UIL 3A Girls State Recap, Kenli Atwood And East Bernard Win

Kenli Atwood (Holliday) takes the UIL 3A Girls State Title

The 3A Girls race kicked off what was a chilly morning in Round Rock with temperatures just below 50 degrees to start the morning. 

Last year's runner up Kenli Atwood out of Holliday came into this race as one of the favorites after backing up her podium run last year with a season full of solid racing. Region 4 champion Juliet Alcott also projected as one of the top contenders after running 11:31.69 two weeks prior. 

Atwood came through the mile mark in the lead in a time of 5:18 followed by Brynleigh McFarlin in second, who came through in 5:25. Atwood looked strong from the gun and had already developed somewhat of a cushion at the halfway point.

On the team side, Eustace came through the mile mark in the lead with  103 points, followed closely by Holliday in second with 115 points. Eustace had their top three behind Holliday's top three, but their depth carried the bulk of their points advantage at the halfway mark.   

The battle for the projected podium places was much tighter at the mile mark, with ten runners coming through under 5:40. Brynleigh McFarlin held second, while Sarah Spears and Brooklyn Albert crossed in 5:28.40 and 5:29.20, respectively. 

Atwood only continued to pull away over the course of the second mile, having the course virtually to herself for the rest of the race. With no threat from behind, she cruised to victory in a time of 11:18.00. 

This run capped off the first of what would be two state championships for Holliday, with nationally renowned talent Noah Strohman coming away with the victory on the Boys' side half an hour later. 

The race for second was much tighter than the race for first, with McFarlin ultimately coming away with the silver in a time of 11:35.10. 

2025 UIL 3A Girls State Championship race

Sarah Spears took the final spot on the podium by a narrow margin with a run of 11:38.00. Brooklyn Albert finished fourth in a time of 11:43.49, while Payton Conn rounded out the top five in 11:47.10.  

On the team side, East Bernard jumped from fourth at the mile marker all the way to victory with a sizable 20-point gap, scoring 94 points.  Depth ultimately made the difference for East Bernard, as despite their top three being outperformed by Holliday's top three, they came away with victory thanks to strong performances from their fourth and fifth runners.

Holliday came away in second place with 114 points backed by Atwood's state title victory and strong performances from Sarah Spears, who finished third, and Avy Mauldin, who finished 14th. 

Eustace held onto a podium spot to finish third after leading at the mile marker. They held onto that final spot with just 13 points in it thanks to strong performances from Carley Pitman and Kezia Henderson.