing 21st at regionals with a time faster than those of several state qualifiers in other regions, alumnus Reagan Noel fell eight seconds short of earning a berth at the state meet.
Noel has since graduated, but other Panthers have the potential to contend for a state berth.
Senior Meena Mulford ran a personal-best 19:20 at last year’s regional meet and has improved on that mark this season. She clocked a personal-best 19:02 at the Coach Marcus T Invite on Sept. 5 before finishing second at the District 7-6A meet in 19:30.
The Lady Panthers also have depth behind Mulford. Junior Sophia Nguyen placed sixth at districts, while senior Brooke Tierney finished seventh. Juniors Louisa Christensen and Reagan Diggs placed 16th and 18th, respectively, while senior Kate Salyer finished 17th and freshman Taylor Chu placed 26th.
On the boys’ side, Reed has praised the consistency of senior Isaac Updike, who earned All-District 7-6A first-team recognition after placing seventh.
Sophomore Levi Rowe qualified for regionals for the second consecutive year. After a slow start to the season, Rowe made significant progress over the past month, capped by a 12th-place finish at districts.
Sophomore Alex Castillo is peaking at the right time, while junior Trinabh Madadi, senior Michael Sharp and sophomore Grant Updike played key roles in helping the Panthers finish second in the district.
Plano East was without its No. 2 runner, senior Deyan Bhakta, at districts because of a hip injury. Reed is hopeful Bhakta can return for regionals.
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