Finn Fox Closes XC Career with Sectional Title; Elena Egret Repeats on Honest Hill

SAGEBRUSH FLATS COURSE— One year after the Prairie Dog Classic introduced sophomore Finn Fox to the county’s affection, the Caliche senior closed his cross-country career with a sectional title on the same fair course Coach Marmot still describes as “everybody suffers the same hill.” Fox’s kick over the final mesquite rise made the Coyote faithful forget their cinnamon rolls for a full minute.

Mesquite Prep’s Elena Egret repeated as girls’ sectional champion after a mid-pack surge your columnist would call illegal if it weren’t so beautiful—the same move that turned heads at last year’s invitational. Ironwood’s Victor Rattler, doubling up after track season, finished third and vowed to chase Fox’s school record in the spring 400.

Volunteers from the FFA watered the chute with mist bottles; the medical tent treated two cramps, one lost flip-flop recovered by a volunteer possum with a grabber tool, and an overheated smartphone. State meet buses are allegedly “handled,” a phrase that here means Coach Marmot has three spreadsheets and a prayer.

Sectional patches will be sewn onto letter jackets beside mud stains from the 2025 classic. Some trophies fade; honest hills don’t.