Cross Country
Friday, November 12, 2010
St. Patrick completes cross country triple crown
The St. Patrick girls continued to display their speed and endurance on the cross country scene, winning their third state championship in four years Saturday.
Talk of a dynasty might be premature. Then again, it might be in order.
After all, St. Patrick graduates only one from this year’s squad.
“We’ve worked extremely hard to get to that level of success,’’ St. Patrick coach Tim McDaniel said. “We’ve tried to achieve goals higher than just being the state champions.
“There is a website that compares cross country teams, and us and Tupelo were considered the top two teams in the state.’’
St. Patrick had finishes of second, third, fifth, sixth, 17th and 21st en route to the Class 3A state championship. The Lady Irish compiled 33 points, far ahead of second-place Corinth (71 points).
Junior Katie Bodin posted a time of 15:39.1 for second place. St. Andrews’ Elizabeth Gaillet was first with a time of 15:31.9.
Kaylyn Bellais was third at 15:55.6, Collin Letard fifth at 16:06.7, Ashtyn Bellais sixth at 16:10.6, Emily Bodin 17th at 17:01.0 and Raquel Derganz Baker 21st at 17:19.6. Derganz Baker is the only senior on the team.
Katie Bodin said the Lady Irish were looking forward to a good weather race.
“We knew we had a good chance,’’ she said. “We went up there to do our best. We were excited for it to get colder. They whole season has been hot. We knew we had the perfect time (at 3 p.m.).’’
Emily Bodin, Katie’s sister, overcame a 104-degree temperature to compete. It wasn’t her best time by far, but it helped the team to win.
“On Thursday, I got sick,’’ Emily said. “I was really got scared because I had worked so hard. We decided when we go up there and if I felt good, I’ll be running. The fever went away but I felt drained.’’
Coach McDaniel said “she gutted out the race.’’
Freshman Kaylyn Bellais said she made a burst at the end of the race to take third.
“It wasn’t my personal best,’’ Kaylyn said. “But I did get below 16 (minutes) and I did just that. I got third place toward the end. One of the moms yelled for me to pass the girl. and I did.’’
Freshman Collin Letard gave a good push as well.
“We wanted to stay in a pack with more runners around the same time,’’ Letard said. “We also had people you wanted to go after.
“It was a good meet for me, my personal best. I felt some pressure on me. My brother is on the football team and they lost pretty big (to Tylertown). I thought I need to bring our honor back up and win for the team.’’
Ashtyn wanted to make the all-state team, and did so with a sixth-place finish and her personal best.
“I’m fortunate I’ve got blue collar athletes,’’ McDaniel said. “I mean that I’ve got some athletes that don’t mind working during the summer under the hot sun. They have a strong work ethic.
“Now were are going bridge over to the track season with indoor track. The girls have got the fever to continue with success.’’
Talk of a dynasty might be premature. Then again, it might be in order.
After all, St. Patrick graduates only one from this year’s squad.
“We’ve worked extremely hard to get to that level of success,’’ St. Patrick coach Tim McDaniel said. “We’ve tried to achieve goals higher than just being the state champions.
“There is a website that compares cross country teams, and us and Tupelo were considered the top two teams in the state.’’
St. Patrick had finishes of second, third, fifth, sixth, 17th and 21st en route to the Class 3A state championship. The Lady Irish compiled 33 points, far ahead of second-place Corinth (71 points).
Junior Katie Bodin posted a time of 15:39.1 for second place. St. Andrews’ Elizabeth Gaillet was first with a time of 15:31.9.
Kaylyn Bellais was third at 15:55.6, Collin Letard fifth at 16:06.7, Ashtyn Bellais sixth at 16:10.6, Emily Bodin 17th at 17:01.0 and Raquel Derganz Baker 21st at 17:19.6. Derganz Baker is the only senior on the team.
Katie Bodin said the Lady Irish were looking forward to a good weather race.
“We knew we had a good chance,’’ she said. “We went up there to do our best. We were excited for it to get colder. They whole season has been hot. We knew we had the perfect time (at 3 p.m.).’’
Emily Bodin, Katie’s sister, overcame a 104-degree temperature to compete. It wasn’t her best time by far, but it helped the team to win.
“On Thursday, I got sick,’’ Emily said. “I was really got scared because I had worked so hard. We decided when we go up there and if I felt good, I’ll be running. The fever went away but I felt drained.’’
Coach McDaniel said “she gutted out the race.’’
Freshman Kaylyn Bellais said she made a burst at the end of the race to take third.
“It wasn’t my personal best,’’ Kaylyn said. “But I did get below 16 (minutes) and I did just that. I got third place toward the end. One of the moms yelled for me to pass the girl. and I did.’’
Freshman Collin Letard gave a good push as well.
“We wanted to stay in a pack with more runners around the same time,’’ Letard said. “We also had people you wanted to go after.
“It was a good meet for me, my personal best. I felt some pressure on me. My brother is on the football team and they lost pretty big (to Tylertown). I thought I need to bring our honor back up and win for the team.’’
Ashtyn wanted to make the all-state team, and did so with a sixth-place finish and her personal best.
“I’m fortunate I’ve got blue collar athletes,’’ McDaniel said. “I mean that I’ve got some athletes that don’t mind working during the summer under the hot sun. They have a strong work ethic.
“Now were are going bridge over to the track season with indoor track. The girls have got the fever to continue with success.’’
