Herrera competes at State Meet

By Scott Hippensteel

Cross Country Coach                            

    Lockhart junior distance standout Ethan Herrera traveled to Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock, Texas, on Friday, October 31, 2025, to compete at the UIL State Meet.

   Herrera finished 27th out of 152 competitors, clocking 16 minutes and 9 seconds for the 3.1-mile (5,000-meter) course. He had a strong start, cruising through the mile mark in 4 minutes and 47 seconds (9th place) and reaching the two-mile mark in 9 minutes and 51 seconds (15th place, a personal best).

   Herrera capped off another outstanding season by becoming Lockhart’s first back-to-back district champion since 2010–2011 and earning the title of Lockhart’s 20th all-time district champion. The 2025 season marked his third straight trip to the State Meet, where he has improved each year: 114th as a freshman, 43rd as a sophomore, and 27th as a junior.

   Here’s a look back at Herrera’s 2025 season. On August 16, Herrera traveled to Yoakum, where he was the individual champion, finishing first out of 59 runners. One week later, at Stockdale, he finished less than a second behind the winner to take second place. On the final day of August, Herrera placed second out of 121 runners at the Hippensteel Invitational held at Lockhart City Park. On Friday, September 6, he traveled to the Austin Invitational at Decker Lake, where he placed 6th out of 175 runners. The fifth meet of the fall campaign saw him travel to Corpus Christi on September 13, where he was the individual champion in a field of 301 runners. On Thursday, October 9, Herrera returned to the District Meet, where he successfully defended his District 25-AAAAA title, finishing first out of 56 district competitors. On Monday, October 20, he traveled back to Corpus Christi, where he placed 5th out of 189 runners at the Region IV Championship, earning advancement to the State Meet as one of the top 10 individual finishers.

   Over the course of the season, Ethan competed in eight meets. His record shows he defeated 1,059 runners and was beaten by just 37, giving him a winning percentage of 97 percent.

   Looking ahead, next year Ethan will have the chance to do what no other runner in the history of Lockhart Cross Country has accomplished, win three consecutive district titles. Fourteen different Lockhart runners have won at least one district title, and four have claimed back-to-back championships, but none have ever won three in a row. Ethan will also have an excellent chance to capture the individual regional championship, which would make him the 12th Lockhart runner to do so on the boys’ side. Finally, he is expected to contend for a top 15 finish at the State Meet and could become Lockhart’s 23rd runner to earn All-State honors in cross country.