Hudson Haley ran 15:13 to win the Varsity boys race
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So, Friday morning was the annual early season 5K opener for many teams in the Austin area as well as some others from further south.
Austin Vandegrift typically runs their sub-varsity teams at this meet, while taking their top seven girls and boys to the Friday Night Lights in The Woodlands or the Southlake Inv. The Friday Night Lights was cancelled this year and the Southlake meet has been moved to another weekend.
That gave us an opportunity to watch Vandegrift open up at 5,000m this weekend and they did not disappoint.
Here are our points of interesting results from the Vista Ridge Inv.
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Girls Recap
Vandegrift Girls
The CCCAT No. 9 ranked Vandegrift girls are always a force to be reckoned with in Region 4-6A as well as in the state of Texas.
They had a solid start to the year and showed signs of continuing their legacy.
A 19:35 team average gave them the meet win. Tibbie Mustacchia was the lead runner for the Lady Vipers with her 18:50 and third place finish. Mustacchia focused on speed during the track season with PRs in both the 800m and 1600m.
Caroline Krupa, Cate Cloran, and Olivia Mason provided the additional power the team needed with sub 20-minute runs.
Salado Girls
The Salado girls also opened up with an impressive race. They are a class 4A team, so they compete at 2-miles, but the 5K looked good on them Friday. They finished third place at state last year and are the CCCAT No. 2 ranked squad in 4A this season.
Junior Cade Harris was fourth place at last year's 4A state meet. Her 19:36 paved the way for the team, but she got back up from freshman McCall Boyd who ran 20-flat.
Salado has a talented class of 2028 as Annalee Bryant (20:19) and Hayden Griesemer (20:21) helped Salado keep pace with the 5A and 6A teams.
They were second behind Vandegrift with their 20:12 team average and a 1:08 split in August shows this team's potential.
Impressive Individuals
Eva Cragnolino (Austin LASA) won the meet with a 18:35 run. She was able to outlast Round Rock senior Meredith Wolfe and her finishing time of 18:38.
Cragnolino who ran 5:15 and 12:06 on the track last year is already off to a fast start.
Wolfe has been an impactful piece for the Round Rock program for her three previous seasons. Her all-around capability looks to prepared for a great senior season on grass with this star.
Boys Recap
Vandegrift Boys
Many have been waiting on the first run of the season over 5,000m from Vandegrift and for good reason. They have been inching closer and closer to a UIL 6A state team title and last year, they was their best finish.
The Vipers were team runner-up team finishers in Round Rock last season, but honestly, I think they sincerely believed they could have won the race. Their second place wasn't for a lack of trying; they ran a 15:29 team average with a 43-second 1-5 split. That is even with one of their seven runners who lined up unable to finish the race.
That is a very impressive run and in most years a performance that would win the state title. It just so happened to be an even better run from the Southlake Carroll boys. They ran a 15:21 team average and a 44-second split to beat Vandegrift by 21 points (45<66).
Attrition took two graduating scorers from last year's team, but the CCCAT No. 3 ranked Vandegrift boys have shown the ability to lose their best runners (state champions) and return an ever better team. That has been the expected level of potential surrounding this year's squad.
Their performance yesterday showed that the expectations are justified and the potential is real. Their Silver and Black 3,000m time trial two weeks ago looked promising, but we now have tangible evidence at 5,000m.
Hudson Haley, last year's UIL 6A individual runner-up and opened up with a 15:13 this weekend. His Silver and Black 3K result was 8:51 He was followed up by junior Kai McCullough ran 15:28 for second place with sophomore Collin Goodwin third in 15:39.
McCullough and Goodwin ran 8:59 and 9:08 at the 3K time trial two weeks ago.
Miles Nutt was the fourth finisher for Vandegrift in 15:51, Jackson Stafford was the No. five runner and Christian Cruz Castro was the sixth finisher in 16:08.
With a promising first 5K for a freshman, Anderson Mills was the seventh runner crossing the finish line in 17:22.
Going 15:40 as a team with a 53-second split, Vandegrift proved they will be tough to beat once again and will challenge not only for another podium finish, but the team title as well.
Round Rock
Round Rock is another team who has been dominant in Region 4-6A for the last couple of years and have been at the state meet.
They've also graduated several big time scorers over the past three consecutive years. However, on Friday, they showed they are ready to deal again this year.
They ran a 16:41 team average, which isn't blazing fast, however as they gather their squad and get more chances to race big time teams, this is one to be on the lookout for. Their 37-second 1-5 split is a really good place to start and develop the rest of their year.
Salado
Salado was a state meet qualifying squad last year, finishing in fifth place as a team. They ran a 16:58 average with a 1:12 split from 1-5; that was in November.
Their aspirations for the 2024 season look good as they hung in there with the 5A and 6A teams. A good omen and building moment is the fact that they start off in August with the same 16:58 team average from state and only four seconds behind (1:16) their split.
Impressive Individuals
This race wasn't just an opening of team giants. There were also some very impressive individual performances.
Austin Anderson junior Colby Huntress was the fourth place finisher in 15:49. Huntress has been an emerging star in the 800m and 1600m races on the track, but his performance this weekend is definitely an eye opener for his longer distance prowess.
Gage Horejsi (Leander) quite frankly hasn't had any distinctive runs in cross country that would raise eyebrows; he only has one track run that does that. However, his 9:33 best in the 3,200m last spring might have been a sign. His 15:52 opening 5K on Friday just might be the evidence we need to keep an eye on the senior.