Sports > Schools
Cross country: Dragons win at Nike South Invitational
By Justin Thomas, jthomas@starlocalnews.com
Southlake Carroll, Flower Mound, Hebron and Marcus were among the local cross country teams who competed last Saturday at the Nike South Invitational in The Woodlands.
And despite an abundance of elite programs in the event, Carroll once again returned home as champions, taking the top spot on both the boys and girls sides.
The Dragons (53) finished ahead of The Woodlands (76) and Cedar Park (125), while the Lady Dragons (55) outpaced Lake Braddock of Virginia (71) and Flower Mound (90).
Rounding out the local boys programs in the team standings were Flower Mound in fourth (156), Marcus in sixth (173), Hebron in eighth (200) and Coppell in 13th (291).
In the girls meet, Marcus took fourth (106), with Hebron in seventh (203), Coppell in eighth (213) and The Colony in 12th (341).
Individually, The Woodlands' Brigham Hedges (15:18.20) picked up gold ahead of Hebron's Robert Domanic (15:20.50) and Friendswood's Ryan Teel (15:21.50). Flower Mound's Safiya Belbina (18:09.60) was the top performer from the Metroplex in girls action in fourth, while Carroll's Courtney Krieghauser (18:09.90) took fifth.
Following Belbina for the Lady Jaguars was Catalina Uriarte in 14th (18:47.50), Rebecca Jacobson in 15th (18:51.20), Kirsten Zeller in 31st (19:39.20), Brittany White in 35th (19:49.20), Anna Grady in 44th (20:11.80) and Cassidy Allen in 74th (20:59.30).
"I had been holding our girls back a little bit," said Andrew Cook, Flower Mound head coach. "So they were a little rusty going in, but I thought they ran OK. Looking at the times going in, I thought we might be able to keep up with the team from Virginia a little better than we did and be a little closer to Southlake. But we were spread out too much and need to do a better job of running as a team if we want a chance to get on the podium at state."
The Lady Marauders were just off the pace of the Lady Jaguars.
Sydney Brown led the Marcus' girls in 10th (18:28.20) with teammate Madeline Reed in 11th (18:34.80). Rounding out the Marcus runners were Peyton Brown in 29th (19:30.20), Emily Jeacock in 32nd (19:40.80), Natalie Polei in 33rd (19:41.30), Miciah Derenzo in 34th (19:47.70) and Emma Blair in 83rd (21:09.10).
"I thought the meet went very well for us," said Steve Telaneus, Marcus head coach. "Our girls had their best time at this meet for this time of the year. It's a tough course, so the times aren't the lowest of the year, but we ran well. To score 106, that's pretty awesome. That's usually a winning score. There are just a bunch of good teams this year."
While Telaneus would liked to have seen the Lady Marauders finish a little closer to Flower Mound, he is pleased given Marcus' track record of running its best races late in the year.
"We've always been a strong team and shown improvement late in the season," he said.
On the boys side, competitors for the Jaguars included Wesley Ward in 13th (15:49.20), Zachariah Hamstra in 30th (16:14.70), Andrew McRae in 38th (16:24.70), Matthew Schleder in 39th (16:25.30), Drew Sanderson in 49th (16:38.80), Erich Lanz in 84th (17:23.20) and Nicholas Constanza in 85th (17:23.40).
"I was very excited for our boys," Cook said. "I always thought we have the talent, we just haven't put it together. But Wesley Ward got out in front and got after it. We were aggressive and got out early and were able to hang onto our position."
Cook was also pleased with the way the squad ran as a pack with just 48 seconds separating the first and fifth runners.
Marcus was just behind Flower Mound in sixth and paced by Logan Hendrix in 16th (15:53.10). Luke Hendrix followed in 34th (16:18.00), with Evan Durrill in 37th (16:21.10), Jacob Babbidge in 47th (16:37.00), Drew Guenther in 54th (16:43.10), Adam Steele in 66th (17:02.80) and Cameron Blackmon in 86th (17:24.00).
"Our boys showed a little of the same thing as the girls," Telaneus said. "After a terrible performance there last year I was pleased with the maturity we showed and we did a good job of moving. We finished behind Flower Mound this time, but we've been back-and-forth with them and Hebron pretty much all year. It's going to be a good battle down the stretch and at the district meet."
