Texas Champion Adds Another Family Legacy To Eastbay Cross Country Championships

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Natalie Cook left no doubt about who's fastest in the South.

The senior from Flower Mound TX ran a sensational time of 16:38 at McApline Park in Charlotte, N.C. to earn a trip to San Diego for the Eastbay Cross Country Championships (formerly Foot Locker). 

Cook and her mother, Melissa (Gulli) Clark, become the fourth mother-daughter combination to qualify for the prestigious high school cross country championship that is returning this year after being cancelled in 2020. 

RESULTS

LIST OF NATIONAL QUALIFIERS

Cook's time was five seconds faster than Weini Kelati's when she won the 2015 Foot Locker South race before going on to win nationals. 

Cooks is ranked US#2 and a ran a personal-best time of 16:32.4 to win the Texas UIL Class 6A state final. 

Ciara O'Shea of Richmond, Ky., the Great American XC Festival champion earlier this fall, was second in 17:13. Third-place finisher Maddie Gardiner from Charlottesville, Va. was the first of four Virginia girls to finish in the top 10 and earn spots at nationals. 

On the boys side, Ethan Ashley of Cumming, Ga., the Georgia Class 7A champion, ran to the regional title to remain undefeated this season. Ashley ran 15:00.4 to win a race that saw all 10 national qualifiers squeeze into a nine-second window. 

Sahil Dodda from Dallas, who won the Nike Cross South title a week ago, finished second in 15:01. He was one of three Texans to advance, all of whom finished in the top six.