Wylie High School is enjoying a banner fall sports season, and the cross country team is no exception.

Both the boys and girls teams earned the right to run Tuesday at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock. The Class 5A girls will run their 5,000-meter Region I race at 9 a.m., followed by the boys at 9:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs boys were second to Abilene High and the girls were third behind Abilene High and Cooper to qualify.

River Brock of AHS was first to the finish in 16:42.49. The first Wylie runner to come in was Elijah Davis, fifth in 16:58.10.

Wylie had four runners in the top 10 - Luke Cardenas, sixth (17:06.24), Tucker Balliew, seventh (17:08.28), and Chance Robinson, 10th (17:26.94).

Landon Hicks completed the Bulldogs’ fivesome in 15th place (17:50.88).

The Bulldogs had all five runners compete within 1:08 of first place, signaling the program is edging toward having a first-place team and a gold-medal runner.

“We’re close to that,” Harvey said. “Especially on the boys’ side. “I felt good that we had an opportunity this year, and I feel really good about next year.”

Not looking ahead too far but the boys team should stay pretty intact.

Abilene High’s first five runners were in the top 11. That is the measuring stick.

The meet was at Lucy Park in Wichita Falls, and “it was our first cool meet of the year,” Harvey said. “All five of my boys scoring runners PR’d, and four of my five girls scoring runners PR’d, so I can’t ask for any more than them running the best that they can.

“I am really proud of how we competed across the board and where we are going.”

Where Wylie is going first is 150 miles northwest to Lubbock and to a familiar course. Wylie did not run the Mae Simmons course this year but it is familiar to most of the student athletes.

Cooper went 1-2 in the district girls race, with freshman Mia Garcia (18:35.91) outrunning teammate Lila Murillo (18:54.45).

Abilene High’s 2025 state qualifier Aubrey Duran was third (19:10.51).

The first Wylie runner in was Amari Dudley in fourth (19:26.14).

Freshman Allyson Schulle, brought up to the varsity during the season, was a top-10 finisher at No. 10 (20:39.39).

Wylie runners averaged 20:57, or a minute more combined than AHS, which traditionally fields a strong team. Coach Jody Harvey’s team is working toward making up that deficit.

“They have some really good runners, so that was going to hard to overcome,” Harvey said of the girls’ competition. “But we ran well.”

SENIOR 'SO LONG!'

One Wylie runner who is competing for the last time is senior Mya Fierro.

She was 12th at the district meet in 21:05.30 and is completing her fourth cross country season.

Last fall, Fierro ran a 22:51.30 over the Mae Simmons course to come in No. 116 out of 177 runners.

Wylie was led by returnee Amari Dudley, who was 73rd in 21:36.20.

Fierro already is feeling the emotion of the likely end of her WHS running days. She has competed in track and field but does not expect to this spring.

“If you had asked my eighth-grade self if I would miss cross country, I would’ve said no,” she said, laughing. “Never in a million years.

“But after coming to high school and running, I’ve come to love it. Loving the process of it. I never thought I’d say that. All the opportunities that I’ve had.”

She paused.

“It’s kinda sad and a little scary,” she added.

This will be her third regional meet, two with her team and once as an individual.

Fierro was honest about meeting up again with Mae.

“It’s definitely one of my least favorite (courses),” she said. She cited the unpredictable weather and that there are - believe or not in Lubbock - hills on the course.

“And there are so many people around you,” she said, admitting she prefers running by herself and enjoying her own thoughts.

She has had to learn to pace herself. Fast, but not exhaustingly fast, at the start.

“I can feel myself going fast, but it’s something I can maintain,” Fierro said. If her competitors fly off, “you have to tune them out and focus on how you’re doing.”

They will slow and if a trailing runner who is not too far behind has energy, she can move up.

Why does Mya Fierro run?

“It gives me a purpose. I am not super athletic but, it’s hard to explain, I feel like I belong,” she said. “You don’t have to be the fastest runner on the cross country team, but I still feel like I belong there.”

Fierro said she has tried to set an example for the runners who will be back. That has meant putting in the mileage in the summer, when improvement can take place.

“If you put in that work, you’ll definitely see those results,” Fierro said. “I tell them not to compare themselves to other runners because everyone progresses differently. Your training, just focus on yourself.”

There will be bad races, she said. The training may not sho w up one race, but it’s there for the season.

“I have had seasons where I have not run my best,” Fierro said. “But then I’lll come back and I’m a way different runner.”

Looking ahead, she hopes to continue to run, though not competitively.

“I’ve done it for this long,” she said, laughing again. “It’s a peaceful thing, so I hope I can use it as a stress reliever.”

Fierro also works at Kohl's but doesn’t find that running makes her life more hectic.

“It’s a reward for me,” she said.

What will it be like when she crosses the finish line Tuesday?

“I actually might cry,” Fierro said. “I’ve been doing this for years of my life and I’ve seen people come and go. Coach Harvey has been such an influential person. I am so grateful.

“I think I’m going to miss it so much.”

WHAT CAN WYLIE ACHIEVE?

Wylie most likely will not get a team to the state cross country meet, and likely not an individual. So what does Harvey want to get out of the regional meet this week?

“The biggest thing is handling the pressure and the chaos of a regional meet. We line up the width of a football field and there are 180-200 kids running,” he said. It’s a funnel as the runners race for position before going up an incline.

“If you don’t get into very good position at the start, you’re stuck until you get to the other side of the course where it spreads out a little bit,” Harvey said.

“Box” assignments are random, so Wylie won’t know until race day where its runners will line up. The ideal position is on the north edge of the line where there is more room to maneuver, he said. The south end is against a fence and the middle runners could get flanked and boxed in.

That is where the pressure comes in.

Pressure and chaos are the challenges, with weather sometimes a factor. It won’t be this year, with a South Plains high temperature of 72 and the wind 12 mph from the south.

It should be a nice morning to run 5,000 meters.

“What I’d like is to see solid times on a pretty hard course. That’s what I’m shooting for right now,” Harvey said. “Get some confidence because I believe we have a couple of kids next year and the years after that who maybe have a chance to qualify for the state meet.”