National Scholastic Athletics Foundation

The following are some of the top national and regional highlights for the past week of the 2013 prep cross-country season, through meets of Nov. 10.  Highlights are alphabetical, by state, with the most significant meets followed by additional key performances (“Also ...”).  Some NSAF meet credentials of notable athletes are in italics.  Team and individual national ranking references are from the DyeStat.com (DS) and/or Milesplit.com (MS) latest national and regional rankings (before last week's meets).  Multiple rankings shows DS first, then MS. Notation is "both" if DS and MS ranking is same.  Regional ranking references are from DyeStat.com (11/7).

ALABAMA

AHSAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Indian Mounds Park, Oakville, 5k

• In 6A girls, perennial power Mountain Brook’s string of titles reached 11 as they tallied 44 points (and by far the fastest squad of any class), 51 ahead of runner-up Hoover.  Individually, Hewitt-Trussville sr Veronica Lyle triumphed with 18:06.4, followed by Mtn Brook jr Jessica Molloy 18:17.0 and Oak Mountain 7th-grader Nicole Payne 18:29.0.  The fastest girl of the meet, however, was 3A champ and TR Miller sr Karisa Nelson with 17:55.18, defeating American Christian Academy jr Kaitlin York’s 18:27.99.
• For the 6A boys, Auburn overcame the low sticks of Vestavia Hills’ top two and rallied for a 47-point total, 10 ahead of their rivals and with the day’s best team average.  Opelika nipped Mtn Brook for 3rd, 120-121.  Vestavia Hills sr Mac Macoy prevailed individually with a best-of-the-meet 15:44.5, with Opelika jr Ben Bryant 2nd in 15:49.3.

ARIZONA

AIA State Championships, Nov. 9, Cave Creek GC, Phoenix, 5k

• In D1 girls, US#15(DS) Desert Vista ended Xavier College Prep’s run of six straight titles, scoring 60 to XCP’s 70 and with Mesa Mtn View 3rd at 145.  The champs were led by the 1-2 finish of junior-frosh sisters Danielle (18:00.80) and Baylee (18:10.88) Jones, both well ahead of 3rd-place finisher Highland jr Lauren Ellsworth 18:33.92.  In D1 boys, SW#3/US#17(DS) Corona del Sol got a 1-2-3 from sr Nate Rodriguez 15:29.98, sr Ryan Normand 15:32.63 and jr Marcus Wheeler 15:36.68 and prevailed with 48 pts, followed by Desert Vista 80 and Ironwood Ridge 100.
• In D2 boys, Catalina Foothills sr Harvey Nelson outlegged Camp Verde jr Lucky Schreiner, 15:25.64 to 15:26.06, for the two fastest times of the meet, and Nelson paced his team to a narrow win over Greenway, 148-157.  In D3, Ron Rico jr Oscar Amaya won in 15:47.57, but his team was beaten by Tuba City, 47-71, which had the 2nd best team time of the whole meet.
• In D2 girls, Flagstaff sr Tatiana Gillick had the 3rd fastest time overall at 18:28.95 to lead a 1-2-5 finish for her team, which dominated with 34 pts and the 2nd best total time of the day.  For both Gillick and Flagstaff, it was the third straight championships.  Rio Rico frosh Alexandra Schadler triumphed in D3 with 18:38.18 and paced her team to a decisive victory there.

ARKANSAS

AAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Oaklawn Park, Hot Springs, 5k

• The boys’ 7A individual battle saw Little Rock Catholic sr Brendan Taylor upset defending champ and Bentonville jr Jacob Shiohira, 15:14.7 to 15:18.0.  But Rogers took the next three spots and won the team war, scoring 32 to Bentonville’s 58 (3rd Har-Ber 100).  Bentonville had won 4 titles in a row after a 7-year-run by Rogers that stretched back to the pre-7A days.  No other teams or individuals came close to the 7A marks.
• In 7A girls, Fayetteville took a great 3-way fight with 69 pts, beating Heritage 75 and Rogers 77.  Har-Ber soph Elise Reina was fastest at 19:03.3, followed by Fayetteville jr Amanda Agana 19:14.7.  The top individual from all 6 classes, however, was Nettleton jr Kyandra Chandler, who dominated the 5A field with 18:26.7, winning by 1:23.

