State Championship Girls 6-A Preview
Why: This race will be the absolute bomb! The top team in the state all season has been Keller and they've gone pretty much untouched. They've raced about as perfect as a team can all season long. If you want to see focus, all you have to do is take a gander over at the Keller camp. There has been talk about them being the best Texas team ever. If that is to become more that just a discussion, they will have to prove it in the next couple of weeks beginning with tomorrow's 6A race.
It won't be an easy task as the whole state will be trying to hunt them down. District rivals Hebron, Flower Mound, and Southlake Carroll have been throwing down all season long including at that historic district race and their regional battle with Keller. These teams have been jostling their ranking positions all season long as well.
The smallest of margins have separated Southlake Carroll, Hebron, and Flower Mound and Hebron and Flower Mound have bested Southlake Carroll at the district and regional meets. However, those meets are now inconsequential as this is the one for all of the marbles. Expect Carroll to have one last trick up their sleeves as there are two places they absolutely know how to race at and that's Round Rock and The Woodlands.
They all know that none of that matters now, only tomorrow matters. There are four teams, three trophies, and one goal for them all and that is to be the 2017 state champions.
Bottom line, this is another must see race and it will be worth the price of admission.
Individuals: This will be a big individual match up and one as good as any you'll see all day. There are 10 girls with sub eighteen minute marks on the season and with them all in one race, this will definitely be a dandy. Plano junior ASHLYN HILLYARD has been impressive all season. Since day one, she has made herself the one to beat in 6A. Marcus senior QUINN OWEN is as capable as any girl in the race. Owen has been one of Texas' top distance runners for the last three years and is the 2016 UIL 6A 1600m champion. Flower Mound senior LAURA FAIRCHILD and Keller seniors ABBEY SANTORO and JULIA BLACK will all be looking to low point for their team aspirations. Santoro placed third individual in 2015 and second last year, so she definitely has to be considered in the picture for a title. Juniors AVA PEEPLES of Lake Highlands and HALENA RAHMAAN from Montgomery also have very good shots at medals and possibly the individual win.
The dangerous runners you do not want to sleep on will be Cinco Ranch freshman HEIDI NIELSON and Keller junior ISABEL VAN CAMP. Nielson is as talented as they come. She doesn't have many races under her belt due to her hurricane related season effects, but when she has raced she has impressed. Nike South was the only meet in which she had girls that were able to take it out for her, as she likes to get out fast herself. She has to be licking her chops at the kind of race tomorrow will bring for her. Van Camp has run a variety of race strategies. At Region I, she took command of the race and it took about a mile for Hillyard and Owen to catch and pull away from her, but she held on for third. Van Camp has progressed all season and has developed into a strong 5K runner as she has been running in the Keller 1 spot. What makes her dangerous is the confidence she is currently running with along with her 2:10 800m speed.