Day two of the 2025 Hoka McNeil Invitational felt both familiar and new at Old Settlers Park-the UIL state-meet venue that's undergone a handful of tweaks thanks to ongoing park construction.
Specator accessibility was tighter in places (more fencing, extra flags), but athletes clearly benefitted: the traffic patterns were cleaner, tangents were protected, and racing flowed. If anything, the layout ran a touch long, certainly not one of the "short" courses we've seen on recent weekends, so performances carried real weight.
With many of Texas' best programs in the mix, it was the kind of tightly packed, honest race coaches wanted from a "true" Old Settlers day-fast enough to test fitness, long enough to reveal where the work remains.
If day one taught us the course still "feels" like state, day two confirmed it races like state: smart early positioning, brave mid-race moves, and closing poise decided the major races on the day.
Evangeline Williams wins the Gold Girls race
Photo By: Christine Langford
Girls Gold Race
The Gold Girls race delivered a statement from Wylie East's Evangeline Williams, a California transfer seeing Old Settlers for the first time. She opened with a slim cushion at the mile, and then did the hard work between 2K and 4K-quietly stretching the gap before digging in over the final 800 to stop the clock at 17:59. Austin LASA's Eva Cragnolino-as dangerous a closer as we saw all spring-reduced the late deficit to finish second (18:03.6), and Hendrickson junior Morgan Nelsen confirmed her breakout September with an assertive third (18:13.9) after a furious finishing straight. Two UIL 5A standouts kept the fire on: College Station A&M Consolidated's Rowen Skinner (4th, 18:16.3) and New Braunfels' Savanah Moya (5th, 18:25.7).
From there the youth movement surged-Paisley Bassett of Highland Park (6th, 18:27.1) and SPC ace Taylor Synnott of St. John's (7th, 18:27.6) both in under 18:30. Defending UIL 2A state champion Cara Sims (Elysian Fields) looked revitalized in 8th (18:31.2), Camryn Benson anchored Lovejoy with a bold 9th (18:32.3), and Comal Pieper senior Sadie Larson rounded out the top ten in 18:36.2. Tactically, it was a masterclass from Williams: establish control early, stay smooth on the mid-race rollers, then withstand a field full of kickers.
2025 Hoka McNeil Inv. Girls Gold Race
On the team side, Lovejoy-named No. 1 in the CCCAT poll on Friday-backed it up with a composed win: 80 points, 19:04.8 average, and not a razor, but still legit 1:02 spread from Benson (18:32.3) through Bridget Bernal (18:51.9), Sofia Dominguez (19:03.3), Talia Orshalick (19:22.2), and Lily Fogle (19:34.3).
San Antonio Johnson surged late for second (147 pts) behind Isabella Porter (19:02.2) and Kira Albino (19:04.1), with a tight :51 gap across their five. Lewisville Marcus was superbly compact-third (168 pts) on a :38 split, led by Kinsley Tracy (19:20.0) and a three-deep 19:30-19:34 block (Taryn Elmer, Lana Libby, Ana Sofia Godínez).
Austin Bowie closed well for fourth (221 pts, 1:38:35.0) behind Miah McAulay, and San Antonio Reagan matched their poise to finish fifth (222 pts, 1:38:29.9) with freshman Ellyson Spurlock (19:04.7) out front. The takeaway: Lovejoy looked every bit a November favorite, Johnson's density travels, and Marcus's compression is a state-meet weapon.
Boys Gold Race
The Gold Boys race had its own storyline before the gun even went off: the Dallas HSAA duo of Graham Hummel and Jonah Grein doubled back a day after hammering Nike South (15:05 for Hummel, 15:32 for Grein). On tired legs, they still delivered-Grein clocked 15:38 for 13th, and Hummel found 15:52 for 20th-a toughness clinic.
