This morning in Bandera TX the Baron's Cross Country Program kicked off its season running in a 4-mile 2-person relay race, that pitted them with some 3A UIL programs from the Hill Country including host Bandera, Ingram, Marion, George West, and local 2A UIL Medina and the YMLA Charter school. With only a Boys and Girls Varsity Division the Barons entered five teams in boys' varsity that had over 20 teams in the competition and two varsity girls' teams that also had over 15 teams in the race. Both races consisted of one partner running the 1st and 3rd leg and the other running the 2nd and 4th leg of the race. Awards were presented to the top five teams in each race.

In the Varsity Girls the team of Katheryn T. and Ellie S, got off to a strong start and never looked back as they won in a combined time of 24:34 taking first place by over 10 seconds. The second SMH team of Rachel Z. and Lela T. also had an excellent showing, just missing a medal by a couple of seconds taking 6th place in an impressive time of 26:18.

The Varsity Boys produced three teams finishing in the top 5! The team of Joe L. and JC Y. literally ran away with the championship in the fourth leg as they won by over 40 yards taking the win in a combined time of 20:13. Close behind them was another Baron team in 3rd place as Colston B. and Veeraj B. finished in an equally impressive performance time of 21:24. But the team was not done medaling yet as William B. and Park Higdon fought hard to grab the 5th place medals running the course in a time of 22:59. Next to finish right behind them in 6th place was the team of Cypress R. and Jack W. in a time of 23:23 and rounding out the day was the boys was William K. and Ethan T. in a time of 27:13 good enough for 13th place.

Kicking off the event was the Varsity Girls' race where Ellie S. took an early lead and managed to hold on to if for the entire two miles to cross the finish line in an impressive time of 12:27.03 to secure first place. Rachel Z. was the next Lady Baron to finish in 5th place also pulling down a medal in a time of 13:43.40 and the third and final Baron in the race was Lela T. who finished in 12th place securing herself a medal in 15:08.01.

The Varity Boys race was next with nearly 60 on the start line and a very fast field of athletes, leading the way for the Baron's was JC Y. taking 10th place overall in an impressive time of 11:41.76, not far behind was a pack of three led by Park H. coming in at 11:55.16 for 12th place and then in 13th Colston B. 11:58.23 and finally Veeraj B. in at 12:03.54 taking 15th place all of them captured individual medals.

The remaining eight male Baron's came across the line as follows:

Gus M. 21st place 12:52.61

William B. 24th place 13:03.20

Harry X. 26th place 13:09.57

Jack W. 30th place 13:26.63

Sebastian B. 31st place 13:35.22

William K. 32nd place 13:41.36

Wylie M. 45th place 15:09.39

Asher C. 49th place 15:54.90

Ethan T. 53rd place 17:08.55

The Baron's went up to Lockhart Texas on Friday morning to join over 800 athletes at the 37th Annual Hippensteel Open Cross-Country Meet held at the Lockhart City Park. The morning kicked off with the Varsity Girls 4A-below race that had nearly 90 girls on the start line from school all over the Austin and San Antonio area with ours's being one of the very few private schools in the competition. Ellie S. '28 once again kicked off the day with bagging the first award medal for the Baron's; Ellie finished the over 2-mile course in just 13:3.28 taking 9th place in the very stiff competition at the front of this race, her time would have given her 8th place in the Varsity Girls 5A-6A Division! The next Lady Baron to cross the finish line was Meri R. '27 running her first race of the year and taking 29th place in a time of 14:54.60; right beside her was another Baron Rachel Z. '28 in a time of 14:54.90 taking 30th. Wrapping up the day for the Lady Baron's was Lela T.'28 in 62nd place who finished in a time of 16:11.28.

In a slightly bigger Varsity Boys 4A-below division JC Y.'25 slowly worked his way to the top of the field as he crossed the finish line in 10th place overall running the race in an outstanding time of 11:57.25. The rest of the Varsity Baron's all demonstrated just how strong this team is by all finishing within 1:25 seconds of each other, Colston B.'27 captured himself a medal for 19th place at 12:18.40 and then Park H. '28 crossed the line in 21st place at 12:24 then came in Verraj B.'28 at 12:47, then the last of the varsity squad Cy R.'25 secured 44th place in a time of 13:23.

