Finding Hope in running: a journey from Uganda to Texas and back

Hope Lambie reflects on her 6 months in America and what she will take away as she heads back to Uganda in December. Includes experiences on the Westlake cross country team, hardships faced in Uganda and goals for the future.

McNeil Invitational & Nike South Recap

Hi it’s Oceane, back to recap this week’s meets! This was an exciting weekend with the McNeil Invitational and the Nike South Invitational. We had many great performances and fast times, so let’s get right into it!

The Nike South Meet was bound to be a showdown between last year’s state champion Paige Hofstad, and the state runner-up Julia Heymach. The two battled it out until the end, when Hofstad took the lead and won the race in a time of 17:38. Heymach came in 11 seconds later at 17:49.

On the boy’s side, it was a tight race between Pedro Nasta and David Strome, but in the end Nasta unleashed his kick for the win and finished in a time of 15:32, Strome finishing just behind him in a time of 15:33.

The McNeil Invitational was one heck of a meet, starting with the girl’s gold race. This was a very deep field, including Devin Clark, Madie Boreman, Abby Gray, Ashton Endsley and more of this season’s top performers. The race got out fast with Devin Clark leading from start to finish. Clark remains undefeated this season, running a time of 17:10. I interviewed her after her win at the UTSA Invitational.

Abby Gray is the clear 5A leader, coming in second with a time of 17:22, and keeps improving drastically from week to week. I was able to interview her after her race, unfortunately there was a little issue with the sound, but Gray spoke about the pressure and excitement of being the number one ranked runner in the division, something she’s never experienced before. Gray also hopes to compete at Nike South and Foot Locker regionals to qualify for nationals.

Ashton Endsley, Alex Cruz and Madie Boreman all came in within two seconds of each other, ranging from 17:51-17:53, so there were a total of 5 girls under 18 minutes.

On the boys side, Alex Rogers took the win with an amazing time of 15:12, 20 seconds ahead of second place Caleb Hollifield. I interviewed Rogers after his race.

It was a blazing fast race with 14 boys under 16 minutes. Sophomore Sam Worley came up big with a third place finish in a time of15:35. Also in the mix were Darren Medrano and Alex Cleveland.

Those were really the two big meets this weekend, and it was exciting to see all of the big names race each other. The only one missing from the pack was Carter Blunt, but hopefully we’ll see something from him next week before the district meets begin. That’s it for today, tune in next week for another recap and thank you for watching Stride by Stride. 

XC Recap Week 2

Hi it’s Oceane, back to give you this week’s recap. We’ve had several more fast times come in, and we’re starting to get an idea of who will be competitive for the state title. So let’s get right into it!

Earlier on in the week was the Pflugerville Invite, where Madie Boreman and freshman teammate Helen Roddy dominated the race. Boreman ran 17:56 and Roddy is currently the fastest freshman in the state with an 18:08 5k.

The St. Andrews Invitational had some great performances, starting with last year’s state champion Paige Hofstad setting a new state leading time of 17:36. Ashley Driscoll and Gema Sanchez both came in at 18:24, Sanchez moving up to first position for 5A girls. I was able to interview her after her race.

Another one to note is Danielle Garza, currently ranked first for 3A girls who just ran a time of 11:48 at the Yoakum Invitational.

On the boys side, Carter Blunt still leads the way with his 15:02 5k from last week. Most of the results from this week came in from the Fort Worth Invitational, which appears to have been a short course. Alex Cleveland was the winner there with a time of 15:09, most likely for 3 miles. Another great performance was Darren Medrano’s 15:41 5k at the St Andrews Invitational, and I interviewed him after his race as well.

Moving onto teams…New Braunfels surpassed Southlake Carroll and is now ranked number one in the state for girls, with an average time of 18:49. Southlake Carroll boys are still ranked number one with an average time of 15:49, led by senior Eli Canal. The remarkable thing about this team is that only 39 seconds separate their top 7 runners.

