With high school cross country season starting in the Texas Panhandle, the Amarillo Globe-News allowed readers to vote for the area’s Preseason Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Readers voted Valley junior Hartlee Battey, who received 53.9% of all votes cast in the poll, as the area’s Preseason Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year.
Cross country season has kicked off around the Lone Star State, and multiple teams in the Amarillo area have already competed at their first meets of 2026 season. Battey reached the state cross country meet in 2025 after finishing 12th overall at the Region I-1A Cross Country Meet in Lubbock.
Battey was Valley’s only runner to reach the UIL State Cross Country Meet, finishing the two-mile course in 13 minutes, 12.4 seconds, finishing 36th at the state meet as a sophomore.
Check out the results of the Preseason Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year poll below.
Who should be Amarillo-area Preseason Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year?
Top four finishers listed
Hartlee Battey, Jr., Valley – 18,065 votes
Taytum Kane, Jr., Wellington – 12,679 votes
Charleigh Jackson, So., West Plains – 1,298 votes
Brooke French, Sr., Randall – 901 votes
33,563 total votes received
During the school year please submit nominees, with stats, honors and accolades from the previous week by Saturday each week to sports@amarillo.com.
This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Valley’s Hartlee Battey voted Preseason Girls Cross Country Athlete of the Year
Reporting by Randall Sweet, Amarillo Globe-News / Amarillo Globe-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Randall Sweet, Amarillo Globe-News | USA TODAY Network