In the Boys Junior Varsity race that included all levels of competition and nearly 200 competitors Gus M.' 28 was the first Baron to finish and secured himself a medal in a time of 13:21.90 taking 19th place overall! Three other Barons were within a minute behind him with Sebastian B.'27 finishing 54th in a time of 14:23; William K.'28 in 61st place at 14:29, and Jack W. '26 in 67th place at 14:38. The next three to cross the finish line, helping make it a memorable day were three newer team members Asher C.'27 in 135th place at 16:24, Wiley M. '27 in 137th at 16:40 and Ethan T.'27 finishing in 168th at 19:17 all performed well.

This morning the Baron's Cross Country team recorded their first team and individual wins of the season in the Ingram Tom Moore Invitational Cross Country Meet at Tom Moore High School! Taking on 14 different schools in competition, most of which were UIL programs from across the Hill Country, it did not discourage this already seasoned team in their fourth public school meet of the season from taking an early lead off the start line and holding on to it until the final competitor crosses the finish line.

In the Varsity Girls competition, the Lady Barons were once again running for individual recognition instead of team placing as the top 15 would get medals in the field that had just under 60 girls in it. Ellie S. '28 once again set the tone for the day as she went right to the head of the field in this race that was probably the most challenging 2-mile course so far of the season. When she finally turned on the track toward the finish line, she was in 2nd place and held that position to the end crossing in 12:34 which was an outstanding time for this course. Rachel Z. '28 was the next Baron to finish in 10th place recording a new personal best time of 13:26 and Meri R. '27 was also able to secure herself a medal as she crossed in 15th place in a time of 13:54. Lela T. '28 was the final Baron in the field finishing in 20th place in an excellent time of 14:32.

The Varsity Boys race was next as seven of Saint Mary's Hall best lined up with over 60 other runners and were able and ready to record a team score against seven other scoring schools. After the race was over and the scores reported, the Baron's had their first team win of the season done in convincing fashion with all of their top five runners placing in the top 10! Joe L. '25 was the first Baron to finish and also won the race coming in first overall .in a time of 17:14; Park H. '28 was not far behind placing 3rd overall in a time of 17:26, JC Y. '25 came in a time of 17:40 medaling for 6th place and finally wrapping up the scoring were Colston B. '27 and Veeraj B. '28 taking 9th and 10th place respectively in times of 17:47.70 and 17:47.80. Completing the Varity Boys performance was Harry X. '26 who finished in 35th place in a time of 19:55 and then Gus M. '28 in 41st in a time of 20:35. The Baron's also had two competitors in the Junior Varsity race that had over 30 competitor's, both were able to secure medals as William K. '28 was 2nd place overall in a time of 20:16 and Jack W. '26 was 5th place also taking a medal home in a time of 21.07. Putting a perfect finish on a great day for the XC teams!

6th/7th Girls:

Ella W. - 1st - 14:27

Frankie S. - 6th - 15:05

Katelyn W.- 8th - 15:25

Katie S.- 23rd - 17:08

6th/7th Boys:

Byrd H. - 10th - 14:09

William K, - 12th - 14:14

Henry P. - 29th - 16:38

Drew T. - 40th - 20:31

Elias R. - 42nd - 20:45

8th Girls:

Emma M. - 2nd - 13:34

Payton W. - 3rd - 14:10

Brielle B. - 9th - 15:42

8th Grade Boys:

Augie C. - 1st - 11:02

Adam R. - 15th - 14:06

Outstanding performances by all of our student-athletes!

