Texas A&M Invitational
Yesterday morning, the Texas A&M Invitational was one of the events that got the weekend kicked off.
Going into the event, we knew there were some state ranked programs and reigning state champions who would be competing.
here is a quick recap of what happened in College station.
Varsity Boys Race
The varsity boys race was the first high school race on the day. Getting out in front of the pack in early goings was Aiden Faz (Barbers Hill). Faz is one of the top returning 5A runners from last years state meet and he started the race with an urgency that appeared to be a conscious effort to not caught up in the pack.
Faz appears to prefer getting out fast and early. We've seen him demonstrate this strategy before, like at the 2023 state meet when led the race through the mile, plus.
it wasn't long before the 6A third place finisher from last year and the 3200m state champ Benjamin Montgomery (Bridgeland) was able to navigate his way trough the hundreds of runners and to the front.
For approximately 3,000 meters it was Faz and Montgomery stride for stride through the winding Dale Watts course turns. The Bridgeland senior looked to find a steady rhythm and appeared barely fazed by the pace late morning temperatures.
Faz looked fit and determined to hold onto Montgomery, but he would eventually succumb to the relentless and consistent pace.
The chase pack was a little distance behind the two leaders, but it had a decent amount of capable runners. Jack Fink (Aledo), Gage Horesji (Leander), Yannick Brooks (College Park), Michael McCart (Prsoper), Diego Duran (Bryan), Shepherd Steen (Fulshear Churchill), and Zachary Mangum ( Georgetown) were just a few of the many runners who made up the chase pack and break off packs.
The finish saw 10 boys just over 16-minutes and all finish sighing 10-seconds of one another.
Montgomery won the race in 15:18, setting a new meet record. However, behind him and throughout the entire race, his Bridgeland teammates were putting together solid race of their own. Collectively, they appeared to be efficiently executing their pack racing strategy.
Transfer Griffen Saacke was able to out run everyone not named Benjamin Montgomery. He was the race runner-up finisher with a time of 15:52. Finishing third, Bridgeland Junior Kyle Pawlak got in for third place with a time of 15:58.
Producing complete and solid races for top 10 individual finishes were Horesji in fourth at 15:59, Faz fifth in 16:01, Broos sixth in 16:03, Fink eighth in 16:06, McCart ninth in 16:07, and with finishing a time of 16:08, Steen was 10th.
Bears aren't know to travel in packs, but at Bridgeland, they do. Coach Water's four, five, and six runners all crossed the finish line in a span of four-seconds. Maddox McCallister was seventh place with a time of 16:05, Layton Carlisle was 11th in 16:08, and just a second behind in 16:09, Tyler Weston was 12th.
That carried Bridgeland to their second consecutive mlressive meet win. The final stats for the team was a 15:52 average and a 51-second spread.
Brooks' sixth place finish led College Park to the second place team finish. The Cavaliers were running without 6A all-state runner Camden Gibson. However, they were still strong with a 16:33 team average and only a 45-second gap time in the end.
In third place, McAllen is still taking it meet by meet. Their hopes are to gradually get better and healthier as the different phases of the season come and go.
Last year McAllen started the season clicking and running blazing fast. Not that anything happened wrong, but they just had their worst race of the season at regionals. With the talent to challenge for the regional title, by very few points, they narrowly missed out on one of the four state meet qualifying when they placed fifth.
This season, the majority of the runners are now in their junior seasons and not only have a year of extra experience, but the mentalities of an extended coaches mind.
The Bulldogs are currently executing a planned more moderate start to the season with the goal. With that, they have still been consistent and making small gains as a team. In third place, they were the top non-6A team to finish. Their stats were still impressive and in the range they want it to as October slowly makes its way here. McAllen's finish time were a 16:47 average and only a 31-second spread.
Varsity Girls Race
This race was melting pot of all of Texas. There were ranked 6A teams and individuals, several 2023 TAPPS state champion individuals and teams, as well as young second exciting home schoolers.
Not too far after the starter's pistol shot off, it was Sophia Bendet (Universal City Randolph) and Elin Latta (South Tecas Heat Homeschool) getting out to the front of the race.