The girl’s top performer of the week goes to…Paige Hofstad for running a new state leading time of 17:36! And for the boys, the top performer of the week goes to…Darren Medrano for the fastest full 5k time of the week, 15:41!

Congrats to everyone mentioned, tune in next week for another recap and interviews from UTSA. Thank you for watching Stride by Stride!

First Recap of the 2014 XC Season!

Hi it’s Oceane, back to report the 2014 cross country season! We’ve already seen some amazing performances early on in the season and lots of great potential. Today I will be recapping those top performances, as well as giving my predictions for the season.

On the girls side, sophomore Ashton Endsley is dominating the rankings with a blazing 17:40 5k at the Tall City Invitational. Endsley also beat out last year’s 5A state champion Paige Hofstad with a close win at the Flower Mound Invitational with a time of 18:17.

Devin Clark is the top girl’s returner for this season, and she got off with a fantastic start at the New Braunfels Invitational where she finished the 2 mile race 40 seconds ahead of the second place finisher running a time of 10:33. This is the fastest 2 mile cross country time in the nation so far.

We’ve also seen some great things from sophomore Julia Heymach, who won The Woodlands Friday Nights Lights Invitational 2 mile with a time of 11:09, and another victory at the Houston Lamar meet with a 5k time of 17:42.

Other great performances from this new season are Madeleine Reed’s 18:15 victory at the Marcus I Invitational, Marisa Ibarra’s 11:13 2nd place finish at the New Braunfels Invitational and freshman Laura Fairchild’s 18:25 victory at the Southlake Carroll Invitational.

Moving onto the boys, junior Carter Blunt made a big statement at the Marcus I Invitational, running a blazing time of 15:18. And as if that wasn’t fast enough, he took the win at the Southlake Carroll Invitational with a time of 15:02! That ranks him 3rd in the country, and the number one junior in the country.

David Strome took second at the Southlake Carroll Invitational, also running a great time of 15:19. In fact, the Southlake Carroll Invitational had 19 boys under 16 minutes. That’s actually ridiculous.

So apart from those 19 boys under 16 minutes at the Southlake Carroll Invitational, we saw some great talent from Kody Anderson at the Perkins Cross Country Meet where he ran 15:25, followed by Treat Anderson running 15:31. Ryan Flores, 2A state runner-up in the 1600 & 3200, won the Lockhart Invitational and I was able to interview him after his race.

As for team scoring, Southlake Carroll girls are ranked number one, with only 57 seconds separating their top 7 runners, all sub-20 minute 5kers. Southlake Carroll boys are also ranked first, with four runners under 16 minutes and only 39 seconds separating 1st-7th.

The Girls Top Performer for the early season goes to...Ashton Endsley, for running three incredible races and setting a 5k PR of 17:40.

The Boys Top Performer goes to…Carter Blunt. This was an easy pick, because who else ran a 15:02 5k and won both the Marcus I Invitational and the Southlake Carroll Invitational?

Congrats to everyone mentioned, and this should be an exciting year. My predictions for this season are written out below. Tune in next week for another recap and interviews from the St Andrews Invitational. Thank you for watching Stride by Stride.

Predictions:

Top 5 Girls Overall

1.       Devin Clark

2.       Paige Hofstad

3.       Julia Heymach

4.       Ashton Endsley

5.       Madie Boreman

Top 5 Boys Overall

1.       Carter Blunt

2.       Erik Wingfield

3.       David Strome

4.       Eli Canal

5.       Alex Rogers

Skype Chat: Stephanie Jenks Pumped for Brooks PR

Iowa sophomore Stephanie Jenks talks about goals for Brooks PR and reflects on Dream Mile & New Balance Nationals.

Skype Chat: Audrey Belf ready for Dream Mile

Michigan junior Audrey Belf chats with Oceane Maher before the Adidas Dream Mile.

Desiree Freier Remains Undefeated for the Season

Desiree Freier ends her high school career with a third state championship. The high school national record holder for the pole vault was undefeated this season, and came into her last meet feeling confident.

