Farmersville junior Landen Ware finished in 22nd place at the Class 4A state cross-country meet. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
When Farmersville junior Landen Ware competed at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock earlier this fall, he and head coach Jon Nordin made a promise to return.
They kept it.
Ware returned to the same course Friday for his first appearance at the state cross-country meet, finishing 22nd in 16 minutes, 28.9 seconds.
Senior Breelynn Pollard also delivered a strong performance for Farmersville, placing 42nd in the girls race to conclude her high school cross-country career with her second consecutive state appearance.
For Ware, the trip to Round Rock was the culmination of months of preparation and a goal he established after competing in the Hoka McNeil Invitational in September.
“We talked after the race and I said, ‘Let’s come back in a few weeks,’ and he quickly said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Nordin said.
Ware followed through on that commitment, earning his first state berth and finishing among the top 25 runners in his race.
“It was a great showing,” Nordin said. “He started further back, as has become his style, then had another strong finish.”
Ware’s state performance capped a breakout junior season.
He lowered his 5K time by nearly two minutes, finished second at the District 13-4A meet and recorded six top-10 finishes during the season.
His progress was especially encouraging to Nordin, who praised the work Ware put in away from organized practices.
The junior plans to take some time to recover before beginning preparations for the spring track and field season.
“He’ll be running against the same guys from our region this spring and he’s really excited about that,” Nordin said. “He’s as good as any of them.”
Ware is already looking ahead to next fall, when he hopes to qualify for the state meet again and contend for a medal.
“It wasn’t 10 minutes after the race that he mentioned that he wants to finish in the top 10 and medal at state next year, and I wouldn’t bet against him,” Nordin said. “He’s a great example of what being self-disciplined and really wanting to be good at something can do for a kid. He’s done so much of the work on his own when nobody was watching and that’s what it takes to be good at this. I’m so proud. It’s paid off for him.”
While Ware hopes to return to Round Rock next year, Pollard closed her high school cross-country career with a significant improvement over her previous state appearance.
The senior finished 42nd in the girls race with a time of 12:11.
Pollard improved 22 places from her 64th-place finish in 2025 and lowered her state time by 19 seconds after running 12:30 last year.
Her performance also accomplished a goal she and Farmersville head girls coach Rebecca Christ had set entering the meet.
“Bree ran a great race and finished in the top 50, which was our initial goal for her,” Christ said. “Finishing 42nd and besting her time from last year at state and Hoka this year was a true accomplishment.”
Pollard’s postseason began with a runner-up finish at the District 13-4A meet, where she clocked 12:49.71.
She followed that performance with a third-place finish at the Region II-4A meet, running 12:11.6.
Pollard finished 21 seconds ahead of Kaufman sophomore Giselle Sanchez at regionals after Sanchez had edged her by two seconds to win the district championship.
With two consecutive state appearances, Pollard concludes her high school cross-country career having established herself as one of Farmersville’s most consistent postseason performers.
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