6th/7th Girls Race:

Frankie S. - 16:15 - 8th Place

Katelyn W. - 16:19 - 10th Place

Ella W. - 16:59 - 14th Place

Katie S. - 18:54 - 25th Place

Erinora A. - 21:11 - 36th Place

*** 6th/7th Girls Team - 4th Place Overall

7th Boys Race:

Byrd H. - 15:12 - 11th Place

Vasilios A. - 15:15 - 12th Place

William K. - 16:03 - 18th Place

Henry P. - 21:45 - 44th Place

Drew T. - 24:36 - 46th Place

*** 7th Boys Team - 6th Place Overall

8th Girls Race:

Emma M. - 13:56 - 3rd Place

Payton W. - 14:19 - 4th Place

Brielle B. - 18:36 - 44th Place

8th Grade Boys Race:

Augie C. - 11:30 - 1st Place

Adam R. - 14:26 - 18th Place

Varsity Boys Team - 7th. Joe L. 31st - 17:45, JC Y. 37thm- 18:12, Colston B. 44th - 18:33. JV Boys - Park H. and Veeraj B. 52nd and 53rd - 18:53, Gus M. 81st - 21:11, Harry X. 89th - 20:39, William K. 95th - 21:19, Jack W. 96th - 21:28.

Varsity Girls Team - 5th place. Ellie S. 4th place - 11:59 (PB) Rachel Z. 21st - 13:08 (PB), Kathryn T. 38th - 13:41, Meri R. 39th - 13:41

JV Girls - Lela T. 40th place overall in a time of 14:29.

6th/7th Girls - Frankie S. - 26th, Ella W. - 31st, Katelyn W - 36th, Erinora A. - 95th

7th Boys - Vasilios A. - 50th,

Byrd H. - 53rd, William K. - 68th, Henry P. - 73rd, Drew T. - 123rd, Elias R. - 125th

8th Girls - Emma M. - 7th, Payton W. - 9th

8th Boys - Augie C. - 1st, Adam R. - 13:31 - 48th

Laurence W. 77

Lorenzo R. 131

The Baron's only had a handful of runners today with just three in Varsity Girls, five in Varsity Boys, and three JV Boys running in their respective races. There were over 90 competitors on the line in each of the Varsity races and nearly 80 in the JV Boy's race.

Ellie S.'28 led the way once again and medaled by placing in the top 10 taking 2nd overall in a time of 12:37 - a great time on this challenging course. Rachel Z. '28 certainly set another personal record by running the race in the low 13:15 and taking ninth overall to also medal in that race. Lela T. '28 wrapped up the field for the Lady Baron's placing in the top 30 finishers at 28th place.

In the Varsity Boys field they were led by Park H. '28 who ran a solid race and finished in 18:54 good enough to finish in 28th place and Veeraj B. '28 finished close behind him in 33rd placing running the course in 18:58; Colston B. '27 came across the finish line in 35th place running it in 19:15 and then wrapping up the field of five was Gus M. '28 in 44th at 20:30 and Harry X. '26 finishing in 20:34 securing the 45th place spot.

In the JV race, leading the pack of Baron's was William K. '28 who finished the race in 21:07 and secured 11th place and right behind him in 12th place was Jack W. ' 26 who ran a 21:08. Wrapping up the field for the Baron's was Wylie M. '27 who ran his first 5K in 28:44 coming in at 56th place.

6th Grade Girls Race:

Frankie S.- 15:51 - 6th Place

Katie S.- 18:32 - 19th Place

Erinora A. - 20:20 - 31st Place

7th Grade Boys Race:

Vasilios A. - 14:27 - 22nd Place

Byrd H. - 15:05 - 36th Place

William K. - 16:03 - 43rd Place

Henry P. - 16:13 - 48th Place

Elias R.- 20:01 - 59th Place

Drew T.- 20:49 - 62nd Place

**** 7th Grade Boys Team placed 3rd Overall ****

7th/8th Grade Girls Race:

Emma M.- 13:35 - 10th Place

Payton W. - 14:07 - 14th Place

Ella W. - 15:35 - 31st Place

Brielle B.- 16:12 - 40th Place

8th Grade Boys Race:

Augie C. - 10:59 - 2nd Place

Adam R.- 13:42 - 27th Place

Marcello T.- 16:14 - 57th Place

SMH vs St. Andrew's 0 -1

SMH vs St. Stephen's 1-1

W 2-1 -0 (4 -0, 2-2, 6-2)

