TEMPLE, TX — The high school cross country season officially got underway on Friday morning, August 14, 2026, as Temple High School hosted the annual Temple Wildcat Invitational at Lions Park. Local and regional runners gathered early to face the challenging 2-mile course in their first competitive test of the new campaign.

Competing in the 5A/6A JV Girls 2 Mile Run, the host Temple Tem-Cat JV showed solid individual determination to kick off their fall season. Leading the Tem-Cat lineup was sophomore Genesis Barrett, who clocked a team-best time of 17:37.61 to finish 43rd in a crowded field of 93 runners. Just seconds behind her, Lyla Ramos delivered a strong performance, crossing the line in 17:43.73 to claim 45th place.

Temple’s back-to-back pack running was on full display later in the race, with sophomores Desiree Tools and Sandra Garcia finishing within seconds of each other. Tools crossed in 18:34.14 for 56th place, immediately followed by Garcia in 18:37.87 for 57th place.

Top Individual Performers

The individual title in the 5A/6A JV Girls division was claimed by Killeen Chaparral sophomore Autumn Scotting, who posted a commanding winning time of 14:51.26. Lake Belton junior Camryn Mikulas took the runner-up spot with a time of 15:01.26, while Manor freshman Rose Brown rounded out the top three in 15:03.16.

Top 5 Individual Finishers:

1 - Autumn Scotting (SO, Killeen Chaparral) — 14:51.26
2 - Camryn Mikulas (JR, Lake Belton) — 15:01.26
3 - Rose Brown (FR, Manor) — 15:03.16
4 - Naima Jones (SO, Manor) — 15:16.77
5 - Isabella Zamorano (FR, Hendrickson) — 15:26.44

Top Team Performances

In the team standings, Lake Belton put together a dominant performance to capture the division title with 33 points, placing five scorers in the top ten overall and finishing with an average team time of 15:41. Hendrickson claimed second place with 49 points (average time of 15:57), and Bryan High secured third with 82 points (average time of 16:49).

Final Team Standings:

1 - Lake Belton — 33 points (15:41 average, 1:05 spread)
2 - Hendrickson — 49 points (15:57 average, 0:56 spread)
3 - Bryan High — 82 points (16:49 average, 3:26 spread)
4 - Killeen Chaparral — 104 points (17:09 average, 3:17 spread)
5 - Austin Anderson — 127 points (17:44 average, 2:16 spread)
6 - Round Rock Stony Point — 143 points (18:17 average, 2:47 spread)

Temple JV Girls Performance List

Genesis Barrett (SO) — 17:37.61 (43rd place)
Lyla Ramos — 17:43.73 (45th place)
Desiree Tools (SO) — 18:34.14 (56th place)
Sandra Garcia (SO) — 18:37.87 (57th place)

Up Next

With their first competitive mileage in the books, the Tem-Cats will look to build on these times and refine their strategy over the next week. The Temple cross country squad will travel to the College Station CTE Center on Saturday, August 22, to compete in the Coach Giese XC Meet.