6A Girls 3200m
It may have required an extra mile of running, but Edinburg
North's San Juanita Leal prevailed in one of the most unusual 3200m 6A Girls
State Championship races a person could witness.
At approximately 10:30 a.m. Leal and the rest of the competitors in the 3200m took their places at the starting line. The gun went off, but they were called back for a restart. On the second try, the race proceeded in heavy rain with Samantha Humphries (Lewisville Flower Mound), Leal and Nicole Humphries (Lewisville Flower Mound) leading the way through three laps. On the fourth lap, lightning flashed and thunder rolled through Mike A. Myers Stadium and as the runners were coming through the mile mark they were stopped by meet officials after completing the first mile in 5:13.
Related: Weather Stops Girls 3200 Mid-Race
The decision was made to let the 6A Boys run their 3200m race when the meet restarted at 1 p.m. and then the girls hit the track again around 1:15 p.m.
San Juanita Leal exhibits relief after winning the UIL 6A girls 3200m
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
This time, the race followed a different script. It was Pearland's Madison Peters and Conroe Grand Oaks' Staucie Lees who led a tight pack through the first mile at 5:19 while the Humphries sisters sat in the middle of the pack and Leal was comfortable running from the back of the pack.
At the start of the sixth lap, Nicole Humphries moved to the lead with Samantha close behind her which forced Leal to move up into contention. Those three, along with Ava Bushaw of Southlake Carroll, broke away from the rest of the pack and went through 2400 meters at 7:58.
As the lead group came down the homestretch of the seventh lap, Leal started to make her move. She moved into first place and then drove hard through the final 400 meters running a final lap of 1:07.56 to win in 10:19.19 while Samantha and Nicole Humphries took the silver and bronze medals, respectively.