Girls XC Recap 11/2 (Regional Meets)

Hi it’s Oceane, here to recap this week’s results. The regional meets took place this weekend, and the top 10 individuals, along with the top 3 teams moved on to the state meet.

Region 1 and Region 4 were by far the fastest as region 4 had a total of 40 girls under 19 minutes, and region 1 had leading times in all 5 divisions.

Starting with 1A, Andrea Sanchez leads the 1A girls for the state title. She ran a time of 11:39 this weekend at the region 1 meet. Kelsey Warren and Kamie Haulfmann are ranked 2^nd and 3^rd, and ran times of 11:52 and 11:52.3 at the region 2 meet.

In 2A, Annie Dunlap’s got herself a pretty good lead of 36 seconds. She ran 10:55 at the region 3 meet, winning by over a minute. Kristaly Munoz from region 4 is ranked 2^nd with a time of 11:31, still 28 seconds ahead of 3^rd place, Liz Guerra. While it will be a battle for the 3^rd spot, Annie Dunlap and Kristaly Munoz seem to have their spots secured.

3A will be fun to watch, as the top 4 girls are all within 4 seconds of each other. McKynzie King and Kelsie Warren both ran 11:28, followed by Sara Smith who ran 11:29, and Jazmine Garcia with 11:31.

Madie Boreman’s got herself a nice lead for the 4A girls. She won the state meet last year as a freshman with a time of 17:53, but she’ll have to run significantly faster than that if she wants to win again. Boreman won the region 4 4A meet with a time of 17:22, followed by Brittany Innis who ran 17:58. Devin Norton won the region 1 meet with a time of 17:49 and Natalie Rathjen won region 2 with 17:59. We have seen Rathjen run 17:34 and 17:38 this season, so she is still very much in the running for the state title.

Lastly, Devin Clark leads the 5A girls with an unbelievable time of 16:35. I asked Clark how she motivates herself to keep going when she can no longer continue, and she showed me some words of encouragement on her hands, which she writes as a reminder to keep fighting. Clark won the region 4 meet by just 1 second, as sophomore Paige Hofstad ran 16:36. Clark beat Hofstad by one second last week too, so no doubt we’ll be seeing them go head to head at state. Kellee McCann also ran a spectacular time of 17:13 at the region 1 meet, followed by Safiya Belbina (17:21) and Megan Montgomery (17:44). Others to watch are Morgan Szekely, Alex Cruz and Maddie McLellan.

That wraps up our preview of the state meet, and I would like to end this recap with an interview with Casey Garcia, the Ann Richards School first ever team captain. This was Casey’s last race, and she fights back tears as she reflects on her cross country experience. “I want them to keep getting better without me,” she says when asked about her team. “I just don’t want to be replaced. I know other good runners will come, but I know I don’t want to be replaced.”

The cross country season is coming to an end, but there’s still the most important meet of all next Saturday, so don’t miss the recap and interviews with the state champions! Thank you for watching Stride by Stride.

Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHBUV3wElMg

Girls XC Recap 10/26

This week’s races included a lot of fast times from the rest of the district meets and the private school’s state meet. Starting with the state meet, Melanie Van Winkle is the new 1A state champion, running a time of 13:10. Senior Emily Allton won the 2A meet by 26 seconds, running a time of 12:00. Laina Ewolt took the gold in the 3A meet with a time of 11:35, and Isabelle Grant won the 4A meet with a time of 11:53. The 5A race was won by Rakel Barrientos, who ran a time of 11:39.

The district 25-4A and district 16-5A meet was located at the state course (Old Settler’s Park). District 25 is by far the fastest district in the state for 4A girls, as they have both Cedar Park and Vandegrift, not to mention last year’s state champion Madie Boreman. Boreman won the meet with a time of 17:56, followed by Brittany Innis with 18:17.

“I was expecting to get in the top 5,” said Boreman, “I’ve been training really hard, and with the guys.”

Cedar Park won the meet with an average time of 19:12. When asked what it takes to be the top team in the state, senior Gabriella Ford replied “running pretty much all year, even in the cold.” Her teammate Brittany Innis agreed, saying “no vacations.” Ford adds that Highland Park will be their biggest competition at the state meet, along with Vandegrift.

Leander shockingly took second, with times averaging 19:26. Vandegrift was only two points behind, and is still ranked one of the top teams in the state.

“It was a little rough for our team today,” said team captain Nikki Keys, “but we managed to slide in at the third spot for regionals, and that’s where it really counts, so we’re ready for next week.”

“One of our goals this year was to make our team more connected, and I feel like we did do that. We have such a great group of girls and I feel like that has actually helped us in the long run too; we’ve been doing so well because of it,” said sophomore Sydney Prucha.

In the district 16-5A race the times were strikingly fast as well, and Round Rock won the meet with an average time of 18:51. The winner was Melanie Enriquez who ran 17:41, putting her in the running for the state title.

When talking about her training, Enriquez says she plays soccer and swims on top of running, but ultimately being surrounded by encouraging teammates and supporters keeps her going.

The other districts weren’t quite as fast, but there were still some good performances: freshman Julia Heymatch won her race with a time of 18:23, and Devin Clark and Paige Hofstad ran amazing in New Braunfels. Clark won with 17:16 and Hofstad with 17:22. Natalie Rathjen won her meet with a time of 17:36.

There were a lot of fast times this year and the competition is getting stiffer as state is approaching. Next week are the regional meets, so be sure to watch Stride by Stride and see which teams and individuals are heading to state.

 

Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3h7L6HPXL0

Girls XC Recap 10/19

Friday was the first day of district meets starting with district 26 4A girls. The Ann Richards School took the top 7 spots, winning the meet with a perfect score. Casey Garcia, the team captain, says she hopes the team places in the top 10 at regionals, and big jump from last year (placing second to last).

 

The 5A girls from district 15 raced shortly after us, and we’ll definitely be seeing Westlake at regionals. They placed 1st, led by senior Jessica Ellis who ran a time of 19:23, not bad for a slow course. Ellis wishes for her team to qualify for state, as they've placed 4th two years in a row.

 

Freshman Alexis McKennon took 2nd, running a time of 19:36, making her one of the fastest freshmen in the state.

 

District 29 5A ran a 3 mile course, and Del Rio High won the meet, averaging times of 19:12. Rebekah Hernandez placed 1st with a time of 17:54, followed by Liz Romo and Diamante Gonzalez. They could be giving Westlake a run for their money at regionals in two weeks.

 

The fourth district meet was District 31 5A, who also ran a 3 mile course. Gabriela Guerrero and Angela Galiano dominated the meet, running times of 18:30 and 18:48. Weslaco High placed first, advancing to regionals.

 

That’s all the meets for today, it seems as though most schools had an off week and are preparing for district next weekend. The Ann Richards team wanted to thank the volleyball team for coming out and supporting us, and when I asked my team their favorite part about racing, they chanted "chocolate milk."

 

We’re not completely crazy-our coach likes to give us chocolate milk to refuel after a race. Cross country can be a competitive and aggressive sport, but sometimes it’s important to have some fun. That wraps up this week’s races, thank you for watching and tune in next week for the rest of the district meets and a full preview of the regional meets.

 

Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVrojeOd51Q