Sally Hays never hurt more than she did at last year's District 12-5A meet, and that's saying something for a cross country runner.

Pain radiating from the knee that had bothered her all season spread to her heart when A&M Consolidated's girls had their streak of consecutive district championships stopped at eight.

Hays and the Lady Tigers will return to Old Settlers Park in Round Rock on Friday, hoping to start another winning streak. The race will determine the district's three representatives to next month's Class 5A Region II meet in Arlington.

Consol's girls are considered a lock to finish in the top two, along with defending champion Belton. Hays, however, would not be satisfied with second.

"We want to reclaim our title," Hays said. "It's been tradition that we've won district. It's going to be challenging, but I think if we all do what we're supposed to do, we can definitely achieve that goal."

Hays probably wasn't supposed to be running at last year's district and regional meets. She dealt with knee pain most of the fall, and during the final weeks of the season she had to ride a bike for training instead of running in order to reduce the stress on her knee.

"By the time we qualified for regional, I was in a lot of pain, but I finished the season for the team," Hays said. "It was very hard, not just physically but also emotionally. I knew no matter how hard I pushed myself, it wasn't going to get better with me running on it. That's about the most pain I've ever had to go through."

"By the time we qualified for regional, I was in a lot of pain, but I finished the season for the team," Hays said. "It was very hard, not just physically but also emotionally. I knew no matter how hard I pushed myself, it wasn't going to get better with me running on it. That's about the most pain I've ever had to go through."

Hays underwent knee surgery in the spring and spent three months rehabilitating before rejoining her teammates to run in July. She has been mostly pain-free during her senior season and returned to the No. 2 spot in the lineup.

"She's definitely tough," Consol coach Rodney Wellmann said. "She's typical of the girls we've had, carrying on the tradition. She will give you everything she's got each race."

Wellmann believes Hays and fellow senior Katy Williams will be on a mission to regain their place atop the district Friday. That's one step in a bigger plan shared by the Lady Tigers.

"My teammates kept me going," Hays said. "They were my inspiration through physical therapy and all that. A lot of them are my best friends. We want to qualify for state, and I wanted to be able to help them."

Consol's top runner is freshman Karis Jochen. The lineup includes Jordan Bettiol, Chaiss Matthews, Amy Bingaman and Kristen Bettiol.

The Tiger boys will return to district as defending team champion, led by last year's individual winner Stephen Case. Consol is expected to battle Killeen Ellison for the top spot.

Consol first-teamers include Travis Bohne, David Mora, Patrick Alexshonis, Josh Herrington, Leonel Drukker and Brent Winemiller.

Bryan will send five to the district meet: Marco Yeppez, Chris Kazmir, Zach Bernal, Jesus Reyes and Manuel Hernandez.

SALLY HAYS UP CLOSE

* Favorite food: pasta

* Closest teammate: Katy Williams

* Favorite cartoon: Hello Kitty