Arlington—There was little doubt left after the dirt had settled about which 4A high school in Region II had the best cross country teams. Both the girls’ and boys’ teams from Forney High School advanced to the UIL Cross Country State Championships after strong performances last Saturday at Vandergriff Park in Arlington.

The Lady Jackrabbits took first place in the region beating out former district rival Highland Park. Three ladies finished in the top 10 for Forney led by senior Gabbie Corletto. Corletto’s time of 11:57.16 was good for fifth place overall. She was followed by another senior, Tyler Blacklock in sixth at 11:57.49 and then at 11:58 was freshman Martha Romero in seventh.

Also running for Coach Bodie Posey were sophomore Kara Hyde who came in 12th place at 12:16; senior Jessica Boudreau in 15th at 12:19; junior Melaney Ortega in 19th at 12:24 and rounding out the team was freshman Samantha Amendson in 28th at 12:25.

This will be the second year in a row the Lady Jackrabbits have qualified for the state meet. Ortega, Corletto, Blacklock, Boudreau and Hyde were part of the team that finished fifth at the 2007 meet. Ortega qualified as in individual in 2006 as a freshman. That year she finished 14th overall and improved to sixth last year.

The boy’s team advanced after finishing as the regional runner-up to district rival Mesquite Poteet. This will be the first appearance at the state meet for the Jackrabbits as a team since 2005.

Junior Josh Taylor led the way for Forney by placing fourth overall and in doing so set a personal record for a three mile course with a time of 15:45. Another junior, Tommy McIntire took 12th place with a time of 16:15. He was followed by senior Isac Valdez in 17th place at 16:24 and senior Jose Chaves was 21st at 16:39. Rounding at the top five runners for the Jackrabbits was junior Blake Withrow in 24th place with a time of 16:41. The regional meet was the first meet this year where the top five were all under 17:00.

Also running for Forney were junior Nick Arnold and sophomore Joseph Doornek. Arnold ran a 17:13 while Doornek crossed the finish line at 17:23. The Jackrabbits are coached by Jeff Pruitt.

The UIL Cross Country State Championships will be held at the Old Settlers Park in Round Rock this coming Saturday. The girls course will be two miles while the boys will run a 5K (3.1 miles). The 4A girls are set to run at 12:30 p.m. with the 4A boys to follow at 12:50 p.m.

Check back here this weekend for the results of the state championships!

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