Friday Recap: UIL State Championships

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The first day of the UIL State Championship meet is complete with the 1A, 3A, and 5A divisions rounding out their seasons this morning. We saw some tight races while others were significantly more spread out, however, the constant remained both the teams and individuals left it all out on the course.

So, let's not waste any time and get into recapping what happened on Friday at the UIL State Championships.

1A Girls

Starting with the 1A Girls division which notably competes over 2 miles rather than the traditional 5000m, we see that the battle for the team title largely mirrored that of the individual one.

On the individual side, Earth Springlake senior Taytum Goodman ran away with the race as expected as she went on to take victory in 11:20, thirty-nine seconds ahead of second place. Goodman was the heavy favorite heading into the race this morning for obvious reasons, as she hasn't lost a race dating back to the 2022 outdoor season. As expected, Goodman took the race from the gun and had built up a healthy seven-second gap at the mile mark. From there, she continued to pour on the pace and pulled away from the field over the final mile.

Goodman's victory marks yet another accolade in her historic career. It's her fourth cross country state title and that brings her tally to eleven state titles in the 1A Girls division and she'll likely bring home several more this spring.

On the team side, the battle for the win wasn't much closer as Roby, who was also the favorite heading into this weekend, won the race comfortably. They were firmly in control of the race at the mile mark, having only 41 points on the board and they continued that control over the final mile. Ultimately when the race ended, Roby had scored just 66 points and cruised to the team victory with three runners in the top seven. They finished with a team average of 12:47 and went home as state champions after a dominant performance.

As for the remaining places on the individual podium, Jayton's Jace Chisum produced the only other sub-12 performance as she took home the silver medal in a time of 11:59. Chisum established herself as the firm second-place contender by the mile mark and held that position the rest of the way. As for third place, Roby's Chasity Benson led her team to the state title in a time of 12:08 which was good enough for a personal best.

On the team side, the battle for second place was extremely close with the gap being just two points, however, Jayton was able to bring it home thanks to strong performances from Jace Chisum and Daylee Chisum, who both finished in the top five. In third place, Tilden McMullen County turned in a strong performance thanks to their tight split and nearly took home the second-place trophy. Tilden was led by sophomore Isabella Billingsley who finished just outside the top ten in eleventh, making her a key player to watch in next year's state title race.

Ultimately, while the battle for the 1A Girls state titles wasn't necessarily tight, we still had the privilege of watching the known contenders shine and add another state title to already impressive resumes.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Nieland

Taytum Goodman

1A Boys

Heading over to the 1A Boys division which competes over the full 5000m distance, we saw a much more competitive race with both the individual and team titles being separated by the finest of margins.

On the individual side, the race came down to the wire as Comstock sophomore Sebastian Talamantez battled with Miller Grove junior Ryker Haivala to the line. Talamantez took the race from the gun and led by the slightest of margins at the mile mark, while Haivala took a much more conservative approach, going through the mile mark ten seconds slower.

Over the second mile, both improved as the race settled in with Talamantez continuing to lead out front while Haivala closed the gap and moved into second place. From this point, the race became all about emptying the tank and getting to the line and while Haivala made a valiant effort, he came up just short and finished just two seconds behind Talamantez.

This win marks the first state title of Talamantez's career and surely signals more to come as he's only a sophomore.

As for the team side, the margins were even slimmer as only five points separated first and second place. In the end, Slidell just edged out Jayton for the victory thanks to a clutch performance from their fifth-runner Christian Torres. At the mile mark, both teams were separated by just three points as Slidell had a slight advantage in the midfield and front of the race. This gap widened over the second mile as Slidell increased the gap to nine points, still close but with a lot more breathing room considering how close the race was.

However, this changed over the final mile as Jayton began to move up the field while Slidell began to feel the effects of that second mile. However, ultimately when the race finished Slidell had done enough to hold off Jayton and came away with the team title by only five points.

Rounding out the final places on the individual podium was the aforementioned Ryker Haivala of Miller Grove who finished second in a time of 16:27 and Jose Ventura of Lasara of Ventura who finished third in 16:34. On the team side, the aforementioned Jayton came so close to winning the title but ultimately had to settle for second while Comstock took the final step on the podium thanks to Talamantez's win.

The 1A Boys race was tight and stressful for those involved, to say the least, however, now that it's over they can reflect on what was an all-around great race with some very clutch performances.

