Woodbridge: Cook And Conde De Frankenberg Go Sub 16:00

In the fastest girls race of the event, the sweepstakes race, Mira Costa (SS) senior Dalia Frias held off a rally by Newbury Park senior Samantha McDonnell for the win and a new course record of 15:43.5, formerly held by Grandview (CO) Brie Oakley's 15:53.6 in 2016.

Although known to be a course, only three other girls since 2016 have gone sub-16, four girls achieved it it Saturday night including two Texans. 

The aforementioned McDonnell was second in 15:54.6 in leading her Newbury Park girls to the team title. 

Flower Mound senior Natalie Cook, had not raced on a cross country course all season long until last night. This was quite the way to open up her 2021 season; she was third in 15:56.3. Cook had run a two mile run on the track back in August that resulted in a 10:12.74 PR, which is the TX No. 5 all-time at that distance on a track.

Cedar Park sophomore Isabel Conde de Frankenberg was fourth in 15:59.5. The 2020 UIL 5A cross country state champion had a tune-up last weekend at the Cedar Park Invitational in 17:31.20. This weekend, she was able to use the competition and some of her 2:09.16 800m speed to combine for a very elite time.

Cook and Conde de Frankenberg ran the top two three mile performances by a Texas girls according to the MileSplit database (see below).

Southlake Carroll senior Kaylie Cox and Flower Mound sophomore Nicole Humphries also finished in the top 20. Cox was 15th overall with a time of 16:42.10 and Humphries was 19th in 16:48.80.

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In the girls team race, Newbury Park was barely better than Flower Mound, getting a six point margin victory. Flower Mound ran a fantastic race in their first full squad meet. The had a whopping 16:59 team average while having a 1:40 1-5 split. The split looks discouraging, but it actually isn't when you factor Cook's PR run. The 2-5 split was only 48 second, which makes them pretty solid factoring Humphries' time was a still very solid in sub-17.

Carroll and Vandegrift finished fifth and sixth overall in the team standings. Carroll ran a 17:38 average and a 1:17 split. Similar to Flower Mound, Carroll's split was inflated due to their number one runner's super fast finish. Cox going 16:42 created a big 1-5 disparity; her elite time makes the split look bigger than it is when you consider the 2-5 runners pack running. The Lady Dragons only had 16 seconds between them.

The Lady Vipers from Austin Vandegrift represented team wise as they held their own against the West Coast's best. They got outstanding results from their top three runners when Caitlin Garrett (17:17.20), Taylor Mathis (17:21.50), and Annie Burton (17:25.70) only had an eight second variation. Overall, the team averaged 17:41 with a 57 second split.

In the latest Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas (CCCAT) team poll (you can view here), Southlake Carroll jumped Flower Mound for the top spot and Vandegrift was voted as the No. 4 UIL 6A team in Texas.

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Texas boys also had a good night in Cali. 

Vandegrift junior and TX No. 1 runner Kevin Sanchez finished fifth overall with an outstanding time of 14:06. That's the second fastest three mile time by a Texas boy in the MileSplit database. That places him behind Craig Lutz' 14:02.10 in 2011 and just ahead of Reed Brown 14:11.70 in 2017, and his former Vandegrift teammate, Anthony Montes' 14:14.50 in 2020.

Two of the top Texas boys teams, Southlake Carroll and El Paso Eastwood finished fourth and fifth in the team standings.

Southlake Carroll doesn't have low stick runner who is going to get single digit points in a huge invitational like this, but what they do have is the capability to throw a barrage of green jerseys at you all at once.

They displayed that last night by getting Hunter Hill (14:52.10) to cross the line in 45th place and the team's number one scorer. They followed that up with rest of their scorers crossing the line 26 second behind Hill and with a 15:04.98 team average.

Eastwood, who is also known for their pack running, was able to exhibit some of that themselves. They went for a 15:06 team average for the three mile distance while still able to go for a 44 second split.

Girls Three Mile Run