WICHITA FALLS - How Wylie will fare at Friday’s district cross country meet here at Lucy Park is unknown to coach Jody Harvey.

And that’s a good thing.

His boys and girls teams have had a nice fall, showing improvement throughout the season. Instead of one or two runners doing well, both teams have had good finishes.

Now it’s time to finish the race.

Wylie takes on the two Abilene ISD schools and the two from Wichita Falls.

On the boys’ side, Wylie has a good chance to win a district title.

The girls have a harder chore, facing a deep Abilene High team and a Cooper team with three strong runners.

The bottom line this year is that Wylie will be competitive and, well, anything could happen. WHS should qualify a number of runners for the Region I meet in Lubbock.

“We have a good opportunity in front of us,” Harvey said. “Both boys and girls, and both teamwise and individuals.

“On the boys’ side, we have a great opportunity to win district. Our teams have to go out now and earn those positions but there is opportunity to grasp.”

The top three teams advance to the next round.

The boys have traded off top finishers. The upside of that is that at least three runners - Elijah Davis, Luke Cardenas, and Tucker Balliew - are capable of leading the way; the downside has been that Harvey has been waiting for his team to shine on the same day.

The district meet could be the time.

“Some of that is people not having great races but I think we’re coming to the point where we can put together five guys having a good race,” Harvey said. “I have multiple kids who can pick up the slack if someone is not having their best day.”

In their final meet before district, it was Davis who took seventh overall.

“He ran really, really well on a tough course” at Fort Worth Brewer’s invitational, Harvey said

“If he can continue that, he has a great opportunity to come in first and be the district champion. And that would be awesome.”

Harvey, in his seventh season as XC coach at Wylie, never has had an individual champ, boys or girls.

The district course is mostly flat and fast. It was a bit short of 5,000 meters and to lengthen it, a downhill-uphill section was added at about halfway in the loop. The runners traverse the course twice, meaning the grade change will be there twice.

Harvey will be watching his stopwatch, of course, but he said placing is paramount. He wants to eliminate lagging finishes on both sides. The boys have been better with that this year.

“Not that I don’t want the kids to run fast times. They will,” he said.

The seven boys varsity runners are three already mentioned, along with Landon Hicks, Chance Robinson, Gray Schilz, and Alejandro Barajas.

For the girls, Amari Dudley, Layla Dambacker, and varsity newcomer Allisy”n Schulle, who was impressive as a JV runner earlier in the season, are top10 hopefuls. The others on the varsity squad this week are Mya Fierro, Emma Henao, Lillea Schout, and Evelyn Odom.

The runners to beat are 2025 state qualifier Aubrey Duran of Abilene High and Cooper freshman Mia Garcia, who has broken school records her first year.

Cooper is the defending girls champion but AHS has the depth this year.

“Abilene High kind of beats you by committee,” Harvey said.

Wylie counters with Dudley, who has been a top-five meet finisher most of the season. She is a sophomore.

“We can make a run at them if we have a good day,” Harvey said. “It’s not necessarily your 1-2-3, it’s your fourth or fifth kid. That’s what has helped us in the boys - 1 through 5, we haven’t had that big of a disparity.”

With only 35 runners on the course Thursday, anything can happen.

And that’s what Harvey is hoping for.

WYLIE WANTS TO CREATE A HULLA-BALLIEW

A constant on the boys team is Balliew, a sophomore.

“Tucker is a quiet, work-hard kid. He doesn’t make a big fuss, he doesn’t complain. He just shows up and takes care of business,” Harvey said.

Balliew was the Bulldogs’ top runner as a freshman and finished third at the district meet.

This year, other runners have emerged. It’s not that Balliew has fallen off, it’s that his teammates have improved to join him at the head of the pack, his coach said.

“He’s still the one our kids look to as our leader.”

Balliew said the team is ready to run.

“If we are all consistent in what we do, we ought to do pretty good,” he said.

He is not put off by his teammates’ improvement.

“I am glad they are all doing a lot better,” he said.

Like most teams, emphasis is placed on the start. Runners cannot afford to be left behind as the race begins.

“You go out fast that first mile, usually too fast,” he said, grinning. “The second mile, we try to settle in and the third mile is just whatever you have left. Pass as many people as you can.”

Personally, he enjoys setting his sights on the runner ahead, passing him, and then going after another competitor.

“One by one, you just lock on people,” he said. It’s like racing cars, he said; the thrill is in the pass.

“Kinda weaving through is fun,” Balliew said.

As far back as he can remember, the sophomore has enjoyed running. His dad says that on the golf course, little Tucker would run instead of riding in a cart.

“He was like, ‘Hey, you should do cross country’ and I said ‘OK, I’ll try it,’” Balliew recalled.

What does he think about? On practice runs, it could be anything. In the summer, on an early run to avoid the heat, it’s about getting back to bed and enjoying the AC.

Not thinking about the run helps him, he said. Balliew enjoys hunting and fishing, so just being outdoors for a run is enjoyable.

Balliew said Wylie did OK on the Lucy Park course previously “but I think we can do better.”

If Wylie can run as a pack, that's great, but Balliew said it probably will come to each athlete running his own race.

Balliew ran a 16:47 last year at district on a course that was a bit shorter than a 5K.

He wants to finish in the top 10, at least, and also lower his time.

“Low 17s, high 16s would be good for me,” he said.

He is the only long distance runner in his family, he said.

Balliew is learning how to wakeboard when he’s not running.

Applying that to cross country, he hopes his team will ride a wave of Wylie success at the district meet.