DELAWARE

DIAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Killens Pond State Park, Felton, 5k

• Tatnall continued their seemingly endless run of D2 state titles, making it 10 straight for the girls and 5 for the boys.  The SE#4/US#30 boys were particularly impressive, with Stephen Garrett leading the way with a meet/course record 15:31.7 as they totaled 22 pts and won by 100 over Archmere.  Wilmington Friends sr Thomas Connelly was 2nd to Garrett in 15:41.06.
• The Tatnall girls, not quite at the same level they were when they had their high national finishes of recent years, still won with plenty of room to spare.  They scored 34 to Delaware Military Academy’s 65 and St. Andrews’ 79.  The latter had the individual champ in soph Louisa Belk, who clocked 18:08.88 to DMA sr Adrienne Fraczkowski 18:16.32.
• In D1 boys, Salesianum barely nipped Newark, 49-50, paced by sr individual champ Pat Hally’s 15:41.46.  Charter was a close 3rd with 63.  Padua rolled over the girls D1 field, scoring 35 to Charter’s 94, and also sported the first across the line in jr Emily Paolucci 18:43.77.

FLORIDA

FHSAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Apalachee Regional Park, Tallahassee, 5k

• There were sweeps in two classes produced by two of the state’s top programs, as Holy Trinity took both races in 1A and St. Thomas Aquinas ruled both in 4A. 
• The Holy Trinity girls started with junior Julia Wollrath capturing the title in 18:14.88, over Shorecrest sr Alexandra Eaton 18:22.68, and went on to score 48 pts – winning a fairly close battle with Oak Park (62) with the rest of the field way back.  Holy Trinity’s 18:53 avg was the best girls team performance overall.  St. Thomas totally ruled in their 4A girls triumph, scoring 63 (19:01 avg) and crushing Winter Park 126 and Miami Ferguson 128.  They also were paced by an individual champ, as soph Alexa Cruz had the fastest time of the meet at 18:02.26 and biggest winning margin at 26 seconds.
• In 2A, the Bolles girls (19:06 avg) won over Pine Crest in similar fashion (two dominant teams), 42-55.  Pine Crest had the individual champ in soph Julia Montgomery 18:22.81 (2nd Jackson frosh Daesha Rogers 18:29.34).   The SE#5 Estero girls triumphed in 3A (also 19:06 avg), scoring 83 to Sarasota’s 96.  An individual battle of seniors saw Ft Myers’ Emily Edwards 18:09.24 beating Gulf Coast’s Caroline Barlow 18:15.19 and Nease’s Karen Xiang 18:16.50. 
• The highest quality race on the boys’ side was 3A, where US#25 Leon jr Sukhi Khosla and Belen Jesuit produced the best marks.  Khosla clocked 15:08.61, 15 ticks up on Ft Myers sr Tyler Bennett 15:23.36 and with three more under 15:30.  Belen Jesuit won with 86, ahead of Chiles 116 and Ft Walton Beach 125, and was the only squad to average under 16 at 15:55.
• St. Thomas Aquinas scored 101 in capturing 4A boys, with its 16:17 avg the 4th best of the meet.  Coral Reef 128 and Timber Creek 136 trailed.  Sunset jr Nick Diaz 15:22.90 edged Sickles jr James Zentmeyer 15:23.16 for the meet’s #2-3 times.  In 1A, it was Holy Trinity with 69 (16:36 avg) over Maclay 101, and in 2A Trinity Prep with 76 (16:34 avg) over Bishop Kenny 106.

