XC Season Opens Up at 29th Greenhill / Luke’s Locker 6 Mile Relay Meet
DALLAS – Once again, Greenhill School and Luke’s Locker are partnering up to host the 29th annual 6 Mile Relay meet at Norbuck Park in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday, August 24, 2013. This year’s race will feature new sponsorship from Saucony and lots of heated competition and fun. The 6 Mile Relay race has been a mainstay on the Texas high school cross country schedule for years and marks the start of each cross country season for many teams.
This year’s field will include state championship teams from two states. The Southlake Carroll Dragons, under head coach Justin Leonard’s leadership, are returning to the relay as defending Texas 5A team champions on the boys and girls side. The boys will likely be paced by top returning runner Connor Hendrickson (4:17 1600m, 8:45 3,000m) while the girls will be led by Antigone Archer (10th individual at the 2012 state xc meet). The Dragons are aiming for another state title and a return trip to the NXN meet in Portland in December and that journey will start at the 6 Mile Relay meet! Not to be overlooked, the Highland Park girls team returns as both defending Relay champs and defending Texas 4A team champions. Natalie Rathjen (4th individual at the 2012 state xc meet) is back for one last time at the Relay and will try to help Coach Susan Bailey and the Scots win it all. Clint Davidson’s Sanger girls will be wearing the yellow singlets as defending champs in the 3A and under division, after winning the Texas 3A team title last fall. Outside of Texas, the Jenks High School boys from Oklahoma won their 6A state title last fall and hope to start off their 2013 on a strong note. It’s been a while since Coach Steve Patterson brought his runners south of the Red River to compete at Norbuck Park.
Besides Southlake Carroll and Jenks, look for a young Highland Park boys team to be in the top five, along with possibly Flower Mound, Coppell, Norman High School (OK), and Bishop Lynch. On the girls side, Norman High School will try to break into the top five along with Flower Mound, and a handful of other top notch north Texas schools.
The St. Mark’s Lions will lean on senior Matthew Brown as they defend their 3A and under crown. They will surely be pushed by a squad from St. Stephen’s School (Austin, TX), a Jacob Perry (5th individual at the 2012 state meet) led Sanger group, and an Alvarado team that finished third as a team at the 2012 3A state meet. Kevin Nunez (4th individual at the 2012 state meet) will likely pace the Alvarado Indians.
Everyone will be trying to catch Sanger in the girls 3A and under race. Look for a challenge from Melissa. The Isidore Newman Greenies from New Orleans, LA, are back and will be guided by 2A state champion Haley Johnson.
The hay bales will be awaiting runners as they jump, hurdle, or stumble over those barriers on their 1.5 mile racing loop. With eight separate divisions in the Relay meet, there are plenty of opportunities for competing schools to have a memorable and successful experience.