There will be a community sendoff event being held Monday, Oct. 20 at 1:15 p.m. as the Sealy Tigers cross country teams head off for the Regional Tournament.  

The program, under the direction of head coach Danielle Eschenburg and assistant coach Val Eschenburg captured first place at the District meet as both were crowned district champions.  

“Sealy High School athletes performed quite well at the District Championship.  We are very pleased with the performance by the varsity teams, but our goal still lies ahead of us. The JV teams showed true determination and grit in their season finale. Both faced some challenges but really came through,” Eschenburg said.  

The JV Girls absolutely dominated with a perfect team score to earn the District Championship, and Madison Withrow claimed the Individual District Champion title. The JV Boys also had a strong showing, finishing 2nd overall. 

Coming into the district meet, both teams knew they had a good chance to win and advance on to the regional meet as a team. 

“We were well aware the District Championship was within our grasp for both varsity teams,” Eschenburg said. “We expected the Katy Freeman boys' team to do their best to unseat our return to the top of the podium but our strength in depth gave us a very competitive advantage which sealed our victory.” 

The coaches pointed to the work being done by newcomers to the squads as a solid reason the teams moved on. 

Freshman Yahir Olvera and Lainey Siska showed wonderful spirit in finishing well for our teams. Jayden Martinez had a great district race but our consistent runners especially Aaron Munoz and Samuel Eschenburg for the boys and Samantha Huerta, Haley Ochoa and Ella Novicke for the girls turned in another week of great finishes to seal our fate,” Eschenburg said.   

When it comes to the regional meet ahead, the Eschenburgs know the team will have to rely on the seniors on the team to show the younger harriers what to do at this point of the season. 

“With the Regional Championships coming on fast, we have to keep our champion mentality and continue our hard work in that direction. We look for our seniors Efrain Villagomez, Jacie Kainer and Addi Clark to provide leadership during this necessary push to the finish.  We will continue our process and know we can count on our athletes to perform,” Eschenburg said. “At regionals we need all of our runners to do what they have done since the beginning of summer. Their hard work is paying off and consistency in performance is needed yet again.  We look for Chance Hilburn, Grant Almaguer and Morgan Zaskoda to turn in great finishes to complete our points domination.” 

The coaches know the teams will be up to the challenge for the rest of this season. 

“These teams have continued to impress us with their abilities and mental discipline and strength throughout the year.  While we have had great results, our goals still lie ahead of us. Our performance at the Regional Championships will answer our success with those goals,” Eschenburg said.   

But the season is far from over as far as the coaches are concerned. 

“It’s been a wonderful season, but we have more awaiting us,” Eschenburg said.