GEORGIA

GHSA State Championships, Nov. 9, Carrollton HS course, 5k

• The top boys team performances came in Class 3A, where St. Pius X started with sr Austin Sprague’s individual triumph in 16:08.37 and scored 26 pts, averaging a best-of-meet 16:40.  North Hall was 2nd with 46 (16:58 2nd best overall avg) and Woodward Acad. 3rd with 82.  Sprague won by 30+ seconds (2nd fastest of the meet) over Blessed Trinity sr Matt Munns.
• For the girls, 3A champ Marist was the only school to average under 20:00 at 19:56 and their individual champ, jr Morgan Ilse, was the only girl who broke 19 all day with 18:53.00.  She was followed by frosh teammate Anna Renou 19:45.42.  Taking 5 of the top 8, Marist dominated their race with 22 pts, 76 up on Catoosa Heritage.  The school also won 3A boys team and individual (sr Daniel Navarro 16:13.12).
• In the biggest class, 6A, Brookwood and Peachtree Ridge took turns beating each other.  For the boys, it was Brookwood (16:59 avg) winning 105-121 – with Harrison also scoring 121 (but 3rd on tiebreaker) and followed closely by Collins Hill 129 and Marietta 131.  Peachtree Ridge notched 119 in the girls’ race, with Brookwood 131 and Marietta 151 trailing.  Claiming 6A individual titles were Walton jr Avery Bussjager 19:04.20 (2nd best of meet) and Peachtree Ridge sr Kevin Mills 16:03.82 (meet’s fastest).

ILLINOIS

IHSA State Championships – Nov. 9, Detweiller Park, Peoria, 3M

• The 3A boys race saw the expected in unbeaten US#6/#4 O’Fallon sr Patrick Perrier’s 14:21 victory, but a mild surprise (to many) as MW#5/US#17(MS) Hinsdale Central won the team battle and MW#4/US#23/#9 York was just 5th.  Perrier’s kick prevailed in very windy conditions as he defeated McHenry jr Jesse Reiser 14:22 and Downers Grove North sr Zack Smith 14:23.  With a 32-second spread and scoring just 32 for their 5th man, Hinsdale Central left little doubt, scoring 99.  Downers Grove North was well back with 144, followed by O’Fallon 157, Lyons 190 and York 196.
• In 3A girls, US#16(DS) Glenbard West sr Madeline Perez was unable to defend her title, coming back from injury.  But her 3rd-place stick was more than enough to lead her MW#4/US#31/US#12 team to a decisive win.  They tallied 75, with MW#5/US#30/#10 Naperville North back at 112 and New Trier a solitary 3rd at 173.  New Trier jr Mimi Smith was first across the line in 16:43, followed by Hinsdale Central frosh Alexa Haff 16:45 and Perez in 17:03.
• The fastest girls times of the day came in the smaller classes.  Effingham St. Anthony frosh Anna Sophi Keller captured 1A by 45 seconds in 16:35, and Riverside-Brookfield sr Mailin Struck matched that in 2A – with her 16:35 winning by 29 seconds.  Team-wise, Yorkville captured 2A girls and Decatur St. Teresa reigned over 1A, both with room to spare.  Yorkville, in fact, got a 2A sweep as its boys prevailed over Illiana Christian and Vernon Hills, 119-134-136.  Elmwood Co-op won an even closer boys’ 1A race, with its 161 total just 6 points up on Winnebago and the first 6 teams within 32 points.  Individual champs were Oakwood Fithian Co-op soph Jon Davis in 1A at 14:47 and Glenbard South sr John Wold in 2A at 14:38.

KENTUCKY

KHSAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Kentucky Horse Park, Lexington, 5k

• Martha Lane frosh Gabriella Karas beat her own CR in 2A for the day’s most impressive performance, running 17:39.04 and winning by nearly a minute over Paducah Tilghman jr Aleja Grant 18:34.51. 
• In 3A, there were other 5 sub-19 performances, as Daviess County seniors Whitney O’Bryan 18:09.00 and Amelia Reynolds 18:43.05 went 1-3, with Bowling Green frosh Madisyn Peeples 2nd with 18:18.95.  Team-wise, SE#4/US#28/#16 Assumption overcame season-long injury issues to repeat with 44 pts, topping a solid trio that included Bowling Green 81, Daviess County 92 and Sacred Heart 113.  Assumption was the team champ and Peeples was 2nd individually in the Great American ROC.
• SE#3/US#23(MS) St. Xavier dominated the boys’ 3A race, scoring 53 ahead of Louisville Trinity 133, Cooper 161 and Daviess County 175.  The fastest 4 individuals of the meet were in this race, as well, with Butler sr Patrick Gregory notching the only sub-16 with 15:55.18, topping St. X sr Chris Striegel 16:00.72.

