Region 3-6A
This region has some very good girls in it including a fast rising Atascocita sophomore Avery Clover, Audrey Witham of Katy, and Grace Custer of Stratford, and Kingwood's Rachel James.
However, the region's undisputed top runner is none other than Cinco Ranch sophomore Heidi Nielson. Nielson broke out at her district meet on a true 5K course as she ran her fastest tie of the year in 17:58. As a freshman last year, Nielson was fourth overall at the UIL 6A state meet and eventually qualified for the Foot Locker Nationals. Cinco Ranch teammate Sophia Atkinson also busted a good race with her best effort of the year in 18:20. This could be the point of the season the Cinco duo has been training and waiting for. One thing for sure, the race will belong to Nielson whenever she decides to drop the hammer.
Team wise, the race can be won by anyone of four to five teams.
Katy Tompkins returns as last year's regional champs and have been running that way all season long. They got a good challenge at their district meet from Katy and Seven Lakes, two teams that have been frequent visitors to Round Rock the last several Novembers. However, this will be a race of urgency as the slightest slip up for any team could wind up being the end of the season.
Houston Stratford is one of the best teams in Texas and they have expectations of returning to the state meet. Kingwood has tradition and will also be looking to punch their ticket to state. Tompkins could get the win for the second year in a row for the simple fact of their racing strategy. They have performed as a tight pack for much of the year and that will be important on Monday. I'd consider them as the favorites for the meet, but nothing is a given with how talented and well coach all of the top teams in the region are.
The 6A boys race should be an exact replica of the girls race.
There are a lot of talented runners, but one clear and evident favorite. La Porte junior Ryan Schoppe is a legit contender for the state championship. He held the top time in the state for several weeks and went head to head with the defending 6A champion Jarrett Kirk at last month's Nike South Inv. Schoppe ran to a second place finish just seconds behind Kirk. Earlier in the year, he dropped a 15:09.10 on this very course at the Region III Preview.
Team wise, there is one given and a bunch of questions.
The one given is Katy Tompkins. Tompkins looks to repeat last year's regional team and continue from their McNeil race where they ran extremely well winning that race against some of the top teams in Texas.
Now, this is where the questions come into play. First off, how healthy is Kingwood. Kingwood was expected to be one of the best teams in Texas at the start of the season. However, injury has kept them from racing full strength. The team goal had to be for them to be back on track by Monday's meet. When crunching the numbers, even as a limping team our data shows Kingwood as the fourth best team in the region based on SB times. We will see if they are healthy enough to buy themselves two more weeks of training. If they are healthy, they are as good as any team in the state.
As with the girls race, urgency will be key and the determining factor of the other two to three qualifying teams. Houston Strake Jesuit, Seven Lakes, Cinco Ranch, Katy, and Galena Park North Shore will all have as good of a chance as anyone to get a qualifying spot. All of the teams are about as evenly matched. Once again, this will be another race you will not want to miss!