The Roughnecks and Ladynecks competed in the District 16-3A meet on Thursday October 10th at Lear Park in Longview. In the girls race and qualifying for the Regional Meet in Grand Prairie were Sophia Lacey in sixth, 14:34, Lizzy Still seventh, 14:40, and Sophie Fisher ninth, 14:50. Just missing a qualification place was Ally Tatum in 11th in a time of 15:19. All of the girls performed well, and will represent White Oak on Tuesday, October 22nd. The boys varsity team raced to a second place team finish behind Tatum and will also advance to the Regional meet. The Roughnecks placed four runners in the top ten. Niko Soto led the Roughnecks placing third place in 17:51. He was followed closely by teammates Cooper Tucker in sixth place, 18:32, Isaak Olvera in seventh, 18:36, and Logan Langewisch in eighth place in a time of 18:39. Luke Bueno rounded out the team scoring in 18th place in a time of 19:40 by running the back portion of the course well. Kaleb Glenn finished in 22nd place in a time of 20:23 to complete the team finishes. All of the varsity runners improved their times for this course from their racing competition in mid-September. In the junior varsity boys race, Nathan Stringer led the Roughnecks to a second place team finish in a time of 21:03 for fourth place. Stringer was followed closely by Nathan Watson in fifth place with a time of 21:13. Also finishing in the top ten was Phoenix Turner, 21:43, in ninth place. Cole Jordan, 22:57, 13th place and Emry Morris, 23:24, in 14th rounded out the team scoring for the Roughnecks. Sometimes competitions that have advancement ramifications can become overwhelming because we tend to think more is better. More hype. More upbeat music. More snacks. More cheering. Sometimes more ends up being underperformance because we make it just too much. Several weeks ago, we chatted about the phenomenon of underperformance. Today was a normal race day for the Roughnecks and Ladynecks. We did things like we always do. They gave their best effort for today, just as they have done all the Saturday mornings this season. They adjusted to the race, just as they have done all the Saturday mornings this season. They ate gushers and some type of cracker, just as they have done all the Saturday mornings this season. And Monday morning they will watch the sun come up at Roughneck stadium, just as they have done all the Monday mornings this season.

Nathan Stringer is a freshman on the cross country team. This is Nathan’s rookie season running high school cross country, but he has been running cross country and distance races in track for the past two years. Nathan is the son of Jason and Dawn Stringer, and big brother to Ryan. Nathan is involved in several extracurricular activities besides cross country. He is a member of the Regiment of Roughnecks band, UIL math and science, basketball, track, and baseball. Nathan describes himself as intelligent, dependable, creative, passionate, and diligent. I would agree Nathan has all of these qualities as well as being easy to talk to. It is always interesting to hear Nathan’s opinion and thoughts on various topics. It is especially interesting to hear him and Ally have a conversation. Those are two opinionated people, and one of them tends to do too much “mansplaining”. When asked what he likes most about cross country. Nathan states “the discipline it teaches me about running and waking up early”. If there was a zombie apocalypse Nathan would want Cole on his team because he knows he can trust him and they think the same way. He would like to have a conservation with Jesus to discuss ways to be better disciples. Nathan has transitioned to high school cross country with ease. The work ethic and competitiveness he displayed in junior high has only improved in high school. Sometimes first-year runners have a hard time adjusting to the expectations of high school mileage and demands. Nathan has embraced the higher expectations and used his competitive nature to meet training and race challenges head on. Sometimes I forget Nathan is just a freshman, but I am glad he is “just a freshman”. It will be fun to see his personal growth and the class of 2028 growth together.

Cole Jordan is a freshman on the cross country team. Cole is the son of Corey and Bridget Jordan. He is the youngest of three in his family. The things he likes most about cross country is running and talking. Lucky for him there are a lot of both. Cole is involved in the Regiment of Roughnecks Band, choir, and plans to run track in the spring. In his freetime Cole enjoys doing ministry work, reading his bible, and dabbles in Christian rap. He describes himself as kind, determined, creative, and musical. If he was stranded on an island by himself he would want his Bible, water and Chick-fil a. Three necessities for any distance runner. If he could have a conversation with anyone it would be Christian rapper Nobigdyl “because he’s a cool dude”. I’m not going to lie, I had to look this one up and figure out how to spell it too! Cole’s choice to talk to this artist doesn’t surprise me. He is very grounded in his faith and strives to glorify God in all that he does. Cole’s determination has helped him improve during his rookie season. He has worked hard during training sessions and this effort and drive has paid off during his races. Cole is a great teammate. He is encouraging and tries to be helpful whenever he can. I look forward to seeing him progress throughout his high school career as a runner.

