2022 Luke's Locker 6-Mile Relay
- Written by Jason Yaffe
The month of August is marked by the opening of school in Texas and the beginning of the competitive xc season. Another mainstay has been the Greenhill/Luke's Locker 6 Mile Relay race. Teams have come and gone over the years, with hundreds of state champions kicking off their season at Norbuck Park. Some of the Texas greats, ranging from Emily Fields (Trinity Valley), Chelsey Sviensson (Greenhill) and the Humphries twins (Flower Mound) to Parker Stinson (Cedar Park) and Reed Brown (Southlake Carroll), have hurdled the relay's famous hay bales. Rumor has it that even Lance Armstrong carried a garden glove (what is used as a relay baton) for Plano East in the late 1980s! This year's event, the 39th annual edition, is set for Saturday, August 24, 2024. Luke's Locker and HOKA are once again teaming up to help Greenhill host the event. It's August and true to form, the hay bales will be in place when the starting gun goes off at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
In the girls competition, Highland Park will be looking to win the 6a/5a girls after a runner up finish last year. The Lady Scots raced well last weekend in the Waxahachie Woodhouse Invitational, averaging 19:10 for their top five as they placed second in the elite varsity girls race. A 6a/5a win at the Relay would be the 10th team title for the Lady Scots. The Dallas Ursuline Academy Bears could be in the mix, along with schools from the north Dallas region and Norman (OK) High School. Sanger is returning as the two time defending champions in the 4A and under race. Look to see how they compete against the larger schools since the varsity race is combined, as it has been in the past.
The boys competition is wide open with Coppell, Norman, and Arlington Martin likely to be leading the way. Coppell was ranked No. 8 in the state in the 6A boys TXMilesplit preseason poll. They looked impressive at last weekend's Waxahachie Woodhouse Invitational. If they bring their A team to the relay, watch out! Defending 6a/5a champion St. Mark's is back, too, and they will surely be pushed by Houston Episcopal, the 2023 SPC champs, as well as another SPC power, Houston St. John's. Sanger's boys matched their girls squad last year and claimed the 4a team title. Whether they can repeat will be decided in a matter of days.
This year's Relay schedule combines the JV A and JV B races for each gender. The schedule is as follows:
6:15 Registration
7:30 Varsity 6a/5a Boys and 4a and under Boys (2 relay teams per school)
7:35 Varsity 6a/5a Girls and 4a and under Girls (2 relay teams per school)
8:30 JV A Boys (2 relay teams per school) and JV B Boys (unlimited relay teams per school)
8:30 JV A Girls (2 relay teams per school) and JV B Girls (unlimited relay teams per school)