The two ladies who had terrific track seasons in 2023 look to still be riding the momentum from them this cross country season. Bendet won the 3A state title last fall and added more track states titles in the spring. She ran a couple of top ranked Texas all-time 800m races indoor and outdoors.
Speaking of all-time performances, all Latta did was run faster than any American girl in the history of the world has ever run prior to getting to the high school level. She set a middle school indoor national record in the mile.
For the second time this season the two San Antonio area stars faced off.
They separated from everyone quickly and by a good margin. For most of the race, due to a couple of strides somewhere between 2k - 3K, it was Bendet holding about a 15 meter gap on Latta.
The Randolph senior was strong and steady the entire way making the effort look easy. That not only earned her the 17:23 win, but it also helped her to a new meet record.
For the second time this season, the freshman Latta was second behind Bendet. She finished with a 17:45 PR and was also ahead of the former meet record.
The performances by Bendet and Latta on this day not only show how fit these two young ladies are, but the times on this course reflect how good they currently are. This race was a legitimate 5,000m measured course and despite the lack of significant hills the course has a number of low grade steady inclines in the back half of the course.
Albeit moderate, there is some level of difficulty or at least something that makes this a not-so-fast course. In my opinion, the performances here from Bendet and Latta on this course elevate them solidly in the early conversation of favorites to advance out of the NXR South region.
Bridgeland transfer-in Rowan Saacke also turned in an impressive run with her 17:58 and third place finish.
Rounding out finishing places fourth through ten were Iris Latta (South Texas Heat Homeschool) - 18:18, Emma Goetz (Tyler Grace) -18:29, Brynleigh McFarlin (Keene) -18:56, Kenzi Ramirez (McAllen) - 18:51, Rowen Skinner (A&M Consolidated) - 18:53, Alexandra Johnson (San Antonio Antonian Prep) - 18:54, and Brooklyn Albert (Poth) - 18:56.
The team race was another two-way battle between 6A top ten ranked Bridgeland and 5A top 10 ranked Aledo.
The third place finish from Saacke propelled the Bears to the meet win just a mere four points. They finished with a 19:22 average and Aledo's average was only three-seconds slower at 19:25.
Girls 2-mile Race
This race was had two-part play; the beginning and the end.
in the beginning, Tilden McMullen County juniors London Yannity and Isabella Billingsley controlled the race. They were a 1-2 punch for 2,000 meters.
That was about when Katie Dallas (La Vernia) became a factor - - a major factor.
Dallas eventually joined Billingsley and the two would spar off and even exchanged places a couple of times. With 800m to go, Dallas permanently overcame Billingsley for third place.
Yannity, who not only led and controlled the race from the start, but she dictated and pressed the pace through the first 3,000m.
However those solo efforts and possibly with the elements were too much for her to maintain through the finish line. Not that Yannity terribly faded, but Dallas had worked herself to a better position and was able to track her and run her down in the final 150 meters.
In the end, Dallas would get the win with a time of 12:17 over Yannity's 12:25. Nobody else was close to the top three as Billingsley rounded out the trio with a time of 12:37.
With a time of 12:52, junior Rylee Ellis (Poth) was the only other girl to dip under 13-minutes.
in the team standings, top ranked 1A Tilden McMullen County was able to compound on the 2-3 finish from Yannity and Billingsley to win the race.
Freshman Caroline Trudeau was sixth with a time of 13:51 and rounding out the scoring was Camie Taylor - 13:19 and Ella David - 13:20 in ninth and 10th place. That capped off an impressive 12:59 average and 54-second gap.
St John XXIII also ran well as a team. They had a 13:25 team average and were really compressed with only a 25-second gap. Freshman Amelie Maloney was their top finisher in 11th place and a time of 13:28.
In third place, it was 2023 TAPPS 6A runner-up San Antonio Antonian. Without some of their top girls like Micaela Villarreal and Alexandra Johnson who was ninth in the 5,000m race they were still able to finish third.
Sophomore Eleneor Legault placed 12th individually with a time of 13:28 to lead them to a team average of 13:48 and a 44-second spread.
