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
2nd. 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 3rd.
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 3rd
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 9th 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 12th 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.