3A Girls

Moving on to the 3A Girls race which also competes over the 2-mile distance rather than 5000m, we saw another race that wasn't exactly competitive with both the team and individual titles being won by sizable margins.

On the individual side, Universal City Randolph junior Sophia Bendet turned in an impressive performance to come away with the individual victory. Through the first half, Bendet established herself at the front but faced a strong starting Addison Hite through the mile mark. However, over the second mile, we saw Bendet pull away and maintain a comfortable margin to cruise home to a twenty-one-second victory in a time of 11:13.

What was impressive about Bendet's performance was how evenly she ran her race as her splits were within sixteen seconds of each other while her fellow competitors weren't anywhere near that. This marks her third state championship of 2023 and continues an impressive run of form that's seen her win all but three races out of thirty races this calendar year.

As for the team battle, it wasn't much closer as we saw the heavy favorites Holliday cruise to an eighty-point victory which is likely one of the largest we'll see this weekend. Holliday controlled the race from the start and had three runners in the top ten at the mile mark, with all five being in the top twenty. This barely changed over the second mile as they ended with just fifty-seven points, thoroughly dominating their competition and securing what's sure to be one of the smoother state title victories that we see this weekend.

For the remaining spots on the individual podium, the battle was a lot closer than it was for the win. Maypearl senior Makayla Stephens came away with second place thanks to a great final mile which was her close from fifth to second. As for third place, Pilot Point senior Addison Hite rode a strong first mile to the podium in a time of 11:38.

On the team side, East Bernard secured second place thanks to a great thirty-seven-second split which is likely one of the best splits we'll see all weekend. They were able to effectively pack the places in the low 20s which allowed them to score valuable points and secure this position. In third, Lytle fended off a strong charge from Dalhart and were able to secure their spot on the podium by just a single point. Lytle also ran very close together and produced a fifty-second split which secured them their spot on the podium.

While the battles for the win weren't the closest in the 3A Girls race, they were certainly close for the remaining spots on the podium. Running together was the name of the game in this instance and the teams who did so effectively were rewarded with some hardware for their efforts.

Photo Credit: Gabriel Nieland

Noah Strohman - Holliday

3A Boys

Moving to the 3A Boys division, we see that this race was decided by much slimmer margins than the girl's race as the battle for the team title was separated by only five points.

On the individual side, the race wasn't close as Noah Strohman brought home the state title for Holliday as only a sophomore in a time of 15:31. Strohman took the race out hard from the front and never relinquished the lead as he demonstrated an impressive ability to hammer out pace given his age. He went through the two-mile mark under 10:00 in 9:57 and increased his gap even more over the final mile.

This win marks Strohman's fourth state title as only a sophomore and look for him to add several more titles this spring as he has one of, if not the most impressive track resumes in the nation headed into the spring.

As for the team battle, we saw yet another tightly contested race as only five points separated the top two teams. While the race was fiercely contested, Great Hearts Northern Oaks ultimately came away with the victory thanks to an incredible performance by their top three runners who all finished inside the top sixteen. Northern Oaks started the race much more conservatively than their competitors as they were only in fifth through the mile mark.

However, they began to show more pace over the second mile as they improved to third and continued to show more pace than those around them. The heroics came over the third and final mile as Northern Oaks charged through the remaining field and brought home the state title in one of the more impressive paths to victory we've seen.

In the battle for the remaining podium place, Chris Kopecky brought home the silver medal for East Bernard and fought off a strong charge from Benjamin Castro of McGregor who finished third only 0.3 seconds behind.

On the team side, Lytle put together a great race but simply couldn't hold off the charging Northern Oaks over the final mile and finished second as a result. They controlled the race effectively over the first two miles and remained consistent, however, unfortunately sometimes at the state meet you can do everything right and still come up short. In third place, Eustace turned in a solid performance and ran a consistent race similar to Lytle but also fell victim to the charging Northern Oaks over the final mile.

Ultimately, the battle for the 3A Boys individual crown wasn't the tightest race, however, the battle for the team title was tightly contested and came down to the wire. Northern Oaks turned in an incredibly executed race strategy and put in the type of charge through the field that creates state champions. Their performance was impressive and they've been rewarded accordingly with a state championship.

5A Girls

Moving on to the biggest and fastest division of the day, the 5A Girls race saw what will easily be the least competitive battle for the individual title and one of the more dominant team title-winning performances as well.

