Last year, the Parkway boys cross country team was the fastest in school history. Despite losing Gabriel Falting to graduation, the Panthers may be even better in 2024. They proved as much at their season opener at Mississippi College on Saturday.
Sophomore Brennan Robin, coming off of one of the best freshman seasons in LHSAA history, picked up where he left off by winning The Opener 5K on a wet Choctaw Trails course with a time of 15:40--and a school record.
But he wasn't the only Panther who left Clinton, MS with a record.
Junior Ember Pierce broke the meet record in the girls' 4K with a time of 16:06, almost a minute and a half faster than the next fastest competitor.
"I'm very proud of how our kids opened their season," Parkway head coach Kent Falting said. "We had some big goals for the first meet but as the week unfolded with the rain and the number of people entered in the meet, I thought that might have a mental impact."
But the mental training over the summer prepared the Panthers to handle situations like the one they faced on Saturday.
"Our kids have worked really hard training their minds just as much as their bodies these last few months and I think that showed," Falting said.
For Robin, the team win on Saturday was as much a highlight as his own personal accomplishments.
"Going into the race, my goal was definitely to win individually and also for the team to come out and get first place," Robin said. "The race felt great and I was surprised when I turned around a few times and didn't see anybody. Overall, I felt really good about how the team and I finished and we'll be ready for our next meet."
Robin was joined by four other Panthers in the top 11. The list included Ben Ruliffson (No. 4, 16:32), Jesus Cordova (No. 8, 16:46), Alex Gomez (No. 9, 16:46), and Andrew Kent (No. 11, 16:55).
Robin made a decision during his warm up to avoid the mud as much as possible. This caused him to take the conservative approach and go wide in the turns. Despite his efforts, Robin said that he almost fell a couple of times during the race.
Pierce went into Saturday's opener with the meet 4K record on her mind.
"The record was something me and my coach were looking to beat," Pierce said. "I was going into the race planning to get first and beat the record as much as I could. The course was very muddy from all the rain on Friday, so I think I slipped at least five times."
"Ember wanted to break the course record that had been set by Cheyenne Olson two years ago, and then it was broken by Claire Allen from Benton last year," Falting said "Ember took the lead early and never looked back while her teammates rallied behind her. Four girls got in the top ten, and I think the girls team learned that this team could do some special things this year."
Parkway girls who joined Pierce in the top 10 of the 4K race included Lauren Taylor (No. 3, 17:52), Kiara Jackson (No.4, 18:21), and Angela Espinoza (No. 8, 18:46).
Parkway wasn't the only North Louisiana team to cross the state line and have success.
BENTON HIGH SCHOOL
The Tigers went north and and competed at the Bob Gravett Invitational hosted by Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
"We started off the season with several strong performances from many of our runners," Benton head coach Bryson Matthews said. "Brody Hutchison, Claire Allen, and Dominique Coor continued to show their leadership on the team. Sophomore Dalton Bliss dropped over 2:00 minutes off his PR and is continuing to grow as a runner. Newcomer senior LA Zachary Taylor stood out with a top 15 performance. Ellie Allen and Maddox Cisneros stood out in their performances on the girls side with Top 20 performances. We are looking forward to continuing with that momentum throughout this season."
C.E. BYRD
The Yellow Jackets went west and competed at the UT-Tyler XC Opener in Tyler, Texas.
"I was proud of our teams' effort on Saturday on the challenging hills of East Texas as both teams placed second in the team divisions," C.E. Byrd head coach Juan Plaza said. "I was especially proud of the ones wearing the Byrd singlet for the first time. It's a rebuilding year with lots of new talent so we will push to improve each week."
Both boys and girls teams finished as the runner-up in their divisions.
The Lady Jackets placed five in the top 10. The team was led by Mallory Swint (No. 4, 22:41). Other top ten performances were turned in by Pressley Lockey (No.6, 23:10), Emmy Banker (No. 8, 23:39), Anna Lake Watts (No. 9, 24:10), and Aubree LaCroix (No. 10, 24:14).
The boys team, led by William Coburn (No. 2, 19:03), had three runners in the top ten. Joining Coburn in the top ten was Aaden Crow (No. 6, 19:32) and John Ferguson (No. 7, 19:33).
RUSTON
Ruston's boys and girls competed at the Little Rock XC Classic.
Dustin Cochran's boys placed four runners in the Top 15. The Bearcats were led by Ben Boudreaux and Al-Amin Wilson, who finished the 5K together at No. 5 and No. 6--both with a time of 16:52. Ruston's Taylor Huddleston finished right behind the Ruston's leading duo with a 16:57. Joshua Daulton finished No. 15 with a time of 17:10.
The Ruston boys scored 57 points, 40 points better than runner-up Bryant High School.
Ruston's girls team was equally impressive, placing four runners in the top 13. The Lady Bearcats were led by junior Hallie Hebert, who finished No. 2 with a time of 20:06. Other notable performances were turned in by freshman Eden Dawsey (No. 5, 20:18), Parker Nations (No. 11, 20:40), and Sydney Owens (No. 13, 20:47).