Girls XC Recap 10/12

The Westlake Invitational took place on Friday, and it was a 3 mile course. Paige Hofstad and Devin Clark battled it out for the win. Hofstad finished 3 seconds ahead of Clark in a time of 16:42, setting the new season record for the 3 mile.

The other big meet this weekend was the Georgetown Invitational. The times this year were significantly faster than last year-Amelia McElhinney won comfortably with a time of 18:34, followed by Brittany Mitchell with a time of 18:54. The race had 19 girls under 20 minutes, whereas last year they only had 2.

Looking at the small school race, Liberty Hill had 7 girls in the top 15. I spoke with their varsity team after their race, and their season goal is to win the state meet. When asked if they’d rather race a 5k than 2 miles, the girls shook their heads and Mckynzie King explained “since we have such a young team, we want to run two miles.”

Annie Dunlap won the small school race easily, with a time of 11:33 (and the course was slightly longer than 2 miles). Last week, Dunlap set the 2A state record at the McNeil meet, running a time of 11:14. I caught up with Dunlap after her race and asked her what she thought about running just a 5k instead of 2 miles. She answered “the 5k would be cool, because that’s how it will be in college, but we’ll take the two mile.”

There is still a heated debate on whether or not smaller divisions should race a 5k instead of 2 miles, and it seems as though the runners have different opinions on this issue.

Now a look at the top teams in the state, Southlake Caroll averages 30 seconds ahead of the Woodlands for 5A schools, and Round Rock and Seven Lakes are neck-in-neck for the third spot.

In 4A, Canyon Randall has some fast times, but only 5 runners on their varsity team. Highland Park is set in 2nd with 7 runners and Natalie Rathjen leading the way.

3A has Kaufman and College Station High tied for 1st, and 2A has Bushland in a strong lead. Let's not forget the 1A schools, as Gruver, Era and Lindsay are only separated by 14 seconds. However, every course is different and it is difficult to tell which teams will come out on top at the state meet.

That's it for today, and be sure to tune in next week for more team interviews as the district meets kick off and a preview for regionals. The video version can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygIjPL0f5Q

Girls XC Recap 10/5

There were 2 major meets this week: the McNeil Invite and the Nike South Invitational.
 Several frontrunners participated at McNeil in the elite division, including Natalie Rathjen, Madie Boreman, Abby, Guidry, Devin Clark and Kellee McCann. The course was tougher than previous years, but Rathjen still won the meet easily with a time of 17:34-the fastest time run yet this season. Rathjen claimed she went out pretty easily because she knew there were more hills, and was happy with the outcome of the race.
Kellee McCann took second with a time of 17:56, and she is now ranked second in the state for 5A, only half a second behind Paige Hofstad. Devin Clark took 3rd, running a time of 18:13, and I was also able to interview Madie Boreman who placed 4th with a time of 18:27. Although disappointed with the results, Boreman insists she is training hard and hopes to break 17:30 this season. Also in the elite race, Abby Guidry took 5th with a time of 18:29.
 Freshman Ashton Endsley won the 5A varsity race with a time of 18:57, and the 4A girls (including me!) raced under the scorching sun, slowing the times down a touch. Sabrina Desantiago won the race with a time of 19:49, and my teammate Gema Sanchez placed second with a time of 20:04. Sanchez was happy with her place, and hopes to qualify for the state meet this year.
 We had a big standout in the 3A and under division, where senior Annie Dunlap from Crawford ran 11:14 for 2 miles, winning by nearly a full minute. That's it for the McNeil meet, so moving on to Nike South Invitational, Paige Hofstad took the gold once again, running a time of 18:04, followed by Destiny Collins and Kelsie Warren. Krysta Martinez won the girl's varsity race with a time of 19:47.
 Lastly, Evelyn Chavez had a standout performance, running 18:02 at the Larry Gnatzig Invitational, winning by a minute and 10 seconds.
 That wraps up our results for this week, thank you for watching Stride by Stride and be sure to tune in next week for more recaps, interviews and a glimpse at the top teams in the state! Here is the video version with Rathjen, Boreman and Sanchez's interviews: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECCJAeNjaIE&list=HL1381184611&feature=mh_lolz