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