BY Zac Sweers
One of the first big invitational match-ups of the season proved to be a great race. Region III’s new course at Atascocita High School is a beauty, with about half the course being through trees in the forest. The boys race was 49m short of 5k and the girls race was 2miles spot on, according to the Atascocita coach. The course was neither fast nor slow, providing many turns and some sandy parts that slowed the pace a bit, but a true cross country course none-the-less.
Boys Race:
This was the highlight of the meet, with a matchup of College Park’s Brian Gohlke, Cy-Woods’ Craig Nowak, Kingwood’s Justin Brinkley, and Yonas Tesfai of Westbury. From the start the group came through the first mile in 5:05 with Gohlke leading. He would break away with that lead over the next mile to come through 2miles in 10:05 with about a 10 second lead over then-second place Brinkley. Brinkley was followed by Tesfai and what seemed like a distant Nowak. By the time the runners came around the loop for the last time with 800m to go, Gohlke was running his own race, showing some impressive confidence in his fitness. Tesfai tried to close the gap at the end but there was no catching up. Nowak came up strong at the end for 3rd, but not as strong as Friendswood sophomore Ryan Teel, who came from way back to run down Brinkley (a 1:52 800m runner) in the end for 4th. Gohlke looks like he has a lot left in the tank and should be one to watch for once he gets in race with the likes of Lutz and Pinales.
Kingwood would take the team title decisively over College Park, showing some impressive depth.
1. Brian Gohlke - CPHS - 15:31
2. Yonas Tesfai - WHS - 15:46
3. Craig Nowak - CWHS - 16:00
5. Justin Brinkley - KHS - 16:12
Girls Race:
This race was a classic. The big aspect of the race was the team battle between College Park, Kingwood, and Kingwood Park. After coming through the mile in 5:54, junior Cali Roper of Willis would break away over the next mile to win comfortably in 11:44, with Katie Jensen of College Park and Zahri Jackson of Kingwood Park rounding out the top 3, respectively.
Kingwood would again take the team title here too, edging out College Park.
1. Cali Roper - WHS - 11:44
2. Katie Jensen - CPHS - 11:47
3. Zahri Jackson - KPHS - 11:48
4. Sandie Raines - KHS - 11:56
5. Jessica Pagano - CRHS - 11:57