Texas Powers Dominate at FEAST Flight Score Meet Neal Baumgartner Sep 27, 2009

The 2008 edition of the FEAST Home School’s “Flight Score” Meet closed with a post-meet buzz of runners, coaches and fans sharing stories about course obstacles, “down to the last flight” competitions, and “let’s do this again next year.”  Well, “next year” came on Friday night with renewed excitement as The Woodlands Girls  and Cedar Park Boys joined 45 other schools across two divisions in San Antonio for their own shot at this one-of-a-kind meet with its international style course and non-traditional racing format.  Foregoing the standard mass start, this meet spreads a team’s runners across “flights” where single numbered runners from each team compete head-to-head with the same numbered runners from the other teams i.e., all of the number seven runners from each team start at the same time in one “flight,” then all the number six runners and on up to the number ones.  Flights departed every five minutes so coaches were busy with simultaneous action of multiple races on the course at once.  Tension built with each successive flight, as the red-shirted FEAST cadre posted fluid “during the action” scores race-by-race showing the ebb and flow of competition, lead changes, and what was needed to win and place!

RACE SUMMARY

 

 

National Powers Run at Unique FEAST Flight Score Meet Neal Baumgartner Sep 25, 2009

The Cedar Park Boys (Texas #1, South Region #1, and US #1) and The Woodlands Girls (Texas #1, South Region #1, US #6) highlight the unique FEAST Flight Score Meet Sept 25, 2009 in San Antonio, TX.  Parker Stinson (US #3) and Sarah Andrews (US #9) will lead their respective squads in a different way Friday evening.  Rather than all runners taking off in mass at the gun, a single numbered runner from each team competes head-to-head with the same numbered runners from the other teams, i.e., all of the number seven runners from each team start at the same time in one “flight,” then all the number six runners depart in a second flight five minutes later, then the number fives, fours, threes, twos, and finally the number ones. 

 

Scoring is based on one’s finish position within each flight.  Coaches and fans are treated to the excitement of three flight races on the course at once and race-by-race scoring updates occur during the action – showing the ebb and flow of competition, lead changes, and what is needed to win!  Joining in the action over hay bale, cavaletti, log jump, and dirt mound obstacles on the 3200 meter course are the Clear Lake Girls (South #6), FEAST Home School Boys (South #8), and boys Bubble Teams Del Rio and Georgetown.  Over 1100 Texas runners from 38 schools will take on this exciting challenge.

 

FEAST Home School Girls Three in a Row, Boerne Champion Boys Dominate Neal Baumgartner Sep 21, 2009

Girls:  After an early morning light rain cooled Brooks City-Base, the FEAST Home School Girls quickly heated up the course blazing to their third title in three years placing three in the top ten to defeat Texas 5A powerhouse and South Bubble Team College Station A&M Consolidated by 40 points.  FEAST, first of 29 teams and 192 runners in the Gold division, was also the fastest squad over seven girls' races run on the 3167 meter course including South Bubble Teams Boerne Champion (1st in 4A) and Deer Park (2nd in 5A).  Gabriela Salazar, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Memorial, took individual honors with a fine time of 11:19 over FEAST’s Emily Dunn in 11:36.

 

Boys:  Boerne Champion (US #11, South #2) flexed their Texas strength with a no doubt 27 point win placing all seven in the top 11, the scoring five averaging 15:43 with a 39 second spread over the 4908 meter course.  Travis Barclay led Boerne with a second place 15:19 behind individual champion Jacob Benn of San Antonio Stevens who ran a strong 15:11.  Edinburgh North (108), Corpus Christi Carroll (149), FEAST Home School (236), and Brownsville Hanna (257) rounded out the top five in the 26 team Gold division.

 

FEAST Home School Sweeps Neal Baumgartner Oct 26, 2008

 

Conditions: Sunny, 52 °F - 57 °F, 70%-67% RH, winds calm.

Conditions were near ideal for cross country today on the Texas Lutheran University campus and South Texas runners seized the opportunity for a PR at the end of the regular season. As she had done the previous week, Marianna Hurtado of San Antonio Madison bolted to the lead at the gun in the girls race with FEAST Home School’s Emily Dunn in pursuit. At the mile Hurtado continued to lead with Janessa Dunn and Del Rio’s Candida Chairez joining the chase pack. Hurtado opened her lead in the second mile winning in 11:52 on the 3221 meter course. FEAST’s Briana Atchley moved past Chairez to claim fourth behind the Dunn twins to key FEAST’s strong win (35) over Georgetown (68) and Del Rio (84).

The boys race was tighter as FEAST Home School, Del Rio, and San Antonio O’Connor battled for the team title. Up front, FEAST’s Howard Gill and Del Rio’s Palo Ponce ran their rubber match of the season as they had split two close races earlier in the year. This one shaped up as another fine duel as Ponce shadowed Gill for most of the race with team mate Chuy Ordaz within a stride or two as well. With only 400 meters remaining it was clear these three were gold, silver and bronze, but the order was still unknown. Ponce pulled ahead with 300 meters to go, but the lead was short lived as Gill responded quickly, reclaimed the lead, and sustained his drive to the line for the gold. Ponce grabbed silver just in front of Ordaz as all three runners were under 15:51 on the 4978 meter course. Meanwhile the team battle remained close as FEAST, Del Rio, and O’Connor each had placed three in the top 12. Then the four and five runners from each of these three teams finished within a 13 second span, and after the dust settled FEAST (46) claimed top honors over Del Rio (54) and O’Connor (58). For the second consecutive week the FEAST boys joined the FEAST girls as team champions having done the same last week at the Seguin Matador Meet.

Runners Overcome Dirt, Wood and Hay at FEAST Meet Neal Baumgartner Sep 07, 2008

National XC meets in Oregon are not the only races with “Whoop-De-Doo” dirt mounds.  In a likely Texas first, runners at the 6th Annual Patriot XC Meet hosted by FEAST Home School took on a pair of dirt mounds as well as hay bales, cavalettis, and a downed tree in this international style meet at Brooks City-Base

FEAST Home School Boys and Girls Sweep Neal Baumgartner Sep 16, 2007

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    The calm in the shaded woods of Starcke Park in Seguin Texas was broken this morning by 976 South Texas runners competing in the annual Matador Invitational.  In an exciting girls race, Smithson Valley senior Julie Amthor dueled with FEAST Home School’s freshmen Dunn twins, Janessa and Emily, as she had done two weeks earlier in the Austin Zilker Meet.  Janessa Dunn pushed the pace in the second mile but Amthor hung on and pulled away in the last 150 meters to a six second win over Janessa with Emily claiming third.  In a very tight team race, defending champion San Antonio Reagan placed four in the top twenty, with senior Courtney Nelson leading the way in sixth.  However, FEAST placed their next three before Reagan’s number five to win a nail biter 74 – 77.  Bastrop, led by Roxanne Washington’s overall fourth claimed third with 97.

      The boys race was not as close as FEAST placed its scoring five in the top twelve to take top honors with 38 and an average time of 16:40 on the 4955 meter course.  San Antonio’s Churchill and Brackenridge grabbed second and third with 137 (17:13) and 166 (17:42), respectively.  Churchill’s Paul Snyder took the lead at a half mile and cruised to victory in 15:48 with San Antonio Holmes Nathan Pineda (16:03) and FEAST’s Howard Gill (16:07) garnering silver and bronze.