Up front, Schertz Clemens junior Sean Gonzalez lit the fuse and towed the pack through two miles, but Round Rock's Andrew Esparza-cool and patient early on-shifted gears right where Old Settlers starts to ask questions. Esparza and La Feria's Armando Morales charged into the final kilometer with Frisco Lebanon Trail's Andrew Malan and speedster Griffin Hummel (Austin Bowie) giving chase.
Andrew Esparza runs to the finish line at the 2025 Hoka Mcneil Inv.
Photo by Christine Langford
The last hill-and-chute belonged to Esparza, who sealed it in 15:07; Morales claimed second (15:10), Malan was third (15:16), Hummel took fourth (15:19), and Gonzalez held for fifth (15:20) after doing the early lifting. The top group stayed bunched: Rhett Austin (Lake Highlands) in sixth, Aiden Adams (Clark) 15:26 in seventh, Anthony Morales (La Feria) 15:30 in eighth, Jaxon Asbill (Dayton) 15:32 in ninth, and both Nathan Salinas athletes right there-Sharyland's at 15:31 and La Feria's at 15:32-to cap a furious finish with seconds separating places.
Round Rock took a star-turn in the Gold boys race-and likely earned a spot in the next rankings-by winning a deep, tactical team battle at Old Settlers. The Dragons weren't even in the statewide conversation coming in, but junior ace Andrew Esparza controlled the final mile to win in 15:07.5 and put his squad on the right side of a tight scoring duel.
La Feria, the No. 3 team in UIL 4A, finished a superb second, with Schertz Clemens third, Austin Lake Travis fourth, and Humble Kingwood fifth.
Esparza's win was the decisive first punch for Round Rock, but the title was sealed by how tight the Dragons ran behind him. Their 2-5 of Leo Brasil (15:53.3), Landon Fluckiger (16:15.6), Miles McDonald (16:18.8) and Zach Stevens (16:29.8) packed within 36 seconds of each other to post 143 points in 1:20:04 (16:01 avg). The spread across their scoring five was 1:22, which mattered when La Feria's brilliant front three forced everyone to the limit.
The Lions actually posted a faster average (16:00 avg) on the clock thanks to Armando Morales (15:10.0), Anthony Morales (15:30.0), and Nathan Salinas (15:32.9) finishing 2-6-7 overall, but the race tilted when their fourth and fifth scorers (16:33.4/17:14.3) left a wider 2:07 split and enough points on the table to keep them in second with 184.
Clemens rode junior Sean Gonzalez's fearless front-running (15:20.7 for 4th) and a solid trio behind him-Jayce Love (16:02.0), Aric Pinguelo (16:10.8)-to land third with 205 points in 1:21:07 (16:13 avg). Their 1:46 five-man spread was manageable, but Round Rock's and Kingwood's depth proved the template on this course.
Lake Travis showed off a precocious core-sophomores Lucas Kranz (15:39.6) and Mason Treffiletti (16:21.2) did heavy lifting-to finish fourth at 219 points (1:21:43, 16:21 avg) with a 1:07 spread; they're trending up as their seniors sharpen.
Kingwood's fifth-place finish (224 points) quietly showcased the day's best compression: Jed Mazingo (15:59.6) led, and the Mustangs stacked 2-5 at 16:12/16:28/16:38/16:40 for a razor-thin 41-second spread and a 1:21:58 total (16:24 avg). That kind of pack travel is a scoreboard weapon on a measured-long course where late gaps can balloon.
Bottom line: Round Rock just authored a ranking-shifting win with a champion up front and a dependable pack behind him; La Feria proved its 4A bona fides with the best top-three in the race; Clemens, Lake Travis, and Kingwood all left with evidence their October ceilings are rising. On a slightly long Old Settlers layout that favored patient racing and pack integrity, those details told the story.
Day two of the 2025 Hoka McNeil Invitational felt both familiar and new at Old Settlers Park-the UIL state-meet venue that's undergone a handful of tweaks thanks to ongoing park construction.