MARYLAND

MPSSAA State Championships, Nov. 9, McDaniel College GC, Westminster, 5k

• In boys’ 4A, SE#5 Severna Park defended its title in dominating fashion racking up just 38 points and winning by 76 over Dulaney’s 114.  The school was led by individual champ senior Ryan Forsyth, whose 15:41.3 was the day’s best time.  Also going sub-16 were Gaithersburg sr Danniel Belay in 2nd 15:54.5 and Forsyth’s sr teammate Rhys Burgett in 3rd 15:59.8.  The second fastest time of the meet, however, belonged to 2A champ Chase Weaverling, a Poolesville sr, who ripped a 15:42.8 and won by 30 seconds.
• The girls’ 4A race saw a tight team battle, with Walter Johnson building a lead on its 2-3-4 girls and then barely holding off Bethesda CC, 60-64.  Individually, it was Dulaney sr Isabel Griffith clocking 18:26.2 to top B-CC jr Nora McUmber 18:52.1.  Centennial jr Shreya Nalubola had the meet’s 2nd fastest effort with her 18:41.1 to capture the 3A title.

MISSOURI

MSHSAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Oak Hills GC, Jefferson City, 5k

• Individual course/meet records were beaten a total of three times here, with the girls mark (Merideth Snow 17:51.4 from 1990) beaten in successive races.  First, US#12(both) Eureka jr Hannah Long rolled a 17:46.82 to capture Class 4 over Cor Jesu Academy sr Jill Whitman 18:20.32.  Long was the Great American ROC individual champ.  Then, US#5/#4 Ste. Genevieve soph Taylor Werner blasted a 17:31.30 for the Class 3 title ahead of Festus sr Jamie Kempfer 17:59.90.  Those were the only sub-18s in the girls’ races.
• For the boys, US#9/#23 Marquette sr Noah Kauppila ran 15:22.34 in the Class 4 race to overtake Matt Tegankamp’s 1999 mark of 15:26.7.  A good battle for 2-3-4 saw Blue Springs jr Stephen Mugeche 15:34.43, Glendale sr Spencer Haik 15:37.03 and Rock Bridge sr Evan Schulte 15:37.40 finish in that order.
• The boys’ Class 4 battle was close, with St. Louis U. pulling away with 103, followed by Rock Bridge 119, Lafayette Wildwood 124, Liberty 131 and West Plains 132.  And in Class 3, Potosi defeated Festus, 71-90.  Werner’s time helped Ste. Genevieve win Class 3 girls with 46 pts (Festus 62, Notre Dame de Sion 74) and the day’s best average.  In Class 4, it was Francis Howell 102, Nerinx Hall 113 and Lafayette Wildwood nipping Eureka on a tiebreaker for 3rd, with both scoring 133.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New England Championships, Nov. 9, Derryfield Park, Manchester, 5k

• A gratifying home-state triumph for the up-and-coming NE#3 Coe-Brown NH girls was perhaps the best of the exciting storylines that unfolded here.  Coe-Brown started with a good 9th-place finish by leader Hannah Parker (5th in scoring), but built its margin on with the final scorers and scored 78 pts.  Rhode Island powers NE#5 Barrington and NE#4/US#17 La Salle reversed their order from state and captured 2nd and 3rd with 99 and 108 points.  Connecticut Open champ Tolland was 4th with 120.
• The girls individual race unfolded with much less drama, as unbeaten US#6/#10 Staples CT soph Hannah Debalsi was never headed in crushing a 17:15.8.  Westhill CT sr Claire Howlett had yet another runner-up finish behind Debalsi while beating the best from the rest of the states, running 17:39.5.  Following were US#21/#25 Vermont champ (Eastern States runnerup) and Champlain Valley sr Autumn Eastman in 17:48.3; Maine ‘B’ champ and Greely sr Kirstin Sandreuter in 17:48.6; New Fairfield CT jr Gabrielle Richichi 17:54.8 (3 from CT in top 6); and Rhode Island standouts US#30 Emma McMillan (Barrington soph) in 17:55.6, Eliza Rego (La Salle soph) in 17:59.8, and Maddy Berkson (Classical sr) in 18:06.5.  Rego, who was 3rd in the Great American ROC, bounced back from a fall and DNF at state.
• Connecticut runners were very strong in the boys’ individual battle, too, as Ridgefield sr Trevor Hopper 15:08.5, Darien jr Alex Ostberg 15:11.0, and Fairfield Prep sr Christian Alvarado 15:16.9 finished 1-2-4.  Breaking up a sweep of was US#22(MS) Telstar ME sr Josef Holt-Andrews in 15:12.9.  Rounding out a top-5 group that was nearly 25 seconds up on the next group was Bishop Hendricken RI sr Colin Tierney at 15:17.1.

