CROSS COUNTRY: Andrews boys ninth in 3A; Sanderson's Carrasco third in 1A boys race
Sep 5, 2017Junior Joseph Carrasco started strong in the Class 1A boys race after battling allergies much of the week, something he said affected his performance as he tried to hang in with the leaders.“It was tough, because after the start, I couldn’t breathe,” he said. “I saw the pack of the top three and it worried me that they were going to take off. Two of them did, but one of them just died, so I took off and passed him.”Joseph Carrasco finished in 16:48 and said his strategy paid off to win a medal after battling injuries and illness the past two seasons.“I knew if I was smart about this race and didn’t kill myself at the start, I’d do a lot better, so that’s what I did,” he said. “I feel like next year will be a better season as long as I can stay healthy.”Kermit’s Iris Franco finished one spot out of a medal in the Class 2A girls race, as the sophomore ran a 12:15, one second behind Jim Ned’s Rylee Crawford.Andrews placed ninth as a team in the Class 3A boys team race, led by a 13th-place finish from senior Hunter Hicks — who was making his third consecutive state appearance along with the team — in 16:50.“We had one runner that was a little sick this week,” Mustangs coach Michelle Richardson said. “When you’re battling illness, you do everything you can, but you can’t control everyone else’s race or when sickness strikes.”Sophomore Jacob Chapman was the second runner for the Mustangs, placing 23rd in 17:03 and junior Daniel Espinosa finished 47th in 17:43. Andrews was making its third consecutive state meet appearance as a team.“We’ve kind of started something and we want to keep it going and come back,” Richardson said. “One of the kids asked when track season starts, and we said it starts right now with your cool down.“They ran a great race and we’re one of the top nine teams in the state.”Joseph Carrasco’s twin sister Abrianna Carrasco finished 12th in the Class 1A girls competition with a time of 12:22 after starting quickly to avoid being boxed in by other runners... (Odessa American)