Gold Girls

Frankie S. - 14:13 - 17th Place

Katelyn W. - 14:57 - 27th Place

Gold Boys

Vasilios A. - 14:07 - 48th Place

Byrd H. - 14:39 - 63rd Place

Henry P.- 14:45 - 65th Place

Starting the day off was the District Girls Championship race at 9:00AM when SMH's own Ellie S.' 28 took the lead almost from the gun right to the finish line of this little over 2-mile course to take the District Champion first place medal and being the first All-District for the Baron's today; following behind her was Rachel Z. ' 28 who took 8th place, right behind her Meri R. '27 in 9th place and then Lela T. in 10th wrapping the All-District honors with four Baron's in the top 10; Kathryn T. '26 was the final Baron to cross the finish line in 11th place which declared these ladies as the first ever SMH team to win a TAPPS Cross Country District Championship scoring on 32 points and being over 20 points ahead of second place team Providence.

Next on the start line was the Varsity Boys race where the Baron's faced off with last year's TAPPS State Champion runners-up SACS, who seems to be an even stronger program this year, as they set out to prevent a SACS sweep and secure second place overall. And that is exactly what they did with Park H. '28 taking 7th place overall for All-District honors and Colston B. '27 also being declared an All-District recipient taking 8th in there 3-mile race. Closely behind them was the rest of the Baron top five with Veeraj B. ' 28 in 11th Joe L. '25 in 12th and JC Y. '25 in 15th and that was good enough to secure the runner-up trophy. Also running in that race were Harry X. '26, and Gus M. ' 28.

The Junior Varsity race concluded the Baron's day of racing as three of them took top 10finishes with William K. '28 taking 4th, William B. ' 27 taking 5th , and Jack W. '26 taking 10th place overall. The rest of the Baron runners in that race were Asher C. ' 27, Wiley M. ' 27, and Ethan T. ' 27.

Karan G. 71- 2nd place

Laurence W. 75 - 3rd place

Lorenzo R. 127

F

F

Laurence W. 84

Lorenzo R. 123

L 18-35

L20-22

W 22-9

Gracie J. 117

Monday afternoon set the stage for the greatest results ever recorded overall for the Baron's in TAPPS Cross Country State Championship Meet as our Lady Baron's recorded a first ever top 10 finish locking in 6th place overall and our Varsity Boys' team recording a 5th place finish with the lowest points ever scored by a Baron team in this event at 213. The course that they ran on Monday is the same one the Big 12 races on when Baylor University hosts the championship race and is unquestionably the most challenging course of the year for both of our teams.

In the first race of the day our Varsity Girls team took to the start line of their 2-mile race that had 178 finishers from 35 schools and 26 scoring teams to take 6th place overall with just a five-member team. They were led once again by Ellie S. '28 who was able to cross the finish line in 18th place at 13:43 she was followed by Kathryn T. '26 in 36th in 14:28 and the rest of the Lady Baron's were not far behind as Rachel Z. ' 28 finished in 14:47 taking 44th place, Meri R. '27 and Lela T. '28 came across in 15:11 and 15:12 for 64th and 66th place.

About an hour later the Baron's took to the start line again as our Boy's State championship 5K race that had 181 finishers and 34 teams with 26 scoring. When it was all over, they tied their best overall performance taking a 5th place finish as they were led by Park H. '28 at 18:57, and Veeraj B. ' 28 in 33rd at 19:08; next wave to finish was JC Y. '25 at 19:22 taking 38th place, and Joe L. ' 25 in 52nd place at 19:42. Wrapping up the top five was Colston B. ' 27 at 63rd place in 20:09 and then the tie breakers pushed through to the finish in 89th place Harry X '26 at 21:08 and Gus M. in 121st at 22:22.

Please congratulate them on their successful season and wish those whose who are gearing up for the Nike Cross Country Regional in The Woodlands next month their very best as the race against school from five different states.