Dallas – The Greenhill 6 Mile Relay race has been a mainstay on the Texas high school cross country schedule for the past 28 years, but few could remember weather conditions being as ideal as they were at Norbuck Park on Saturday, August 25th. Cooler temperatures and overcast skies led to fast times on the hilly 1.5 mile course. The Norman (OK) High School boys and Highland Park girls showed tremendous depth in not only recording the fastest times of the day, but also placing in other divisions.
This year’s relay featured a new course, combined varsity and junior varsity races, but the traditional four person, 1.5 mile circuit with haybales and garden gloves as batons. The first race of the morning pitted the top returning team, Scott Monnard’s Norman High School, against a combined 1A through 5A field. Lead off runner Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris’s towering frame soon put Norman in with the leaders and they went on to roll to a nine second win (31:18) over Coppell. As defending 6A state champions, Norman was looking to kick off their 2012 cross country season in style and many signs indicate that they’ll be a force up north. Highland Park, Mesquite Poteet and Bishop Lynch rounded out the top five. It was Lynch’s first time in the top five in a long time. Thirty one 3A and under schools were chasing the big dogs. The defending champs Kaufman looked in command early on but the St. Mark’s Lions closed out the win with strong legs in the middle of the six mile relay to finish in 32:28, a time that would have placed them in eighth in the large school race. Kaufman, St. Stephen’s (Austin), St. Mark’s B, and Eustace earned trophies for their top five finishes.
When sixty one girls teams toed the starting line shortly after the boys, all eyes were on the Highland Park Scots in their yellow singlets as the top ranked returning team. Jerry Sutterfield’s team wasted little time in getting to work. Led by a dominating first leg by junior Natalie Rathjen, the Scots went on to a 350 meter win in 35:56 over runner-up Grapevine. The Scots, defending UIL 4A champions, also had a foursome finish 6th place. Coppell, Norman, and Nolan Catholic rounded out the top five finishers. The 3A and under race marked a show down between the top teams from 2011, Hockaday and Sanger. Hockaday used a blistering anchor leg from Jackie Choucair to outpace Sanger last year, but roles were reversed this year. Outfitted in pink singlets, the girls from Sanger held off Hockaday for a one second win in 38:42. Melissa, Kaufman, and Sanger were the other top five finishers.
With 58 participating schools, this year’s 6 Mile Relay held true to form and gave teams from Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana an exciting opportunity to kick off their 2012 seasons.