NEW MEXICO

NMACT State Championships, Nov. 9, Rio Rancho, 5k

• Another chapter in a long, outstanding rivalry (one of the country’s best) saw Los Alamos sweep 4A with hard-fought victories over Albuquerque Academy.
• The boys’ race was the closest, with Los Alamos prevailing, 52-54 (Piedra Vista 3rd with 106).  Colin Hemez paced the champs, coming from eight seconds behind Belen’s Aaron Valenzuela at two miles to pull out the individual win with 15:54.40.  Valenzuela was 2nd at 15:56.50, followed by Miyamura’s Niles Thomas 16:00.50 and Valenzuela’s teammate, Jared Garcia 16:06.60.  Los Alamos tallied 53 (and the best avg of the meet) in the girls’ 4A battle, with AA netting 67 and St. Pius X 75.  Individually, St. Pius X’s Kelli Reagan was fastest of the meet in 18:23.50, with Belen’s Arena Lewis 2nd in 18:29.95 and the rest of the field more than 20 seconds back.
• The boys’ 5A race saw Rio Rancho take down Cleveland, 54-70, with the 3rd best avg of the day behind the 4A 1-2 finishers.  Devin Paredes’ 16:08.60 led the winners in 3rd, behind El Dorado’s Taylor Potter 16:02.25 and Cibola’s Chris Harlow 16:05.50, and a tight 2-5 group carried them through.  In girls 5A, Eldorado had the first two finishers in Chrissy (18:46.45) and Cassey (19:08.20) Amberg.  But La Cueva took the next three and would go on to beat Eldorado, 50-60.
• Also impressive was the 1-2 finish by the Bosque School’s Jacqueline Katzman 18:50.85 and Kendall Kelly 18:57.70 in 2A, the 4th and 6th best of the meet overall.

NEW YORK

NYSPHSAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Queensbury HS, 5k

• Fayetteville Manlius scored its 3rd team sweep in the last 5 years in Class A.  For the NY#1/US#2/#1 girls, it was their 8th crown in a row, as they scored 31, followed by NY#2/US#22/#18 Saratoga Springs 67 and Suffern 101.  F-M’s US#24 Annika Avery (6th, scoring 2nd) led a first 4 that split just 13 seconds.  Individually in ‘A’, Warwick Valley soph Megan Reilly repeated in 17:23.5, with Penfield sr Katie Lembo 2nd in 17:33.7 and Elmira soph Abby Wheeler 3rd in 17:40.0.  The best mark in the other classes came from Corning frosh Jessica Lawson, who took Class B in 17:42.7.  Queensbury nipped NY#4 Pearl River in a good ‘B’ team battle, 86-92, while Bronxville dominated Class C.
• Front-running helped power the NY#1/US#6/#5 F-M boys, starting with US#26/#17 jr Bryce Millar winning individually with a fabulous kick.  His 15:06.3 nipped Northport jr Mike Brannigan 15:06.6 and US#10/#20 Rush-Henrietta sr Mickey Burke 15:07.3.  With sr Andrew Berge’ 15:16.3 scoring 3rd and soph Peter Ryan 15:25.0 scoring 5th, F-M was well on their way.  They scored 37, followed by NY#3/US#8 Northport and #4/US#26 Saratoga Springs – which each scored 61 (Northport won the tiebreaker).  The Class B boys also saw a good individual battle, as Lake Shore sr T.J. Hornberger’s 15:16.3 outran Shoreham Wading River sr Ryan Udvadia 15:19.3 and Pearl River sr Brian Cook 15:19.8.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SCHSL State Championships, Sandhills Research Center, Columbia, 5k

