The Coppell cross-country teams had the opportunity to race at the Coach T. Marcus Invitational this weekend at North Lakes Park in Denton, the same course where District will be held in October. Running the course early provides valuable experience, but storms forced the cancellation of the JV boys’ and JV girls’ races, sidelining about 40 Coppell runners. That left the Varsity squads to lead the way against more than 100 schools, many among the state’s toughest programs.

Despite the challenging conditions of heat and mud, Coppell’s Varsity athletes, including Maya Easterwood and Diego Morales, delivered standout performances.

Coach’s Highlights on the Cowgirls

In the Elite Varsity Girls’ race, Coppell finished 13th out of 31 teams. Senior Maya Easterwood dominated from start to finish, winning the race while setting the pace alone at the front. Freshmen Finleigh Sanders-Burk and Rachel Stumm followed as Coppell’s 2nd and 3rd finishers, both posting mid-19-minute times that exceeded expectations. Anusha Patki and Bishakha Sinha rounded out the top five with strong efforts in their first high school 5K races. Four of Coppell’s top five finishers were freshmen, a promising sign for the future.

In the Varsity Girls’ Open division, Coppell placed 29th out of 36 teams. Charlotte Baade led the way for the Cowgirls, with Hannah Stumm and Vanini Agarwal following close behind.

Coach’s Highlights on the Cowboys

The Elite Varsity Boys finished 16th out of 43 teams. Senior Diego Morales and sophomore Sam Meier paced Coppell with strong races, while Rohit Kalpathy, Sidharth Kerthipati, and freshman Tyler Kim rounded out the top five. For Kim, it was an impressive debut at the 5K distance.

The Varsity Boys’ Open team earned Coppell’s top finish of the day, placing 9th out of 45 squads in a race of 384 runners. Seven Coppell athletes placed in the top 102, led by Itsuki Pena, Vihaan Sahni, Srivanth Rudrangi, Marco Noyola, and Lukas Stumm. Pena and Sahni also ran the 6th and 7th fastest times of all Coppell athletes on the day.

Coach’s Perspective

Coach Wren summed up the weekend:

“Overall, I’m extremely encouraged by what I saw from the athletes that were able to run on Saturday. We have a lot of talented runners that either ran their first 5K ever or their first one in a while. I look forward to continuing to build in practice this week leading up to the Southlake Carroll Invitational next weekend.”

Looking Ahead

Next up, Coppell will compete on September 6 at the Southlake 5K Cross Country Invitational. The meet will provide another early-season test for both the Cowboys and Cowgirls as they continue to build experience at the 5K distance. The program will aim to carry its momentum forward and keep improving with each race.

Until next time, Coppell Cross Country will keep pushing forward!

Contact Information

For more details or to support Coppell High School’s Cross Country program, please contact:
Patricia Chi
Email: chi.patricia@gmail.com
Cell: (469) 831-3709