“I have to say I didn’t have nerves today which is really weird. I usually have some sort of butterflies but I didn’t today, and I don’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing but I love jumping here and I think it was a pretty good day.”

Although Freier didn’t break her national record from Texas Relays, she ends her season with her head held high.

“I came out here to do my best. Maybe I didn’t the height but I got the medal which is pretty exciting.”

Freier will be attending the University of Arkansas next year, but she has something big on her mind before she switches gears and enters college mode.

“This summer I’m going to try to go to the worlds (juniors).” Freier was 9^th at the World Youth Championships last year, clearing a height of 12”11.5. She went 13”6 on Saturday, and her national record is 14”3.25. This puts her above last year’s Youth Champion who cleared a height of 13”11.25.

“My long term goal of course is to go to the 2016 Olympics,” says Freier. A three-time state champion and national record holder? The next Olympics is definitely within reach for Desiree Freier.

Regionals Recap

Hi this is Oceane, here to recap the regional track meets! The competitors for the state meet have been determined, and there were some incredible performances along the way.

Kira White (SO) ran the fastest 100m time of 11.64 at the region 1-5A meet. Danyel White (SO) had the fastest 200m time of 23.63 also at the region 1-5A meet. Jarra Owens (JR) ran the fastest 400m time at the region 3-5A meet of 54.91.

The leading time going into the state meet in the 800 is Kristyn William’s (JR) 2:11.19 from the region 3-4A meet. Anna Cozart (SR) was the region 4-5A champion with a time of 2:13.12, and I was able to interview her after her race.

In the girls 1600, we had a fantastic race in region 4-5A with Devin Clark (JR), Morgan Szekely (12) and Paige Hofstad (10). Clark was the winner after outkicking Szekely and running a time of 4:46. Szekely placed 2^nd with a time of 4:48 and Hofstad was 3^rd with 4:51, a time that would’ve placed first in any other region. The previous day Clark was the 3200m champion with a time of 10:27.13, and Hofstad was 2^nd with a time of 10:27.99. Here is my interview with Devin Clark.

Alexis Duncan (10) continues to lead the hurdles, winning region 4-5A 100m hurdles with a time of 13.44.

Other highlights from the girls were Fort Bend Bush’s 4x4 relay that ran a time of 3:45 and Converse Judson’s 4x2 winning with a time of 1:37. San Antonio Brennan had a good lead in the girls 4x2 relay running a time of 1:42.18. I was able to interview them after their race.

Based solely upon the regional meets, Desoto is the favorite to win the 5A girls state championship and Texas City is the favorite to win 4A.

Some highlights from the boys race: Darrion Flowers (11) ran a 10.34 in the 100m at the region 1-5A meet. Devante Lacy (12) ran a 46.88 400 at the region 2-5A meet. Robert Ford won the boys 800 at the region 4-5A meet with a time of 1:53, and I was able to interview him after his race.

Austen Dalquist (12) ran a 4:13 1600, and still holds the fastest time of the season of 4:09. Norman Grimes (10) ran 36.90 in the 300m hurdles leading the 4A boys by almost a full second.

Summer Creek dominated the relays, leading 4A with times of 40.93 in the 4x1 and 3:14 in the 4x4. Katy Morton Ranch is the leading team for 5A boys and Fort Bend Marshall is the leading team for 4A boys.

This was a fantastic weekend with tons of fast times, and I can’t wait for the state meet! The girls performance of the week goes to Devin Clark once again for running a 4:46 1600 and 10:27 3200. The boys performance of the week goes to Devante Lacy for being the first boy of the season to break 47 in the 400.

Congrats to all of the state qualifiers, and thank you for watching Stride by Stride!

Area Track Meets Recap (4/19)

Hi it's Oceane, here to recap the area track meets. There are only 3 weeks left until the state track meet, and we're starting to get an idea of who's in contention for the state titles.