• Hilton Head notched a sweep in AAA, with the boys netting the top team performance of the meet, averaging 16:03 and winning with 45 pts (2nd Eastside 81).  The HH girls prevailed with 50 pts (Eastside 116) and a 19:36 avg that was 2nd best of the day.
• Then with runnerup Allie Arsiniega leading the way and their next 5 runners coming in between 18:56 and 19:08, Riverside crushed the girls’ AAAA field with 43 pts and the day’s best avg (18:53).  A great 3-way battle in boys’ AAAA saw Mauldin 99 edge Wando 104 and Wade Hampton 109. 
• The top 4 girls’ times also came in AAAA, as Aiken sr Ashbrook Gwinn won with the only sub-18 of the day, a 17:58.69.  A tight battle for 2nd saw Arsiniega 18:19.74, Irmo 7th-grader Lauren Henderson 18:20.47 and Dutch Fork jr Anna Johnson 18:21.86 take the next three spots. 
• The top individual boys’ performance came in the smallest class as Christ Church sr James Quattlebaum 4-peated in Class A with a 15:15.15 that won by 49 seconds.  His team finished just two pts behind St. Joseph’s for the team title.  D.W. Daniel sr Gabe Haughey was nearly as good in 3A, winning with 15:17.28 to River Bluff sr Tony Morales’ 15:25.87.  In 4A, Lexington sr Zach Langston prevailed with 15:27.57 over North Augusta sr Nik O’Brien 15:32.53.

SOUTH DAKOTA

NXN Heartland Regional, Nov. 10, Yankton Trails Park, Sioux Falls, 5k

• Minnesota schools took all four team qualifying spots and, with relatively mild November and dry course conditions lending an assist, all four course records (both team and individual) were smashed.
• The HL#1/US#6/#5 Wayzata MN girls were without their #1 Anna French (injury) and still won by 72 pts, tallying 118.  It’s their 2nd straight trip to Portland.  Runner-up HL#3 East Ridge MN, also 2nd behind Wayzata at AA state, scored 190 and made their 1st NXN Final.  A tight battle for 3rd and 4th saw Willmar MN 253, Dowling Catholic IA 261, Eden Prairie MN 262, and Arrowhead WI 271 taking the next four spots.
• US#9/#11 Stephanie Jenks, a two-time qualifier from Iowa who did not run her HS XC season, was entered and favored individually.  But she did not run Sunday, reportedly due to participation in her school’s state swim meet.  That left the sophomore Hasz twins from Alexandria MN, 1-2 finishers in that AA state meet, to dominate.  Bethany Hasz won in 17:17.5 and took down Katie Flood’s 2011 CR, four seconds ahead of sister Megan.  Iowa girls took the next two spots, with 4A state 1-2 finishers McKenzie Yanek (Pleasant Valley soph) and Karissa Schweizer (Dowling sr) duplicating their order in 17:43.4 and 17:51.4.  Jenna Truedson got the fifth and final qualifier with a 17:54.6 as no runners in that group were part of teams.
• The boys’ team race saw a reversal of the MN Class AA finish as HL#5 Edina turned the tables on HL#1 Wayzata, 106-135.  Edina had qualified once before, while Wayzata goes to Portland for the 5th time.  Again, the next few spots were much more tightly contested as Stillwater MN 204, HL#2 Manhattan KS 205, and HL#3 Millard South NE 210 followed.
• Individually, US#29 Brookhaven SD sr Addison DeHaven, 16th and 10th in the past two NXN HLs, this time ruled with a CR 15:08.9, beating Jake Leingang’s 2012 mark.  US#8/#13 Minnesota 2A champ Obsa Ali was 2nd in 15:11.6, with Kansas 6A champ Stuart McNutt 15:13.8, Iowa 3A champ Chandler Austin 15:14.7 and Albert Meier 15:18.6 making it a clear top five, again free of team qualifiers.

