VYPE U: College Park boys cross country turns in strong performance at UIL State Meet

On November 9, teams from around Texas gathered at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock for the annual UIL State Cross Country Meet. The Woodlands College Park's boys cross country team captured fifth place.

Before competing at the state meet, the boys captured third place in the district meet and third place at the 6A Regional Meet, beating out 21 other schools in the area. After earning eighth place at state last year, the boys trained harder in order to improve their performance this year.

"Last year we all believed that the team was one of the best teams we've ever had. This year we knew we had lots to overcome and lots of ground to make up if we even wanted to make it back to state," College Park senior Jeremy Bourbeau said. "We worked hard and we were determined to do better than what people said we could do and we did just that. We performed very well and enjoyed the journey."

Seniors David Aguilar, Ben and Jeff Black, Nicklaus Brawner and Jeremy Bourbeau competed along with juniors Chase Nutt and Ethan Williams. All seven runners placed in the Top 80, led by Nicklaus Brawner earning a respectable ninth place overall (15:14.66). The team finished with a total of 163 points, beating top schools in the state and increasing their score from last year by 65 points.

"It is always fun performing at state because of the energy that surrounds the meet," senior Jeff Black said. "We were happy to see all of our hard work pay off at such an important race."

For the junior runners, they look forward to another year competing at the state meet and leading College Park to success once again.

"At the state meet, I gave it my all and I ran a personal record which I was very excited about," junior Chase Nutt said.

Next up for the cross country team is track season beginning in January, where they look forward to another successful season in College Park uniforms.