District and regional rivals compete at the 2021 Hoka One McNeil Inv.
Austin Vandegrift has been ranked as one of the best UIL 6A girls teams all season long. In fact, they were ranked No. 4 in the state in the latest CCCAT poll; no other Region 4 teams were ahead of them.
So, wrap up the regional title and put it on the Vandegrift bus, right? Not so fast. The Round Rock girls were also ranked in that final CCCAT regular season poll, checking in at No. 10 in the state.
That's enough to make things interesting right there. But, there is more; with recent events like the district championships, this race will now be even more of a high stakes race.
The Round Rock girls topped Vandegrift at their district meet last Thursday. The used a sixteen second compression between their first four runners as they placed fifth through eighth place.
TEAM SCORES PLACE TEAM POINTS SCORERS TIMES 1 Round Rock 40 5+6+7+8+14 (16+28) 1:11 1-5 Split | 19:43 Avg 2 Austin Vandegrift 44 1+9+10+11+13 (17+22) 1:26 1-5 Split | 19:47 Avg 3 Vista Ridge 91 2+15+19+24+31 (34) 3:12 1-5 Split | 20:55 Avg 4 Round Rock Westwood 103 3+12+21+32+35 (37+40) 3:26 1-5 Split | 21:06 Avg 5 Round Rock Cedar Ridge 141 18+20+26+36+41 (44) 3:00 1-5 Split | 22:07 Avg 6 Round Rock McNeil 144 25+27+29+30+33 0:38 1-5 Split | 22:04 Avg 7 Round Rock Stony Point 146 4+23+38+39+42 (43) 5:02 1-5 Split | 22:17 Avg
Overall, they won the meet 40 to 44 over the Lady Vipers. Although that makes it interesting, it doesn't lock up a team win either way. Vandegrift saw sophomore Caitlin Garrett continue to have a good season as she won the district title. They also had a good tight pack with their 2-4 runners finish within 12 seconds.
Vandegrift should be ready to take on the upcoming regional and state championship meets. They've competed in big meets including back-to-back races where they went to California for a big national meet and back to race at the Hoka One McNeil Inv.
New Braunfels, Smithson Valley, and Austin Westlake have all qualified for state recently and they'll be looking to get into the top four team spots and a chance get back to state.
Edinburg Economedes has been impressive all season long and is a sleeper team to watch. They can run tight up front and if they get a good race at the five spot, they can easily make it to state.