TEXAS

UIL State Championships, Nov. 9, Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, 5k (3200m for small school girls)

• It was closer this time, but Southlake Carroll swept the 5A titles for the 3rd straight year.  In the boys’ race, it was SO#1/US#17(DS) SLC building a lead through three and holding off SO#2 College Park, 80-85, with SO#3 Houston Strake Jesuit a close 3rd with 98.  The girls’ race was similarly tight, with the SO#2/US#37 Dragons scoring 110 and holding off SO#3 New Braunfels 116 and SO#4 College Park 117. 
• SO#5 girls 4A champ Canyon Randall, which scored 47 and was way ahead of runner-up Dallas Highland 87, made a case for best overall as their average was a few ticks better than SLC (but not as fast as New Braunfels).  Houston Stratford took the boys’ 4A race with 75 pts.
• Individually, New Braunfels soph Paige Hofstad had the best girls’ mark of the day, winning 5A with 17:36.45.  Also under 18 were Manvel frosh Julia Heymach 17:49.20 and Smithson Valley jr Devin Clark 17:55.42.  In 4A, it was Highland Park sr Natalie Rathjen running away with it, clocking 17:41.78, 2nd best of the meet.  Fastest among the small school girls (3200m) was Crawford sr Annie Dunlap, the 3A champ in 10:59.72.
• The first 5 finished within 9 seconds in boys’ 5A, with Strake Jesuit sr Frank Lara 15:26.25 beating US#25(MS) SLC sr Jacob Pickle 15:31.08 and Keller sr Austen Dalquist 15:33.11.  The fastest in the other classes was Carter Blunt, the soph 4A champ from Frisco Heritage, in 15:48.30.

WASHINGTON

WIAA State Championships, Nov. 9, Sun Willows GC, Pasco, 5k

• In a meet packed with lots of top national-class athletes and teams, there were several great storylines.  The most drama, however, came in the 3A boys individual battle, where honorable mention(both) North Central jr Tanner Anderson stunned US#3/#1 Seattle Prep sr Joe Hardy in the final meters, 14:44.83 to 14:45.16.  They were followed by US#12/#11 Mt. Spokane jr John Dressel 15:05.36 and Anderson’s sr teammate US#22/#14 Kai Wilmot 15:17.89.  With great scoring up front and an 11-12-13 finish, NW#2/US#7/#15 North Central scored 41 and overcame strong packs from NW#4/US#20(DS) Kamiakin 70 and US#28/#19(MS) Nathan Hale 86.
• Another individual superstar, US#2/#1 Camas jr Alexa Efraimson, was challenged only by the clock.  She torched the girls’ 4A field from the gun and ripped a 17:01.10, beating Amy-Eloise Neale’s CR by two seconds and finishing nearly a minute up on runner-up Richland jr Lindsey Bradley 17:56.57.
• There was complete dominance in the boys’ 4A race, too – by NW#1/US#1/#4 Gig Harbor.  They started with a unprecedented 1-2-3 finish by sr Logan Carroll 15:06.37, US#18 sr Wolfgang Beck 15:09.28 and jr Tristan Peloquin 15:14.24, and scored 37 – 82 pts ahead of Redmond’s 119.  Gig averaged 15:24 to 3A champ North Central’s 15:28.
• As for the girls’ 4A and 3A team races, NW#5 Bellarmine Prep’s tight 1-4 pack split 17 seconds in 11-13-15-16 to top Camas, 92-105 for the team crown in the largest class.  Glacier Peak in 3A overcame the 1-2 finish by Lakeside’s (Seattle) Andrea Masterson (17:50.83) and Sophie Cantine (18:02.23) to triumph with 102 pts.  Lakeside tallied 112 and Kamiakin was a close 3rd with 124.
• Another sub-18 came in girls’ 2A, as Burlington-Edison sr RaynJoy Norton ran 17:58.16, and NW#4 Sehome – winning with 31 pts – had the 3rd best average of the meet, trailing only the 4A top two.