I'll start with the most impressive performances of the week coming from districts 25 & 26 5A. Devin Clark, Morgan Szekely and Paige hofstad took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 1600 with times of 4:46, 4:48 and 4:50. Earlier that day Clark ran 10:20 for the 3200 and Hofstad was 10:25. 

Other standout performance from the area meets include Austen Dalquist's 4:09 1600 and Zach Kirkland's 4:14, both from districts 3-4 5a. Efrain Fernandez ran 1:52 in the districts 7-8 5A 800.

In the boy's 300 m hurdles, Kendall Sheffield set a new season record in districts 21-22 4a with a time of 36.73. 

Some impressive sprinting performances were Taylor Bennett's 24.15 200 for the girls 13-14 5a meet. In the boys 400 Devante Lacy set a new season record of 46.95 also at the district 13-14 5a meet.

In the boys 4x2 relay, Lancaster and Desoto are now ranked first and second with times of 1:25.20 and 1:25.50. Desoto is ranked 3rd in the girls 4x1 with a time of 46.69.

I interviewed the two time 3200 meter champion from districts 15-16 5a meet, Melanie Enriquez.

Madie Boreman, last year's 1600 state champion won the 1600 and 3200 at the districts 25-26 4a meet. I was able to interview her after her races.

Another big competitor from the districts 25-26 4a area meet is Steven Galli. He won the 800, 1600 and his 4x4 team (Dripping Springs) placed 3rd advancing to regionals. I interviewed him as well.

Lots of amazing performances this week, and the girls performance of the week goes to Devin Clark. Her 4:46 1600 should get her a ticket to the Adidas dream mile and that's after running a 10:20 3200. The boy's performance of the week goes to Austen Dalquist for running a 4:09 1600 and 9:01 3200. He's been topping the charts all season long, definitely the favorite to win the state titles.

That's it for this week, please tune in next week for a recap of the regional meets! Thank you for watching Stride by Stride.

Texas Relays Recap

Hi this is Oceane, and today I will be recapping Texas Relays. There was so much great competition, fast times and new records, this year’s relays was definitely a success. I must admit it was a rather stressful event-I was initially refused a press pass because of my age, but I conducted interviews outside the stands and eventually was given a pass.

On Thursday, Olympic medalist Leo Manzano beat his previous record and ran 1:47.34 in the 800, a new meet record. I was able to interview him after he signed autographs on Saturday.

Also on Thursday was the steeplechase, and Gabby Thompson left everyone in the dust after running 7:29 for the 2000m steeplechase. I was able to interview her after her race.

Friday consisted of prelims for relays and the 1600m run for high schoolers. This was a fast race for the girls, Morgan Szekely came in with the fastest time of 4:56 and led the pack for most of the race. All of a sudden sophomore Aaliyah Miller stole the show, running 4:50.17, destroying her previous time of 5:12. Here is her interview.

Brendon Taylor came all the way from Arkansas and stole the gold for the boys 1600 with a time of 4:14.

Another interesting race was the girls distance medley relay. Manvel led the way, but Paige Hofstad was the standout after running a 4:55 1600 as the anchor and gaining a lot of ground.

Saturday was packed with talent, and arguably the most competitive race of the event was the girls 3200m run. The field was filled with state champions and record holders. Madie Boreman and Julia Heymach controlled the pace for the first mile, but once Hofstad made her move the race was hers. Hofstad finished in a time of 10:27, and following 3 seconds behind was Devin Clark. I was able to interview her after her race.

Unfortunately Austen Dalquist, who holds the fastest time of the season wasn’t present, but Carter Blunt won the boys 3200 with a time of 9:06 in a perfectly executed race.

Houston St. Thomas won the 4x2 and won the 4x4 by 4 seconds, running an incredible time of 3:38.26. Lancaster was 3^rd for the girls and won the boys 4x4 in a time of 3:14.12.

Four time Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross made an appearance, and I was able to weave through a mob of adoring fans to interview her.

