Fort Stockton cross country trio Leslie Esquivel, Ali Jackson, and Fabian Perez did it again.

The group will be returning to regionals for the second consecutive season after qualifying at the District 2-4A meet in Andrews on Oct. 11.

Jackson and Perez each placed second in their respective divisions while Esquivel claimed fourth place.

Jackson cut her two-mile time by just over a minute from her run at districts a season ago on the same course and as a result, improved her finish by four spots.

The Fort Stockton boys team will join Perez at regionals in Lubbock on Oct. 25 after the Panthers finished in third place as a group.

Perez improved his finish at regionals a season ago by seven spots, moving from ninth place to second.

“The runners have worked since the summer to prepare for this opportunity to compete against the best of district competition,” Panthers head coach Sergio Guardiola said.

Juan Vela placed fifth, Lakota Franklin placed fourth 14th, Jesus Hernandez took 17th, and Kian Iseli finish in 27th to round out Panther scorers. Ezekiel Soto will also join the group at regional after placing 33rd.

The finishes gave Fort Stockton a point total of 60, which was 15 behind runner-up Andrews and 19 behind champion Pecos.

The Prowlers fielded a complete team for districts but came up eight points short of earning a team qualification. The group placed fourth with 92 points.

Natalie Molinar placed 21st, Priscilla Trevino took 31st, and Gabriella Renteria finished in 34th. The group finished ahead of Monahans and Pecos in the team race.

The junior varsity boys were led by CT Dominguez, who placed seventh and Khalil Jackson, who took ninth.

Fort Stockton had three top-five finishers in the middle school division as Summer Hinojos took third and Natalie Edwards placed fourth.

Diego Ronquillo was the third-fastest middle school boy, followed by Angel Mendoza, who placed 15th.

Guardiola stated that he is looking forward to the future with the young talent in the cross country program.

“The middle school xc program was brought back this year and showed amazing promise for the future,” he said. “The JV boys competed well and could fill some spots on next year’s squad. The varsity girl’s team is very young with great experience, they will continue to grow and work in the spring.”

Boys Varsity Top 10

1. Ethan Chavez, Pecos, 16:54; 2. Fabian Perez, Fort Stockton, 17:29; 3. Devan Lujan, Andrews, 17:49; 4. Andrew Garcia, Pecos, 18:09; 5. Juan Vela, Fort Stockton, 18:12; 6. Landon Elder, Seminole, 18:14; 7. Christian Zubia, Andrews, 18:17; 8. Zach Moya, Pecos, 18:20; 9. Wyatt Everts, Andrews, 18:34; 10. Bramhan Matschek, Andrews, 18:36

Girls Varsity Top 10

1. Kallie Bullard, Pecos, 12:32; 2. Ali Jackson, Fort Stockton, 13:19; 3. Claire Clark, Andrews, 13:31; 4. Leslie Esquivel, Fort Stockton, 13:53; 5. Grace Shaffer, Andrews, 14:13; 6. Nevaeh Hughes, Andrews 14:19; 7. Jaedyn Kuhlmann, Midland Greenwood, 14:22; 8. Melanie Johnson, Seminole, 14:24; 9. Meagan Espinoza, Andrews, 14:27; 10. Ivette Carrasco, Andrews, 14:31