The La Grange High School cross country program had a productive day at the Smithville Invitational, held at McMahan Ranch on August 21, 2026, with the varsity girls team posting a runner-up finish and several Leopards turning in personal-best efforts across the girls and boys races. Girls (2-Mile) The La Grange varsity girls placed 2nd overall, finishing behind Gonzales and ahead of Smithville, Giddings and four other schools. Junior Lillian Carey led La Grange with a 2nd place individual finish, running the 2-mile course in 12:49. Lillian was followed by freshman Annabelle Zoch (13:34; 8th) and sophomore Paisley Greenwood (13:36; 10th), giving La Grange 3 of the top 10 runners. Freshman Saleen Posey (14:11; 18th) and junior Melanie Cruz (14:19; 19th) rounded out La Grange’s 5 scored times, with freshmen Emmry and Grayslin Blaschke also running well for the Lady Leps. The JV girls placed 3rd as a team, paced by freshman Alli Hutchins, who finished 2nd overall in 14:12. Freshman Charlotte Scarborough finished 6th overall (14:50), with juniors Mattie Muzney (21st) and Mille McCann (22nd) also running well for the Lady Leps. Boys (5K) Senior Dilan Barron led the Leopards on the boys varsity side, finishing 15th overall in the 5000-meter (5K) run with a time of 19:07. Jacob Estrada and Haygen Mings finished in 21:15 (36th) and 21:40 (40th), respectively, to also score for the Leopards. Freshman Rudy Lopez and junior Gabriel Haverda paced La Grange in the JV boys division, finishing in 23:55 (25th) and 24:49 (31st), respectively. Head Girls Coach Barry Donovan and Head Boys Coach Aaron Rowlett after the meet: “This season’s a marathon, not a sprint — well, it’s literally a bunch of 2-mile and 3-mile runs, which will add up to a marathon, but you know what we mean. The La Grange Cross Country program is going to continue putting in the work. We’ve got plenty of room to grow, and we love that for us. Believe.” The Leopards run again on Friday, August 28, 2026, at the Westlake Chaparral Meet in Del Valle.