Nike South Invitational 2008

In this week's Monday News and Notes section we talk about the return of Dakota Ridge's Kaitie Vanatta.  We also discuss the opener of all-American Emily Sisson (pictured far left by Tracy Rollins) and focus forward to the big weekend ahead, which includes the first state championships of the season, this one taking place in Alaska.

We take a look at the Nike South Meet with our virtual meet program.

Andrews (pictured above, TXRunners photo) 17:07, Lutz in TX at Nike South | Hasay 17:54 season debut at Atascadero Invite |  A pair of all-time bests at Salesianum, DE | Dunbar, Kodiak, Francis three-peat in Alaska | Brasovan course record 16:46 at flrunners.com | PA Girls #1 Emmaus, Furcht 15:18 @ Paul Short | Doug Smith unchallenged 16:29 debut at Shore Coaches (NJ) | Quick times at Holmdel | Freshmen girls rock Maine FOC |

The talent came out today at Nike South. The boys elite race did not dissappoint with a competition for the team title and a dominant victory in the individual title. The individual race was highlighted by state contenders Zachary Ornelas, Craig Lutz, Reed Connor and Paul Snyder in 5A. Along with the best in the 5A division 4A and 2A featured state contenders 4A Alex De La Garza and 2A Contender Nathan Collier. The weather was perfect for a fast race and that is just what happened as the first mile was quick with Lutz coming through with a slight lead in 4:29. The rest of the pack were as follows: Zachary Ornelas 4:30 Reed Connor 4:30 Jimmy Welin 4:30 Neil Smith 4:30 CJ Brown 4:31 Paul Snyder 4:31 Chase Rathke 4:31 CJ Jessett 4:31 Drew Butler 4:31 Ryan Dohner 4:32 Connor Adams 4:32 Parker Stinson 4:35 Alex De La Garza 4:47 At 2 miles Lutz continued to open up his lead on the pack. Lutz was through approx at 9:30 followed by Zachary Ornelas 9:33 Reed Connor 9:33 Paul Snyder 9:34 Parker Stinson 9:38 CJ Brown 9:39 Jimmy Welin 9:39 Ryan Dohner 9:41 Alex De La Garza 9:41 Chase Rathke 9:42 Connor Adams 9:43 Drew Butler 9:44 Neil Smith 9:45 Lutz then made the same surge I saw him make at Marcus I Invitatoinal to gap the field after the 2 mile mark and nobody could respond. Lutz won the race in 15:13. Nike South Invitational Meet Results Video- Coming Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Boys Elite Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Girls Elite Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Varsity Boys Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Girls Varsity 5k Nike South Preview The team title was just as exciting as The Woodlands edged out Cedar Park 88-90. The Woodlands were up on the team scores at 2 miles 76-91 on Cedar Park. The Woodlands barely held on the last mile fading slightly to win 88-90 over a game Cedar Park squad. Marcus and Southlake Carroll continued its team battle today with Marcus coming out on top again by only 4 pts 159-163. These teams will meet again at District and at the Region I meet in Lubbock. The most surprising team finish of the day was probably highly ranked Klein Oak finishing 7th overall.

Sarah Andrews and her The Woodlands squad took apart the competition today at Nike South. Sarah ran away from a quality field including Louisianas' best runner and a quality squad from California not to mentiion some fo the best runners in Texas. Sarah ran away from everyone including defending state champ Lauren Smith with a winning time of 17:07 on the 5k course. Her race today places her as one of the favorites not only to run at nationals but to be a major player in the national champoinship race. The race opened up fast with Sarah leading at 5:15. She was followed closely by: Regan Tindell 5:16 Amanda Russell 5:18 Tara Upshaw 5:20 Lauren Smith 5:20 Kim Kirby 5:26 At 2 miles Sarah pulled away from the field going through 2 miles at approx 10:50 followed by: Regan Tindell 11:20 Tara Upshaw 11:22 Amanda Russell 11:22 Lauren Smith 11:29 Kim Kirby 11:44 Nike South Invitational Meet Results Video- Coming Soon Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Boys Elite Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Girls Elite Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Varsity Boys Photo Album: Nike South Invitational Girls Varsity 5k Lutz and The Woodlands Win at Nike South Nike South Preview  

All of the results are in and tabulated. Here are this weeks runners of the week.

Each week here at MileSplit we will be giving you a quick look at four of the nation's best runners in our new feature called MileSplit Fast Four. Featured this week are Sarah Andrews (TX), Chris Schwartz (CA), Melanie Thompson (NJ) and Andrew Colley (VA).