Heading into this morning, Elizabeth Leachman winning the individual title for Boerne Champion was a forgone conclusion that you would've bet your mortgage on. Leachman was ranked as the #2 runner in the nation and it's safe to say she showed why she's ranked so highly this morning. Leachman led by eight seconds at the mile mark and the gap only got wider from there. She continued to hammer away throughout the second mile and led by thirty-seven seconds.

At this point, she could've easily cruised to victory and secured another state title but that's not what she did. Over the final mile, Leachman continued to push and ultimately won the race by 1:09 in 16:25, smashing the state course record and producing one of the most dominant performances we've ever seen.

This performance marked a personal best for Leachman and marked the second state title of her young career. She's currently a top-two runner in the nation and is undoubtedly a serious contender to win a meet like NXN later this year. She'll likely be the clear best runner in the country next year and we look forward to seeing just how good she can become.

As for the team title, we saw a similarly uncompetitive race as the heavy favorites Lucas Lovejoy continued their trend of impressive teams and brought home another state title. Lovejoy controlled the race at the mile mark and continued to build a gap over the remainder of the race. By the end, they had three runners in the top nine and two in the top four to easily lock up the state title. This team has been impressive for several years now and they've continued that trend this year.

As for the remaining spots on the individual podium, Isabel Conde de Frankenberg came home in second by a comfortable margin in 17:34, finishing what's been another solid year in her sensational career. Lovejoy's Sara Morefield came home in third place, adding an individual medal to what's already been an outstanding day for Lucas Lovejoy.

In terms of the team podium, Aledo came home in second and cemented themselves as the clear second-best team in the state behind Lovejoy. They made the race close throughout the first mile but ultimately drifted back as the race went on. Georgetown came home in third to finish off what's been another strong year for the program.

This year's 5A Girls race was a tale of dominance in both the individual and team battles. Both saw dominating forces show why they're so highly ranked and demonstrated just how talented the state of Texas is. This division is always exciting and we look forward to seeing what its top runners can do on the national level this fall.

5A Boys

Last but certainly not least this Friday is the 5A Boys division which took a similar shape to that of the 5A Girls race in the way that we saw team and individual battles that weren't very competitive.

On the individual side, the predicted winner Ethan Gonzalez of Richland Hills came away with the victory by a very wide margin. Gonzalez clocked one of the best times we've seen this year as he cruised to a 14:55 which secured him the win by twenty-five seconds. It's safe to say he's been the dominant force of this division throughout the year and this performance adds all the more merit to that statement.

As expected, Gonzalez took the race from the gun and established himself at the front. This was his race to lose and the way he structured his race demonstrated that as he took no prisoners and ran how he's run all year. Gonzalez pulled away from the field over the second mile as he opened up a gap to second place and continued to push a strong pace. This story remained the same over the final mile as Gonzalez maximized his effort to the line and secured a dominant state title victory as a result.

As for the team title, Lucas Lovejoy rounded out a 5A sweep as they too ran away with the team title in what was a pretty easy race for them. They led the race by twenty-five points at the mile mark and this gradually grew as the race went on. Given the tough competition they've faced this year, it wouldn't be crazy to say that the state meet was one of the easier races Lovejoy has had this season. While this seems odd, it's a testament to just how good this team is and how they're slowly becoming a dynasty in this 5A division.

The battle for the remaining spots on the individual podium was tight, however, Abiliene's Andruw Villa turned in another great performance to secure second place. Villa has had one of the state's best seasons this year and rounding it out with a podium finish at the state meet is ideal, to say the least. Edwin Rotich finished third for Leander Rouse and showcased impressive pace over the back half of the race to do so. Both guys maximized their races and they should be proud.

In terms of the remaining teams, Georgetown had a great day and finished second thanks to strong performances from Joseph Wienen and Nolan House who both finished in the top ten. Georgetown maximized their volume at the front of the race which offset a larger split and helped them bring home their predicted second place. As for third, Boerne Champion had an incredible day and jumped several spots to finish on the podium. This is thanks in large part to their incredible thirty-second split which allowed them to score valuable points in the 20s. They had their ideal race and third place is a great reward.

The 5A Boys race delivered as it always does and caps off what's been a great first day of the UIL State Championships. Be sure to check back in with us tomorrow as we recap the 2A, 4A, and 6A races. It's sure to be another exciting day of racing and you won't want to miss it.