Week #3 in San Antonio Featured Big Performances

Even though this is just the third week of the season, teams are now around a month away from District championship races. There were only a few meets that the San Antonio area schools competed at this week but that led to some outstanding competitions with individuals and teams going head-to-head with their biggest rivals. The 21^st Annual Patriots Cross Country Invitational held at the River City Community Church complex was loaded with many of the top athletes in the entire region and I was able to be there firsthand to witness it.

The Best Thing I Saw

One of the things that many people do not realize is just how much of a team sport cross country is. I interviewed over 30 teams at the Patriots Invitational and it was so nice to hear athletes talk about their teammates and what their goals were as a group and how they all needed each other to push through workouts and races. It honestly made me miss my high school cross country days and the camaraderie that is developed among teams because they are all doing something that is difficult together and because of that, they are able to do better than if they were on their own.

The Top Four

While there were many great performances this weekend, there were four individuals and one team that stood out from among the rest. In the boys division it was Farrin Mangelson and San Antonio Patriots and Zachary Miller of Brennan who shined the brightest. Mangelson finished third overall in the Open Boys Race at the Patriots Invitational and he was the top local finisher with his time of 14:45.95 on the course that was measured at a little less than 5K. He showed that he could handle a big meet with hundreds of competitors and be in contention for the top spot. Miller won the NEISD Meet #2 on a hilly course. He ran 15:52.69 for 5K and he would now be on the short list of top 6A boys in San Antonio.

On the girls side of the ledger, the two runners I am highlighting kept their seasons rolling along in impressive fashion. Boerne Champion's Elizabeth Leachman is putting together a season to remember. She ran away from a strong field at the Patriots Invitational crossing the finish line in 15:54.91, over 80 seconds faster than second place! It was initially thought that she may have broken the State record in the 5K until the course was remeasured. Nonetheless, it will not be a surprise if she is able to break the record this year. In the Varsity Girls division at the Patriots Invitational, Cadence Patterson of Canyon Lake controlled the race and finish 15 seconds ahead of the competition with a 2-mile time of 10:56.40 which is #2 in the State this year. When looking back to last year, Patterson finished over 70 seconds faster than she did last year at the Patriots Invitational.

The team that showed the most was the Poth girls. They won the Varsity Girls 2-mile division by 78 points at the Patriots Invitational. They have a strong group led by sophomore Brooklyn Albert and freshman Katelyn Poth. Two more sophomores, Rylee Ellis and Sadie Skloss each finished in the top 35 giving them four runners under 12:50 for the 2-mile distance. The youth of the group means that Region IV is going to be running through Poth for years to come.

Around the City

The NEISD Meet #2 boys meet was won by Johnson who had all five runners finish in the top 20. Their top three of Michael Repper-Molina, Evan Packard and Ethan Aponte all finished in the top eight to lead the team to 45 points. Clemens was second with 54 points and they boast two of the top freshmen in the area, Trevor Lawson and Jayce Love, who finished fifth and sixth, respectively with both crossing the line less than a second apart from each other.

In the NEISD girls meet, Brennan's Caila Lyons matched her teammate, Zachary Miller, in winning the 5K race. She covered the course in 19:36.45 and was the only runner under 20 minutes. Araceli Ford of O'Connor was the runner-up while Johnson freshman Emily Krot took third place. Overall, it was the Rio Grande Valley's Harlingen High who left as team champions with 45 points. Johnson were runner-up thanks to three runners in the top 10 and Medina Valley finished in third place despite not having a runner finish inside the top 15.

The Open Boys Division of the Patriots Invitational was won easily by Austin Vandegrift, the 6A State Runners-Up from last year. The top local team was Boerne Champion in fourth place while Reagan was sixth and Lytle was seventh. San Antonio Christian's Adrian Rule was one of a hand full of athletes to break 15 minutes on the course as he finished in seventh place. Reagan's Gavin Chapa continued his excellent season with a 10^th place finish. In the Varsity Boys Division it was Alice winning the team title with 88 points and Cornerstone Christian taking second with 112 points. Canyon Lake's Layton Hemann won the race in 15:59.29 while Eli Perez of Floresville was second to help lead his squad to a third-place finish. Davenport and SA Patriots round out the top five teams. Davenport's Eli Bliss picked up a fifth-place finish in 16:40.97 while Israel Cuellar was Cornerstone's top finisher in seventh place.

The Open Girls Division of the Patriots Invitational also had Vandegrift winning the team title easily. Boerne Champion was the top local team with a sixth-place finish. After Leachman, only four other locals finished in the top 20. Smithson Valley's Mia Perez was fifth with a time of 17:39.17 while Clark's Jadeyn Perez took 10^th in just under 18 minutes. Savanah Moya of New Braunfels and Kassia Kozarski of Steele were the other two local runners to finish in the top 20. I have already mentioned Poth winning the Varsity Girls Division, but it was their top District rival, Lytle, who finished in second place. After Petterson and Albert took the top two spots, it was San Antonio Christian's Madi Schmitt in third place, Canyon Lake's Eva Zabarcenco in seventh place and Davenport's Maddie Reagan in eight place to round out the local top 10 finishers.

The final local meet that I was able to find was the Hippensteel Cross Country Meet hosted by Lockhart. It was a small meet with each race covering 2.1 miles. In the 5A-6A girls race, it was Alexandria Juarez and Eleanor Smith of San Marcos taking the top two spots and they finished second as a team to Georgetown East View. In the 5A-6A boys race it was Lockhart's Zeke Sanchez winning a closely contested race in 11:02 while his teammates, Carlos Terrazas-Soberano and Alejandro Cruz each finished in the top five to help lead them to a team title with just 23 points.

What's Happening This Week