Sophie Fisher is a sophomore on the cross country team. She is the daughter of Rance and Erica Fisher as well as big sister to Lily and Rory. When asked what she likes most about cross country Sophie states, “The people, the coach, and helping myself stay healthy”. She is active in many organizations at school. She is a member of the Regiment of Roughnecks band as a twirler, student council, track, UIL accounting team, Journalism, and a member of the Debate team. Sophie is suited well for Debate. She can talk a blue streak, and argue with the best of them. It is fun to watch her, Kaleb, and Cooper go at it. She describes herself as social, responsible, upbeat, loving, and hard-working. I couldn’t agree with her more. Sophie brings a joyful spirit to our team. She is loving towards her teammates and helps to keep all those boys in line. She is well-liked and respected by her teammates. If there was a zombie apocalypse she would want teammate Nathan Watson on her team. She believes “he would remain calm but also know what to do to survive”. If she could have a conversation with anyone it would be Jesus because she knows she would learn a lot. Sophie is grounded in her faith and passionate about living with a servant’s heart. Sophie’s season was cut short last year, so it has been a joy to see her compete in a full season and enjoy being with her teammates.

Today I would like to introduce you to freshman Emry Morris. Emry is the son of Seth Morris and Kristel Wittmayer. He is a big brother to Beckett, Devin, and Harper, and little brother to Lexi. Along with cross country, Emry is involved in the Regiment of Roughnecks Band. He describes himself as a “fun guy” and enjoys being with his teammates in cross country. Emry has adapted well to high school cross country. During the summer he was dedicated to his training, and has continued to improve weekly in training sessions. His hard work has paid dividends for him as he has improved his racing techniques and times. If there was a zombie apocalypse Emry would want Isaak on his team. He states, “it would be fun with him”. Isaak is probably a safe choice because he is one of the quietest on the team. Hiding with him might be safer compared to the others. Emry would like to have a conversation with Jayson Tatum because he is the GOAT. Although I would agree that he would be great to have a conversation with the former Duke Blue Devil, Michael Jordan is the GOAT. Whether it’s his Fantasy Football Team problems, his driving adventures, or his academic prowess, Emry keeps us in stitches. I admire Emry’s resiliency. He has grown tremendously as a young runner this season. I look forward to seeing him progress throughout his high school career.

The Junior High Cross Country runners competed in their final race of the season on Saturday. October 5th at Gladewater High School. Maddie Hart captured the individual championship in a time of 14:29 over the two mile course. Hart took the lead early in the race and continued to pull away as she approached the finish line. Korlyn Caton was also a medalist with a sixth place finish. Caton out sprinted a group of runners to take sixth place in a time of 15:08. Piper Watson completed her first season finishing in a time of 18:32, a personal best, for 34th place. In the boys race Michael Lee improved his personal best time by placing 18th in a time of 15:02. Colsen Still finished in 34th place in a time of 19:51 just off his personal best time from the previous week.

Maddie Hart and Korlyn Caton show off their hardware from the District XC meet.

District 15-3A Meet Info

WHEN: Saturday, October 5th

WHERE WE WILL MEET: They will meet at the OMS gym at 6:30 and leave by 6:45

WHERE RACE LOCATION: Gladewater High School

WHAT JH NEEDS FOR RACE DAY: They need to come to the shed dressed in uniform and with sweats over them. It will likely be chilly that morning. They should eat breakfast as normal on Monday, pack either a light sandwich, snacks and/or fruit, water, and a sports drink for lunch. I will get them to eat “lunch” before their race around mid-morning. Good food choices would be any type of sandwich they like, bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter, blueberries, apples, grapes, bananas or clementines (if they can tolerate them), carrots, cucumbers, veggies are good too, crackers. Good rule of thumb is to pack food they normally eat, race day is not the time to experiment. I will have food for them after they run.

Race Schedule:
8:00 JH Girls
8:30 JH Boys

The Roughnecks and Ladynecks raced at Union Grove this weekend in one last tuneup before the District meet at Lear Park. The temperatures have finally started to drop allowing for a cooler morning for racing. Sophia Lacy got the Ladynecks started with a 22nd finish, 13:40, in the Varsity girls race. Lizzy Still and Sophie Fisher improved their previous times with a 14:22 by Still, 35th place, and 14:46 for Fisher, 43rd. There were 103 finishers in the Varsity girls division. Niko Soto took home some hardware this week with a seventh place finish in 17:13. He was closely followed by Cooper Tucker in eighth with a time of 17:27. Freshman Isaak Olvera slipped in at 19th place for some hardware in a time of 17:49. Logan Langewisch just missed out on a medal in 22nd place in a time of 17:59. Luke Bueno rounded out the team scoring for the Roughnecks in 34th place in a time of 18:30. Kaleb Glenn finished in 50th with a time of 19:03. Glenn was followed by Nathan Stringer, 19:07, in 53rd place and Nathan Watson, 19:20, in 63rd out of 119 runners. The boys team finished in 2nd place out of 13 teams with a score of 83 points. In the JV boys race all three Roughnecks finished in the top 20 taking home hardware for the team. Phoenix raced to a sixth place finish in 20:24. Emry Morris took home another medal finishing in ninth place with a time of 21:06. Cole Jordan also medaled in 19th place in a time of 22:04. All three runners competed well after patiently waiting and cheering on their teammates. In the junior high girls race Maddie Hart and Korlyn Caton took home medals this week for their top twenty finishes. Maddie Hart raced to a personal best in 14:14 for eighth place. Caton also ran a season personal best in 14:47 for 13th place out of 117 runners. In the junior high boys race Michael Lee ran a personal best in 15:53 for 77th place. He as followed by Colsen Still also ran a personal best this weekend. He finished in 117 place in a time of 19:36.