Thank you so much to everyone who interviewed with me, and to my brother Everest for filming some interviews and my friend Gema Sanchez for helping me out when Everest had to leave. Full interviews of Leo Manzano and Sanya Richards-Ross can be viewed on my blog stridebystriderecaps.blogspot.com. Thank you for watching Stride by Stride. 

Leo Manzano Interview @ Texas Relays

Olympic medalist Leo Manzano talks about racing strategy, 2016 Olympics.

Interview with Sanya Richards-Ross @ Texas Relays

Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross speaks about recovery and 2016 Olympics.

Track Recap 3/22

Hi, it’s Oceane back to give you your weekly recap. Texas Relays is coming up next week and times are getting faster and faster to qualify for the meet.

Starting with the sprints, some standout performances were Lexie Lewis’s 24.25 200m at the Abilene Warhawk Relays, which ranks her 3^rd in the state. Taylor Bennett also ran 24.25 at the Klein Relays.

We have 3 new leaders in the girls 400 from the Texas Southern Relays. Jarra Owens ran 54.64, Olamide Olowe ran 55.01 and Takyera Roberson was 55.13. The boys also have 3 new leaders: Michael Bailey with 47.37, Obi Igbokwe with 47.77 and Alex Wesley with 47.87.

Moving onto the hurdles, Tivi Kaminski ran 42.45 for the 300m hurdles, ranking her 2^nd but she is still over one second off of Brooke Merrick’s 41.38. We have a new leader in the boys 300m hurdles; Amere Lattin ran 37.69 at the Texas Southern Relays.

Cedar Hill surpassed Converse Judson in the girls 4x1 relay, running 46.23. There are a lot of new fast times in the boys 4x2, and the leading team is Texas High with a time of 1:25.88.

Lancaster took a big lead in the girls 4x4 relay as they ran 3:48.35 at the Texas Southern Relays. They are just under 3 seconds ahead of the second ranked team, Cypress Springs. Summer Creek took the lead for the boys 4x4 relay with a time of 3:17.02. At Texas Relays we will get to watch a 4x8 relay and a distance medley relay which will be pretty exciting!

There are a ton of new 800 times for the girls, but Raevyn Rogers continues to lead as she ran a new season best of 2:08.43. Aaliyah Miller ran 2:10.88, and Madi McLellan, who will be running the 4x8 for The Woodlands at Texas Relays, ran 2:14.51. Jeffrey Moore took the lead once again in the boys 800 with a time of 1:51.97. Brandon Fielder won the AISD Invitational 800 and I was able to interview him after his race.

In the 1600, Devin Clark ran a new leading time of 4:54. Teammates Paige Hofstad and Morgan Szekely continue running well with times of 4:56.22 and 4:56.30. Marissa Flournoy won the AISD Invitational 3200, and I interviewed her after her race. Austen Dalquist is having an amazing season; he ran 4:11.97, a new leading time in the boys 1600. He also ran 9 flat in the 3200, but right on his toes is Carter Blunt with a 9:03.

And now for the girls top performance of the week….Lancaster’s 4x4 relay team wins for running 3:48 and setting a huge lead between the other teams. In the boys, Austen Dalquist wins once again for his amazing performances in the 1600 and 3200.

That’s it for today, be sure to tune in next week for some coverage from Texas Relays and interviews with the top runners in the state. I’m especially excited for the girls 3200; Madie Boreman, Annie Dunlap, Paige Hofstad, Devin Clark, Kellee McCann and Julia Heymach are all racing. This should be an amazing race-who do you think will come out on top? I’m betting times will be low 10:20s if not under.

So be sure to tune in next week and thank you for watching Stride by Stride!

Track Recap 3/1-3/15

Hi this is Oceane, here to give you a recap of the past 3 weeks of track. Unfortunately I was unable to recap each week individually because I was busy with the SAT and out of town, so I’ve merged them all into one. Now that spring break has come to an end, the season is already about halfway over and times are getting faster and faster.

