It was the day all of the regional qualifiers have been waiting on all seasons long. As the UIL 6A boys toed the line, it was the Crusaders from Strake Jesuit playing their cards right on this day.
Their No. 1 runner, Reese Vannerson hadn't captured a regional cross country title yet, but today it was the senior's opportunity and he cashed in. He led from the start, getting out fast with Humble Atascocita senior Oliver Maldonado before unattaching himself from everyone, netting Vannerson's third win of the season.
Doing more damage back in the field was the rest of the Crusader crew. Fellow senior Luke Demahy added a top-10 finish by finishing seventh overall and the rest of the crew scored few enough points to unseat the defending back-to-back region champs Atascocita Eagles.
Michael Archie (Atascocita) finished third overall with Maldonado in ninth to help their team finish second and qualifying for state for the fourth consecutive season in a row as a team.
Jesuit had 71 points thanks in part to a 16:14 team average to Atascocita's 75 points and 16:19 team average. Katy Tompkins finished third with 123 points and Katy Cinco Ranch grabbed the fourth and final state meet qualifying team position with 138 points.
Event 12 Boys 5k Run CC 6A
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Name Year School Finals Points
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Results - Men
1 Reese Vannerson 12 Hou StrakeJesuit 15:30.4 1
2 Adrian Hahn Vadstein 12 Katy Cinco Ranch 15:51.9 2
3 Michael Archie 12 Humble Atascocita 15:55.2 3
4 Sam Golla 11 Houston Clear Lake 16:01.3 4
5 Benjamin Pearce 10 Houston Stratford 16:02.3 5
6 Zain Hamdani 12 Houston Bellaire 16:03.9 6
7 Luke Demahy 12 Hou StrakeJesuit 16:04.2 7
8 Reese Sullivan 12 Katy Seven Lakes 16:05.6 8
9 Oliver Maldonado 12 Humble Atascocita 16:06.9 9
10 Matthew Montgomery 11 Katy Seven Lakes 16:11.8 10