Seeking New Stride by Stride Reporter

I know it's been a long time since I last posted, because I've been busy with finishing up my senior year of high school. I've officially committed to University of Oregon, which means I will be across the country and won't be able to continue interviewing and posting videos and articles for Stride by Stride and TX Milesplit. I was just going to shut down this website, but I think it would be a shame to not continue the work I've done, which is why I am now looking for someone to take over.

Any high school runner who is interested in interviewing the top athletes in the state at high school cross country and track meets can apply for this position. You don't need any previous experience, but an interest in running and knowledge of rankings and stats is preferred! The next reporter would have access to this website as well as the Stride by Stride twitter handle, instagram handle and Facebook page. I will need to contact TX Milesplit to get permission to post on their website as well, but you will likely have access to their website and you will have access to all of the statistics posted on their website. I'm looking for someone who is willing to commit to making weekly posts (this is flexible, it can be in the format of an article summarizing the meets of that week and current top athletes, or can be in a vlog format) including interviews at cross country and track meets with the winners.

If you are interested in this position, please contact me at oceane97@gmail.com with your first and last name, the grade you will be in next year, the school you are currently attending, as well as a short explanation as to why you would like to be the next reporter. On top of this you will need to submit a short video with your predictions for next year's cross country season (who will win the state meet, what kind of times we will be seeing, etc). The deadline for these submissions is June 5th 2015.

This is a really fun position for anyone who likes to stalk results on Milesplit and who wants an excuse to talk to the top runners in the state! You will be starting next cross country season. Overall, this is a flexible position, you choose who to interview, what to write about and when to post. I just need someone who has a passion for running and is willing to commit to this unpaid but awesome experience (and it will look good on your resume)!

Above is a short interview I had the pleasure of doing with none other than Sanya Richards-Ross. You will get opportunities like this!

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.