Starting with the 100, Talajah Murrell continues to hold the leading time of 11.64, though there are now 11 girls under 12 seconds. For the boys, Malik Wilson now has the fastest time of 10.41, and there are 12 boys earning the gold standard by running under 10.61.

Murrell’s 24.14 in the 200 is still the fastest time of the season, and Leon Powell took the leading spot for the boys with a time of 21.09.

For the girl’s 400, we had 2 girls meet the gold standard-Danyel White ran 55.16 and Aaliyah Miller ran 55.58. For the boys, Davente Lacy still has the fastest 400 time of 48.17 and Branden Sanders is second with 48.26. Sanders is from Converse Judson, a team currently dominating short distance events.

Moving onto the hurdles, Kiana Hawn now has the fastest 100m hurdles time of 13.64, followed by Alexis Duncan. In the 300m hurdles, Brooke Merrick has a big lead running 41.38, over one second faster than 2^nd place.

In the boys 110m hurdles, Jalen Hunter still has the leading time of 13.81, and in the 300m hurdles, only one by has gone under 38 seconds to meet the gold standard; Anthony Robinson, with a time of 37.97.

Raevyn Rogers ran a 2:11 800-and if you think that’s fast, listen to this: Rogers ran 2:03 at the World Youth Championships last year, placing 3^rd. We also got to see The Woodland’s Madi McLellan run the 800 in a time of 2:15.

Robert Ford leads the boys 800 with a time of 1:52.80, and ran a time of 1:52.04 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

Moving onto the longer distances, Julia Heymach still leads the girls 1600 with a time of 4:56.52, but only by a fraction. Right on her toes is Morgan Szekely, who beat out her teammate Paige Hofstad, also the 5A XC state champion. Hofstad still ran a very fast time of 4:57.28.

Zach Kirkland currently leads the boys 1600 with a time of 4:16.34, the only boy to meet the gold standard.

And finally, in the 3200, Madi McLellan still has the fastest time of 10:27, and following her is Madeleine Reed with a time of 10:35. She came out of nowhere-last year, her fastest mile time was 5:17, just about her mile split of her 3200. I was able to interview Gema Sanchez, the winner of the Lockhart Lions Invitational 1600 and 3200.

Austen Dalquist has a huge lead in the boys 3200 with an amazing time of 9:09, 10 seconds ahead of the 4A XC champion Carter Blunt.

Other notable runs-Julia Heymach and Evelyn Chavez placed 1^st and 2^nd in the 2 mile at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, running times of 10:39.4 and 10:39.7.

That was an eventful 3 weeks, I’m excited to see how Texas Relays plays out! The girl’s performance of the weeks goes to Raevyn Rogers for her 2:11 800, and the boys performance goes to Austen Dalquist for his 9:09 3200. That’s it for this week, thank you for watching Stride by Stride and be sure to tune in next week for some interviews from the South Austin Invitational.

TX High School Track Recap 2/15

This was the first week of outdoor track meets and there were quite a few fast times.

Starting with the 100m dash, Talajah Murrell placed first at the San Antonio North East Meet with a time of 11.64, followed by Allysha Davis in a time of 11.94. The leading time for the boys is 10.54 by Chris Ntreh of Plano East High School.

The Converse Judson high school dominated the San Antonio North East Meet. Kiana Horton finished first in the 200m with a time of 24.44. The girls 4x100 won with a time of 46.86 and the boys 4x2 won with 1:29.06. Also at that meet was Robert Ford, who ran a 1:55.83 for the 800.

In the hurdles, Samantha Gonzalez set 2 season records with a time of 13.94 in the 100 and 43.94 in the 300.

We had a blazing fast 800m time for the boys as Jeffrey Moore ran 1:53.40. The leading time for the girls was 2:20.53 by Gabby Crank.

We had several fast 1600m times, starting with the 4A state XC champion Natalie Rathjen who ran 5:08 at Carrollton Trojan Relays. After running the 800, Moore hopped into the mile as well and finished in 4:23. Steven Galli ran a 4:25 at the Rogue Track Festival.

