Lady Cardinals wins fifth consecutive title

The Shiner St. Paul Lady Cardinals won their fifth consecutive cross-country state title after taking home the TAPPS 2A championship earlier this week.

St. Paul’s top five racers finished in the top 14, with the sixth runner finishing 16th and their seventh runner finishing 26th, as the Lady Cardinals scored 49 total points, outscoring Waco Live Oak Classical School who took second at 74.

The biggest key was St. Paul’s sixth runner besting Waco Live Oak’s third runner. Only 35 seconds separated Riley Johnson, who placed eighth, and Paige Brown, who placed 16th.

Johnson finished at a time of 13:52.20. Danni Blair took ninth at 13:52.30, Bailey Blair finished 10th at 13:53.00, Macy Grabarkavietz took 13th with a time of 14:08.40, Brooke Pesek placed 14th at 14:16.20, Paige Brown took 16th at 14:27.90 and Hope Kapavik finished 26th at 15:03.60.

The St. Paul boys’ team took second place for the second year in a row, scoring 84 points and losing out to Lubbock Southcrest Christian School.

Leading the way for the boys was Lane Jackson who took fifth at 18:12.30. Walker Jackson took eighth with a time of 18:20.40, Cade Davis placed 13th at 19:03.10, Jacob Darilek took 27th at 20:33.70, Dalton Jahn placed 43rd at 21:35.60, Andrew Wagner finished 48th with a time of 21:49.60 and Sam Benes placed 55th with a time of 22:04.50.

“These kids deserve a lot of recognition for their hard work and accomplishments,” St. Paul Head Coach Dana Beal-Sestak said of both teams.