The cross country teams will host the largest meet in the state on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Lovejoy Cross Country Fall Festival will be held at Myers Park and will feature 57 schools competing in the high school division as well as 21 middle schools.

Some of the top teams in the state, according to the Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas poll, are coming into compete at the Lovejoy Cross Country Fall Festival. In 5A Frisco Wakeland, the #1-ranked boys team in Texas is coming, along with #8 Wylie and #10 Canyon. The Leopards’ boys team is ranked #2 in the state.

“I’m excited for this meet coming up and I have prepared myself to where I’m ready to run and compete,” freshman Cole Hinton said.

In the girls 5A division, Prosper, the #2 girls team in the state is coming along with Frisco #8 Wakeland and #3 The Colony.

“For this next meet, I feel confident in all the work that the team had put in and excited to see how we can put all of our hard work into play,” freshman Carson Hockersmith said.

Last weekend in the Gerald Ritchey Invitational in the University of Texas at Arlington, the runners did well. The Leopards had three boys finish in the top 20 en route to a first place finish in the top high school division. Junior Grant Tiff finished sixth in the meet with a time of 16:18. Senior Noah Landguth finished 12th in the meet with a time of 16:42. Senior Hunter Joiner took 20th at 16:59 seconds.

The girls finished 10th overall with one top 20 finish. Freshman Carson Hockersmith finished seventh with a time of 19:46. Senior Ariaan Cnossen was the next best finisher at 38th, with a time of 21:03.