Moving onto the 3200, the girl’s leading time is 11:07 by Evelyn Chavez, the 4A XC runner-up. The boys 4A state champion, Carter Blunt, ran 9:34 and Johnny Kemps came in 4 seconds behind at 9:38.

And finally, for the top performances of the week, we have…Madi McLellan’s 1600 at the Kingwood Joey Simpson Invitational. She ran an amazing time of 4:56, an excellent start to the season.

The boy’s top performance goes to…Chris Pietraskiewicz. He ran a 9:26 3200 at the Rogue Track Festival. I was able to interview him after his race.

That wraps up this week’s recap. Stay tuned for more meets coming up next week, and thank you for watching Stride by Stride!

Skype with Alana Hadley

Catching up with Alana Hadley (17 years old and qualified for the Olympic Trials in the marathon in a time of 2:41:55)

-Qualifying for the Olympic Trials

-Future plans and goals

-Training 

-First ever Stride by Stride trivia game

2013 Texas Cross Country Recap & Flashback

We’ve seen several fantastic performances throughout the 2013 cross country season. Starting back at the first week of the season, Natalie Rathjen set the fastest time of the week with a 17:38 5k at Marcus I invitational. Austen Dalquist led the boys with a 15:26.

Several stand-out performances occurred throughout the season. Still early on, Devin Clark and Paige Hofstad ran 10:36 and 10:38 for 2 miles, followed by Morgan Szekely with a 10:51. Steven Galli ran a 9:32.

Before the district meets, other standout performances included Natalie Rathjen’s 17:34 at McNeil Invitational, Paige Hofstad’s 17:56 at UTSA Romo Classic, Madi McLellan’s 17:59 at Humble ISD and Julia Heymach’s 17:40 at Angleton. Annie Dunlap set the 2 mile course record at McNeil with a time of 11:14.

For the boys, Frank Lara ran a 15:19 at Humble ISD and a 15:25 at Stanford Invitational. Brad Dohner ran a 15:21 at Humble ISD and Jacob Pickle ran a 15:28 at Southlake Carroll Invitational.

5 girls and 5 boys were crowned state champions on November 2^nd. Annie Dunlap set the state record with a 10:59 2 mile, winning her second XC championship. Natalie Rathjen ran a 17:41 5k winning the 4A title, and Paige Hofstad ran a 17:38 5k winning the 5A title. Frank Lara won the 5A boys race with a 15:26.

Some runners chose to compete at Nike South Regionals to qualify for Nike Cross Nationals, and some also ran Footlocker Regionals.

Paige Hofstad individually won Nike South, and her team New Braunfels won the team title. Also qualifying for the girls was Safiya Belbina, Annie Dunlap, Natalie Rathjen, Madie Boreman and Devin Clark.

The boys race was won by Jacob Shiohira, and Southlake Carroll took home the team title. Frank Lara, Wesley Ward, Ben Berrett and Connor Hendrickson also qualifying for NXN.

Natalie Rathjen went on to earn All-American Status at Nike Cross Nationals. The tight race was won by Alexa Efraimson from Oregon with a time of 16:49. Sarah Baxter was unable to obtain her third NXN title after finishing 3^rd.

Frank Lara was the first boy from Texas to cross the finish line with a 15:38. The race was won by Taylor Wilmot from North Spokane XC club, running 15 flat.

At Footlocker South Regionals, Natalie Rathjen placed 3^rd with a time of 17:06, the fastest time run all season by any Texas girl. Devin Clark also qualified with a 17:18. Frank Lara placed 9^th to qualify with a 14:53, also setting the fastest time of the season.

Devin Clark was able to earn All-American status after placing 12^th at Footlocker Nationals. Tessa Barrett from Pennsylvania was the winner with a 17:15. Grant Fisher from Michigan won the national title for the boys in a time of 15:06.

That wraps up the 2013 Cross Country season and thank you for watching Stride by Stride.