Senior Hailey Davis qualified for the state cross country meet for a second time in her high school career on Nov. 10, taking seventh in individual competition at the region meet in Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.

“My biggest motivation was knowing that this was my last year,” Davis said. “I wanted to give it all I had because I know I won’t live this experience again.”

Coach Allyson Contreras credited Davis’s success to her work ethic.

“Cross country is my favorite sport because you cannot succeed on talent alone–especially not to a high level like qualifying for the state meet,” Contreras said.  “Hailey is an extremely talented runner, but her hard work is what has allowed her to have the success that she has had.”

Davis took second in the district race in October, falling behind Pecos’s Kallie Bullard.

“Hailey’s district outing was not the best race that she’s had and I would say that she was disappointed in not claiming the district champion title, so she was going into the regional meet with a chip on her shoulder,” Contreras said.  “When Hailey and I were discussing her regional race strategies, we knew Katie was going to be in the top and that she had to chase her down. With about 200 meters left in the race, Katie was 18th and Hailey was 19th. I told Hailey that she needed to pass 4 people in order to secure her qualifying spot, and she did just that. I was extremely proud of Hailey’s determination in the regional race. She never gave up and fought every step of the way to punch her ticket to the state meet.”

Davis ran the 3200-meter race in 13 minutes and 15 seconds, qualifying in the top 10 individuals in front of  Bullard, who took 10th as an individual.

“I beat her at the very end,” Davis said. “It was the last stretch of the race. She was my biggest competition because she beat me at district, and I didn’t want her to beat me again.”

Davis previously qualified for state as a freshman in 2017, tying for 34th out of 149 runners at the state meet in Round Rock. She will again run at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock this year on Nov. 24, during Thanksgiving break. Race times and Covid-19 procedures for the state meet are posted on the UIL website.

Davis has improved at each stage of competition, something she wants to continue at state.

“I did better at regionals than at district, and I also had a better time,” Davis said.  “I worked my hardest because I knew I wanted this improvement.”

Regional Results–Mae Simmons Park–Nov. 10

Women

Hailey Davis–7th–13:15.00

Men

Team–14th (386 points)

Individuals

64th Micah Smith–19:15.00

68th Landon Elder–19:25.70

76th Eduardo Rodarte–19:50.80

78th Gavin Dickson–19:54.50

100th Noah Gomez–21:48.10

101st Jason Bagwell-21:58.00

104th Miguel Arreola Lechuga-26:36.80