Junior Nina Trim is also competing in her rookie season for the cross country team. She is the daughter of Blake and Amanda Trim. She has three siblings, Cassidy, Marley, and Blakely. Even though this is Nina’s first year to run cross country, she has run distance races in track for the past two seasons. She is also involved in UIL academics, and she is an athletic trainer during football season. She enjoys attending church, painting, and sleeping in her free time. I can relate to the sleeping part! If there was a zombie apocalypse teammate Cooper Tucker would be on her team. Nina writes, “Cooper isn’t annoying like the other boys and unlike Ally and Sophie, we wouldn’t die quickly from being loud and laughing too much.” Nina describes herself as a good listener, hard worker, and sometimes chatty. I would agree. Nina has worked hard to adjust to the demands of running distance. She always has a positive attitude with a sweet smile to share with others. If she could have one conversation with anyone she would choose her great grandmother, Maw maw. She would want to share one more conversation with her to chat about school and how much she loves her. The friendships and the flavor ice are the two things she likes the most about cross country. I am glad Nina approached me last spring, after encouragement from her teammates, about overcoming her “fear” of cross country. She is a great addition to the program. She also gives the girls more leverage against all the boys.

This week I would like to introduce you to freshman Phoenix Turner. Phoenix is new to White Oak this year. He is also the cousin of junior cross country runner Nathan Watson. He is the son of Lincoln and Erin Turner and big brother to August, Aniston, and Mary-Michael. Phoenix enjoys playing soccer and volunteering at Grace Creek church when he isn’t running or at school. He plans to run track in the spring for White Oak. One of the things Phoenix likes most about cross country is the long term investment. He writes, “I like competing against other people and making investments that I don’t immediately see the reward from.” I would describe Phoenix as hard working, helpful, and responsible. He always extends a helping hand and leads by example. If he was stranded on an island by himself he would bring ten five gallon water jugs, a tent, and a fire starter. He also has a very practical mindset. His cousin Nathan would be the teammate of choice if a zombie apocalypse occurred. He writes, “Nathan has a lot of physical strength and problem-solving capabilities.” Phoenix has been a great addition to the Cross Country program. I have enjoyed getting to know him and watching him progress as a person and runner. There are bright things ahead for this young person.

Under cloudy skies the Roughnecks and Ladynecks took to the fields at Whitehouse High School for the Willie Wildcat Classic, and turned out great individual and team performances. The varsity boys started off the morning lead by sophomore Cooper Tucker 13th pace finish in 18:46. Tucker was followed by Logan Langewisch, 14th, 19:16, and Isaak Olvera, 15th, 19:18. Luke Bueno, 20:21, and Nathan Stringer, 20:24 rounded out the team scoring in 30th and 31st place. Nathan Watson returned to action placing 47th in 21:08. Kaleb Glenn also improved his performance from last week finishing the 5k course in 21:24 for 50th out of 98 runners. The boys team placed second overall with 77 points behind Lindale. In the varsity girls race Ally Tatum collected another medal placing 7th in 14:18. Sophia Lacy placed 15th in 14:39, followed by Sophie Fisher, 15:12, in 21st, Lizzy Still, 15:30, in 29th. Nina Trim rounded out the team scoring in 43rd place in a time of 16:30. The Ladynecks finished in fourth place as a team. In the JV boys race Phoenix Turner made his debut racing to a 17th place finish in 21:22. Emry Morris improved his time by two minutes from last week, finishing in 22:51 for 28th place out of 53 runners. Cole Jordan also made his high school debut with a 32nd place finish in 23:12. All of the high school runners turned out great individual and team performances this week. Everyone improved on their times from the previous meet and competed well. The junior high runners kicked off their season this week as well. Maddie Hart started her second year with a 22nd place finish in 16:22 out of 141 runners. Piper Watson competed in her first cross country race. Watson completed the two mile course in 20:31 for 96th place. In the boys race Michael Lee also started his second year of running cross country with an improved time of 17:18 for 115th place out of 173 runners. Colsen Still competed in his first race. Still finished in 21:46 for 162nd place. The runners will be off this weekend and return to action on September 14th, at the Quitman Invitational.

Fourth Place Varsity Girls Team!

Sophomore Cooper Tucker leads the Roughnecks to a 13th pace finish and 2nd place Team finish.

When: August 31st

Where: Race location: Whitehouse High School Campus Houston Street | Whitehouse, TX 75757

Where we will meet to ride the bus: We will meet at the OMS GYM Parking lot (across from the field house). We will meet at 5:30AM and leave BY 5:40AM. Look for all the cars! The meet starts at 7:00AM with the first races

What the JH Runners need for Race Day:
All JH runners need to wear their uniform to the meet. They should wear a WO t-shirt over their uniform top and bring a bag with a towel and snacks for the morning. It is important, they eat something when they get up in the morning. If they don’t feel like eating, send something with them and I will make sure they eat before their race. JH runners should also bring a couple bottles of water and a sports drink (Gatorade, Powerade, Body Armour are good choices).
**No hats, balls, jewelry, or candy need to be brought to the race. We are here to race.

JH runners may leave with their family after they race, I will have a sign out sheet, however they must ride with family.

Race Schedule: Rolling Start: These are estimated times, as soon as races are finished, they will start the next race. Make sure to allow extra time for yourselves

7:45 JV Boys WO competitors
8:15 JV Girls WO competitors
8:30 Var Boys WO competitors
8:55 Var Girls WO Competitors
9:15 JH Boys WO Competitors
9:30 JH Girls WO Competitors

The Ladynecks and Roughnecks raced at the Gilmer GO Wild meet this weekend. Several runners took home medals by placing in the top twenty of their respective races. The Varsity girls kicked off the morning with Ally Tatum placing eighth out of a field of 118 runners in a time of 14:06. Sophia Lacy just missed taking home some hardware by placing 21st in a time of 14:44. Nina Trim made her rookie debut finishing in 76th place in a time of 16:57. In the Varsity boys race Niko Soto led the Roughnecks with a ninth place finish in 18:29 in a race that saw 96 finishers. Cooper Tucker finished 22nd in a time of 19:29, followed by Luke Bueno, 44th, 21:08, and Logan Langewisch, 45th, 21:12. Kaleb Glenn rounded out the team scoring for the Roughnecks with a 70th place finish in a time of 23:23. The Roughnecks finished in seventh place as a team with a score of 148 points. The JV boys made their high school debut this weekend as well. Isaak Olvera led all runners for first place in a time of 20:15. Nathan Stringer also took home hardware with an eighth place finish in 21:37. Emry Morris finished in 36th place out of 81 runners in a time of 24:51. All of the runners competed well on a tough early season course. The Ladynecks and Roughnecks will return to action on Saturday, August 31st at the Whitehouse Willie Wildcat Classic.

THE DISTRICT MEET FOR HIGH SCHOOL IS THURSDAY 10/10

XC 24 Schedule-UPDATED 8/22

When: Saturday, August 24th
Where: Race location: Gilmer Elementary 1625 US 271 North. The school is located just past the Walmart on HWY 271 on the left hand side.

We will meet at 6:30AM at the OMS Gym and leave at 6:45 to travel to Glmer

Race Times:
8:00 JHG
8:15 JHB
8:30- Varsity Girls 2 Miles WO competitors
8:45 – Varsity Boys 5K. WO competitors
9:00 – Combine JV Girls (2 Miles) and JV Boys (3 miles) WO competitors

These times are approximate, they are planning on starting races every 15 minutes to get the races done by 10:00. These are approximate but give yourself time.