The Brownwood Lady Lions cross country team finished sixth at the UIL Class 4A Cross Country State Championships on Friday at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. It is the highest finish in program history at the state meet. The team scored 186 points, behind state champion Canyon with 44, Salado with 74, Randall with 80, Decatur with 135 and Huffman Hargrave with 162.
Freshman Alexus Gutierrez set a school record with a time of 11:45.6 and finished 17th. Six other Lady Lions runners also finished in the top 130, including freshmen Jordan Johnson, Lynlee Richmon, Ellie Mirahmadi-Zoghi, Valeria Valadez Trejo and Paisley Hill, and junior Rebekkah Delgado. The previous best state finish for the program was seventh, in 2024. The team qualified by placing fourth at the Region I-4A meet in Lubbock on Oct. 26.
Head coach Chelsy Lipsey said the team had hoped to beat its 2024 finish, which it did. "Our goal was to be in the top five honestly, which we didn't quite get, but everyone is coming back and six of them are freshmen," Lipsey said. She added that the team plans to aim for a medal next year.