Here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3h7L6HPXL0
This week’s races included a lot of fast times from the rest of the district meets and the private school’s state meet. Starting with the state meet, Melanie Van Winkle is the new 1A state champion, running a time of 13:10. Senior Emily Allton won the 2A meet by 26 seconds, running a time of 12:00. Laina Ewolt took the gold in the 3A meet with a time of 11:35, and Isabelle Grant won the 4A meet with a time of 11:53. The 5A race was won by Rakel Barrientos, who ran a time of 11:39.
The district 25-4A and district 16-5A meet was located at the state course (Old Settler’s Park). District 25 is by far the fastest district in the state for 4A girls, as they have both Cedar Park and Vandegrift, not to mention last year’s state champion Madie Boreman. Boreman won the meet with a time of 17:56, followed by Brittany Innis with 18:17.
“I was expecting to get in the top 5,” said Boreman, “I’ve been training really hard, and with the guys.”
Cedar Park won the meet with an average time of 19:12. When asked what it takes to be the top team in the state, senior Gabriella Ford replied “running pretty much all year, even in the cold.” Her teammate Brittany Innis agreed, saying “no vacations.” Ford adds that Highland Park will be their biggest competition at the state meet, along with Vandegrift.
Leander shockingly took second, with times averaging 19:26. Vandegrift was only two points behind, and is still ranked one of the top teams in the state.
“It was a little rough for our team today,” said team captain Nikki Keys, “but we managed to slide in at the third spot for regionals, and that’s where it really counts, so we’re ready for next week.”
“One of our goals this year was to make our team more connected, and I feel like we did do that. We have such a great group of girls and I feel like that has actually helped us in the long run too; we’ve been doing so well because of it,” said sophomore Sydney Prucha.
In the district 16-5A race the times were strikingly fast as well, and Round Rock won the meet with an average time of 18:51. The winner was Melanie Enriquez who ran 17:41, putting her in the running for the state title.
When talking about her training, Enriquez says she plays soccer and swims on top of running, but ultimately being surrounded by encouraging teammates and supporters keeps her going.
The other districts weren’t quite as fast, but there were still some good performances: freshman Julia Heymatch won her race with a time of 18:23, and Devin Clark and Paige Hofstad ran amazing in New Braunfels. Clark won with 17:16 and Hofstad with 17:22. Natalie Rathjen won her meet with a time of 17:36.
There were a lot of fast times this year and the competition is getting stiffer as state is approaching. Next week are the regional meets, so be sure to watch Stride by Stride and see which teams and individuals are heading to state.
For past recaps, see www.stridebystriderecaps.blogspot.com