Taking third place at the Class 6A Region I Meet on Nov. 10 in Lubbock at Mae Simmons Park, the Coppell boys next travel to Round Rock to the 2020 UIL Class 6A State Meet at Old Settlers Park. 

“I don’t say this often about our team but I do think we have a shot at winning the whole thing,” Coppell senior runner Rith Bhattacharyya said. “On paper, based off our mile times, we do have the No. 1 team in the state. We need to convert that into a 5K. We’ve done it before, we just have to do it at the same time.”

Though its outcome at the regional meet allowed them a spot at state, Coppell’s performance was less than satisfactory.

“What’s been happening is one of us doesn’t have a great day so we don’t do as well as we’d hoped,” Bhattacharyya said. “That’s what happened at region; me, [Coppell sophomore runner Vedant Bhattacharyya] and [Coppell senior runner Colin Proctor] weren’t having great days and we almost lost it all because of that.”

Coppell expects its major competition from the same teams they faced at regionals, especially powerhouses Southlake Carroll and El Paso Eastwood.

“We don’t need to make a miracle, we just need to come together and do what we can already do,” Bhattacharyya said. “There’s no other cross country race for me in high school, there’s nothing else for me to worry about. I just have to lay it out on the field and just go for it.”

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