Canyon Randall won the meet with an average time of 19:13. The 5k times were a bit slower than expected due to a change of course.
Sophomore Carter Blunt is the new 4A boys state champion, running a time of 15:48.
Houston Stratford took home the team title with average times of 16:33.
And finally, the 5A race took off. Devin Clark, Paige Hofstad and freshman Julia Heymach battled it out for the first 2 miles, but Hofstad spread apart in the last mile, winning the state title with a time of 17:36.
Southlake Carroll beat New Braunfels by 6 points and The Woodlands by 7, taking home the state title with times averaging 19:16.
Senior Frank Lara won the boys state title by 4 seconds with a time of 15:26.
Southlake Carroll took home the boys state title as well, averaging 16:07.
And that wraps up the state meet. Although he couldn’t make it, 9-time state champion and Olympic silver medalist Leo Manzano congratulates the winners and describes the feeling he got when he won the state championships “the same thing as feeling like you are on top of the world, not too far off from feeling like you won a silver medal at the Olympics. You feel happy, thankful and realize that you sacrifice and hard work has paid off. It is a great feeling.”
Congratulations to all of the runners this weekend, and I hope you enjoyed watching stride by stride. You can keep checking my website for an upcoming feature with Leo Manzano, as well as recaps on major road races, Nike Cross Regionals & Nationals, Footlocker Nationals and more. Thank you for watching Stride by Stride, and I’ll see you again track season!