Westlake Chaparral Varsity Girls 5k
We had a MileSplit crew on site at the Southeast Metropolitan Park, just east of Austin, in Del Valle. Several capital city area schools, along with a Houston area squad, San Antonio schools, and even a school from Corpus Christi.
The Westlake Chaparral was one of the events to get the weekend kicked off in the a.m. hours of the day, but even so, it wasn't without the impacts of Mother Nature. Unfortunately, we still saw the effects from the physical demands of the sport teamed with the Texas heat and humidity.
In the end, we still saw some of Texas top individuals and teams race it out. Here are the eyewitness accounts from Tyler Fonseca.
Girls 5,000m Summary
Watch Out for New Braunfels
New Braunfels entered the Chaparral Invitational ranked No. 8 in the Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas (CCCAT) 5A poll. After another dominant performance, that ranking may not last much longer.
The Unicorns remained undefeated on the young season with a convincing victory, scoring just 43 points to beat No. 6 Boerne Champion by 60 points. No. 2 Smithson Valley finished third with 125 points.
Savanah Moya led the way for New Braunfels, finishing second in 18:05.6. Moya, who finished seventh at the 5A state meet last November, led for much of Friday's race before Hendrickson's Morgan Nelsen made her move and eventually pulled ahead for the victory.
Adding to an already strong New Braunfels lineup has been the immediate impact of freshmen Tessa Shamblin and Halle Bryant. Shamblin finished fifth in 18:55.6, while Bryant followed in sixth at 19:06.1. Their ability to contribute near the front of the field as freshmen has added another dimension to a team that was already positioned to be competitive this season.
Rounding out the Unicorns' top five were Sydney Wantuck, who finished 14th in 19:45.3, and Raeleigh Hudnall, who finished 18th in 19:54.8. New Braunfels averaged 19:09.5 with a 1:49.2 spread. The Unicorns appear to have a real shot at making the podium at the 5A State meet.
Nelsen Makes Her Move
For the second consecutive year, Hendrickson's Morgan Nelsen and New Braunfels' Savannah Moya occupied the top two spots at the Chaparral Invitational.
The rematch unfolded much differently than it did a year ago. Last season, Nelsen took control from the start, pushed the pace and separated from the field early, eventually beating Moya by 15 seconds. This time, it was Moya setting the pace and leading for much of the girls 5K.
Nelsen remained within striking distance before making her move later in the race. The defending champion eventually overtook Moya and pulled ahead to win in 17:58.9, with Moya following just 6.7 seconds later in 18:05.6.
Nelsen's victory adds to an impressive stretch for the Hendrickson senior. She finished 10th at the state cross country meet last fall before returning to state in the spring and finishing runner-up in the 3200 with a 10:29.41 and third in the 1600 with a 4:54.54.
Round Rock freshman Liz Brasil also turned in one of the day's standout performances, finishing fourth in 18:45.8 in her first appearance at the Chaparral Invitational.
Boerne Champion Takes Second
No. 6 Boerne Champion finished second with 103 points, led by Rebecca Bezerra's third-place finish in 18:29.1. Bezerra made a significant jump from this meet a year ago, when she finished 11th in 18:59.0. Payton Kidder also finished inside the top 20, placing 15th in 19:47.0.
The Chargers finished with a 19:57 team average and a 2:14 spread. If Champion expects to contend for a podium spot at the 5A State meet, closing that gap between its first and fifth runners will be critical as the season progresses.
A Rare Loss for Smithson Valley
For most programs, an early-season loss is hardly noteworthy. For Smithson Valley, losses have become rare enough to count.
The Rangers entered the girls 5K having lost just twice as a team over the previous two cross country seasons. Smithson Valley went undefeated during its 2024 state championship campaign. In 2025, the Rangers suffered only two defeats, finishing fifth in the elite division at Nike South before falling to Lovejoy by just 12 points at the UIL State Championships.
Friday added another loss to that remarkably short list. Smithson Valley, ranked No. 2 in the CCCAT 5A poll, finished third with 125 points behind New Braunfels and Boerne Champion.
The Rangers competed without two All-State runners in Aubrey Pozzi and Skyler Fonseca. Pozzi won the Region IV championship last season before finishing sixth at the state meet. Both are expected to return for Smithson Valley's next meet.
Addison Knibbe, who also earned All-State honors in cross country last year, led Smithson Valley with a 16th-place finish in 19:49.7.
The Rangers also welcomed back Brady Solansky, whose freshman campaign was derailed by injuries during the 2024 track season. Competing in her first meet in well over a year, Solansky made her return to competition with a 20th-place finish in 20:10.3.
Westlake Chaparral Varsity Boys 5K
Boys 5,000m Summary
Champion Lives Up to the Ranking
On the boys' side, No. 4 Boerne Champion backed up its position in the CCCAT 5A poll with a convincing team victory.
The Chargers scored 72 points to finish 27 points ahead of runner-up Austin Bowie. It was a significant improvement from last year's Chaparral Invitational, when Champion finished fourth with 153 points. This time around, the Chargers more than cut that score in half and placed all five scorers inside the top 22.
Champion's strength came from its pack, with three runners finishing inside the top 13 and its fifth scorer crossing the line in 22nd.
Sebastian Carvallo led Champion with an eighth-place finish in 16:31.0, an improvement from his 15th-place finish at this meet a year ago. It was also a return to form for Carvallo after finishing fourth on the team in Champion's season opener. Shawn Edwards finished ninth in 16:34.0, Mason Nelson finished 13th in 16:40.1 and Noah Moreno finished 20th in 16:51.0.
Austin Bowie finished second with 99 points, led by Cooper Ford's fourth-place finish in 15:52.2. Bryce Jokinen finished fifth in 16:22.7, and Rhett Kopplow finished 11th in 16:37.2.
Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial finished third with 105 points, led by Trey Llanes' third-place finish in 15:50.8. Jax Haller finished 15th in 16:41.6, and Reece Lebrecht finished 16th in 16:42.5.
Morales Survives a Late Charge
Georgetown senior Matthew Morales appeared to have control of the boys individual race after building a comfortable lead by the midway point.
Georgetown East View senior Kingston Wilson closed the gap late, turning what appeared to be a comfortable victory into a race to the finish. Morales ultimately had enough left to hold him off, winning the boys 5K in 15:43.7.
Wilson crossed just 1.3 seconds later in 15:45.0.
Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial's Trey Llanes finished third in 15:50.8, Austin Bowie's Cooper Ford was fourth in 15:52.2 and Bowie's Bryce Joinken rounded out the top five in 16:22.7.
A Win Up Front, but a Tough Day for Georgetown
While Morales gave Georgetown the individual victory, the No. 9 Eagles had a much different result in the team standings.
Georgetown finished 13th with 352 points, with its scoring five placing first, 39th, 50th, 118th and 144th. The large gap behind Morales made it difficult for the Eagles to remain in contention with the teams at the front of the standings.
Georgetown entered this season having graduated three members of last year's state lineup, including Zachary Mangum, who was the Eagles' top finisher at the 2025 State championships. Mangum placed sixth for Georgetown at state in 15:29.40, while Morales was the team's second finisher.
Morales has clearly stepped into the lead role this season, but Friday also showed the challenge Georgetown faces in replacing the depth it lost from last year's state team.