Walker St. John's post race interview at 2021 Garmin MileSplit Inv.
Class 5A
The big players in the UIL 5A girls team race have already had one encounter, but round two between Cameron McConnell and the Love sisters will be a show.
McConnell enters with the fastest time of 17:08 and Gabbie Love (17:23) and Allie Love (17:41) of Colleyville Heritage will help make quite a show. McConnell's aspirations are for an individual title and the Loves want to win a team title.
Team wise, this will be as good as the individual race. There are four teams (Canyon Randall, Colleyville Heritage, Grapevine, and Amarillo) who are heads and shoulders ahead of the rest of the field and the order of finish should be the only unpredictability.
Not only does Randall have a low stick in McConnell, but they have last year's third place finisher Ariyah Gomez is back in form and several other experienced runners.
Heritage has the Loves and other key returners Cambria Keith, Jaclyn Turner, and Haiden Cowdery to form a solid scoring punch. A third place podium finish last year was nice, but Heritage is on the hunt for more this season.
Speaking of podium finishes, Grapevine knows how to do just that. They put together a solid regional race last year and backed it up at state to finish second overall.
Amarillo is solid again this year and with only three qualifying teams last year, they were unable to make it to Round Rock. That shouldn't happen this year as the Amarillo girls will be tough to beat and not just anyone will be able to do it.
The UIL 5A boys race will be very fun to watch. The fastest two teams in the state are competing and the individual race is loaded!
Walker St. John is the defending state champion and has one of the fastest times in the state this year with his 14:57.
While St. John is the only sub 15:00 minute guy in the field on Monday, don't expect to see him prancing around the course alone. The Denton duo of Drew McLaughlin and Wyatt Athey are both sub 15:16 guys, Isaac McGill and Miles Cox of Amarillo are all-state runners, and then Bryceson Boss of Aledo isn't far behind.
If you think that's enough, consider this. . . Grapevine isn't one of the best teams in the country just because they have one stud runner. Trey Leathers, Josue Granados, Alberto Rayon, and Brian Guevara could all be No. 1 runners for any other team in the state.
Oh yeah, one final actor in this upcoming drama is David Mora (Lubbock Monterey). Mora has a 15:32 SB on the season, but his 14:56 PR came from last year when he was third at the state meet.
Grapevine has been the best team in the state all season long to this point and that shouldn't change now. If there is any 5A team in the state who can beat them it is only Denton.
With their ability to run a 15:21 team average and a 41 second split, Grapevine could place all five of their scorers in the the top 10. Denton finished third last year at state and climbing the podium has been on their minds.
Amarillo missed out on the state meet last year when they finished fourth overall. With four team qualifiers being allowed again, they plan to get back and they should comfortably do so. McGill, Cox, and Noah Watt make a solid trio and their four and five runners can run tight with one another.
Amarillo Tascosa did qualify last year and their chances will rely on two studs to put them in contention. Gabriel Enriquez and Emilio Salas will be key to Tascosa to get back to Round Rock, but their 3-5 runners will be just as important to keep their score low.