Boerne runners Ethan Doherty and Colby McCune led the Champion Chargers cross country team to its second team win of the year Saturday at Southwest. Photo by Mike Reeder

The campus, logo and district competition may have changed, and graduation may have robbed him of his most dominant runner, but one thing never changes for Boerne Samuel V. Champion Coach Dave Fulkerson’s cross country teams.

Once again, Fulkerson fully expects his inaugural Charger squad to make a run at the state title in Round Rock come November.

“You can’t predict medal finishes or anything like that, but we’d have to say that we’d be pretty disappointed if we don’t make it back to Round Rock one way or another,” Fulkerson said Saturday at Southwest, after watching his men’s and women’s varsity teams win their second meet of the year. “We’re pretty hopeful about our chances.”

Fulkerson has good reason for hope. The Chargers’ wins at Southwest came by wide margins over some of the best programs in South Texas. Boerne had opened the season the previous Saturday with equally dominating team wins over another strong field that included Lockhart, last year’s men’s regional champs. While this year’s new district lineup is tougher with the addition of several strong programs, another set of district titles is nearly a given.

“It’s going to be a lot harder to win district this year than it’s been for the last six to eight years,” Fulkerson said.

The past two years Boerne could count on Lorin Wilson to run away from just about any field and regularly contribute a first place individual finish to the men’s overall standings. Wilson is now running for the University of Texas, and there is no one on either the current men’s or women’s team who can match his individual prowess.

What both Boerne teams do have are four to five runners who can be counted on to finish in the top ten of nearly every race. “We’ve been running strong,” said Melissa Jones. “Hopefully no one will get injured and we’ll just keep getting better.”

The balance can be seen in the race results. Jones, Kate Corcoran, Kathlyn Savage and Hillary Lumpkins are all capable of leading the women. Junior Colby McCune led the men at New Braunfels with junior Ethan Doherty right behind. At Southwest, the order was reversed. “We’re focused on November,” McCune said. “We’re working hard now so we can win state.”