Goetz Finishes 2nd Among 1,000+ Runners as Cougars Compete at Hallsville

September 21, 2026 – Grace Cross Country had a busy weekend, with the majority of the team competing at the Hallsville XC Invitational while senior Emma Goetz traveled to Round Rock to race against some of the top competition in Texas.

At Hallsville, the boys opened the morning on a traditional course featuring twisting turns, wooded trails and plenty of hills. Senior Ayden Serrato led the Cougars with a top-20 finish, followed closely by freshman Isaac Jenks and sophomore Asher Wickliffe. Senior Gabe Vasquez and Dylan Small rounded out Grace’s top five, helping the boys finish eighth overall out of 24 teams.

On the girls side, junior Casey Goetz remained undefeated on the season in the 2-mile, winning the Hallsville meet convincingly. Junior MJ Hanson and senior Rebecca Dai finished 13th and 16th, respectively, while freshman Lydia Martinez and senior Addie Mathews rounded out the scoring five. All five Grace runners finished in the top 30 overall, helping the girls finish second as a team, narrowly missing their third team championship of the season.

While most of the team competed at Hallsville, Goetz headed to the HOKA McNeil XC Invitational in Round Rock on Saturday, racing in the Girls Elite Gold division against some of the state’s top runners on the course that will host the UIL State Meet. Goetz targeted her most aggressive pace of the season, moving from 30th place at the half-mile mark into the top five by the one-mile mark, which she passed in 5:28. By two miles, she had worked into the top three within a lead pack of five, crossing in 11:13. By three miles, Goetz and one other runner had separated from the field, setting up a sprint finish over the final tenth of a mile. Both runners finished in 17:49, with Goetz taking second overall out of more than 1,000 girls who raced on the course that weekend.

Grace Cross Country will now take another break from competition to prepare for the postseason, with two official races remaining: the district meet on Oct. 17 and the state meet on Oct. 26.