Tharptown cross country team finishes first at Fairview Invitational

Joseph Brown is in his fifth consecutive coaching cross-country at Tharptown High School and last weekend had a program first. 

The Wildcats placed first in their first invitational. 

The season started slow with the Wildcats placing fourth in their first two meets. 

In their third meet at the Chickasaw Trail Invitational at the Oakville Indian Mound, the Wildcats placed 11th, but faced a lot of big schools in the invitational. 

“There were a lot of defending state champ teams in that one from out of state, but I was still proud of our efforts in that game,” Brown said. 

This past weekend the Wildcats placed first overall at the Fairview Invitational. 

The Wildcats compete in the small school division consisting of divisions 1A through 4A. 

“We’ve placed second a lot of years, but to get over the hump this weekend was incredible. I couldn’t be more proud of my guys and they deserve it. As hard as my guys have trained over the years, to see it pay off was awesome. 

“Our lead runner this year has been very consistent and he’s who placed first at Fairview,  Jessie Mitchell. Mitchell has a great work ethic and has scholarship potential. He has also set our program record twice now this this year,” Brown said. 

“I also have great senior leadership. My two seniors are Edwin Vela and Ricardo Hernandez and I believe both could be looking at scholarships if they’re serious about the next level through the rest of the season,” Brown added. 

The Wildcats have a few other junior key contributors including Alex Quintero who finished second this past weekend and Angel Garcia. 

“Garcia is our hardest worker and leads by example for us,” Brown said. 

The Wildcats travel to Wilson High School this weekend for the Wilson Warrior Invitational this Saturday, September 22nd at 9am.