Marcus continued Saturday at the Haltom Buffalo Stampede (results not available as of press time), while Flower Mound competed at the Rick Neill Invitational at Lake Park in Lewisville (results not available as of press time).
And despite an abundance of elite programs in the event, Carroll once again returned home as champions, taking the top spot on both the boys and girls sides.
The Dragons (53) finished ahead of The Woodlands (76) and Cedar Park (125), while the Lady Dragons (55) outpaced Lake Braddock of Virginia (71) and Flower Mound (90).
Rounding out the local boys programs in the team standings were Flower Mound in fourth (156), Marcus in sixth (173), Hebron in eighth (200) and Coppell in 13th (291).
In the girls meet, Marcus took fourth (106), with Hebron in seventh (203), Coppell in eighth (213) and The Colony in 12th (341).
Individually, The Woodlands' Brigham Hedges (15:18.20) picked up gold ahead of Hebron's Robert Domanic (15:20.50) and Friendswood's Ryan Teel (15:21.50). Flower Mound's Safiya Belbina (18:09.60) was the top performer from the Metroplex in girls action in fourth, while Carroll's Courtney Krieghauser (18:09.90) took fifth.
Following Belbina for the Lady Jaguars was Catalina Uriarte in 14th (18:47.50), Rebecca Jacobson in 15th (18:51.20), Kirsten Zeller in 31st (19:39.20), Brittany White in 35th (19:49.20), Anna Grady in 44th (20:11.80) and Cassidy Allen in 74th (20:59.30).
"I had been holding our girls back a little bit," said Andrew Cook, Flower Mound head coach. "So they were a little rusty going in, but I thought they ran OK. Looking at the times going in, I thought we might be able to keep up with the team from Virginia a little better than we did and be a little closer to Southlake. But we were spread out too much and need to do a better job of running as a team if we want a chance to get on the podium at state."
The Lady Marauders were just off the pace of the Lady Jaguars.
Sydney Brown led the Marcus' girls in 10th (18:28.20) with teammate Madeline Reed in 11th (18:34.80). Rounding out the Marcus runners were Peyton Brown in 29th (19:30.20), Emily Jeacock in 32nd (19:40.80), Natalie Polei in 33rd (19:41.30), Miciah Derenzo in 34th (19:47.70) and Emma Blair in 83rd (21:09.10).
"I thought the meet went very well for us," said Steve Telaneus, Marcus head coach. "Our girls had their best time at this meet for this time of the year. It's a tough course, so the times aren't the lowest of the year, but we ran well. To score 106, that's pretty awesome. That's usually a winning score. There are just a bunch of good teams this year."
While Telaneus would liked to have seen the Lady Marauders finish a little closer to Flower Mound, he is pleased given Marcus' track record of running its best races late in the year.
"We've always been a strong team and shown improvement late in the season," he said.
On the boys side, competitors for the Jaguars included Wesley Ward in 13th (15:49.20), Zachariah Hamstra in 30th (16:14.70), Andrew McRae in 38th (16:24.70), Matthew Schleder in 39th (16:25.30), Drew Sanderson in 49th (16:38.80), Erich Lanz in 84th (17:23.20) and Nicholas Constanza in 85th (17:23.40).
"I was very excited for our boys," Cook said. "I always thought we have the talent, we just haven't put it together. But Wesley Ward got out in front and got after it. We were aggressive and got out early and were able to hang onto our position."
Cook was also pleased with the way the squad ran as a pack with just 48 seconds separating the first and fifth runners.
Marcus was just behind Flower Mound in sixth and paced by Logan Hendrix in 16th (15:53.10). Luke Hendrix followed in 34th (16:18.00), with Evan Durrill in 37th (16:21.10), Jacob Babbidge in 47th (16:37.00), Drew Guenther in 54th (16:43.10), Adam Steele in 66th (17:02.80) and Cameron Blackmon in 86th (17:24.00).
"Our boys showed a little of the same thing as the girls," Telaneus said. "After a terrible performance there last year I was pleased with the maturity we showed and we did a good job of moving. We finished behind Flower Mound this time, but we've been back-and-forth with them and Hebron pretty much all year. It's going to be a good battle down the stretch and at the district meet."
Marcus continued Saturday at the Haltom Buffalo Stampede (results not available as of press time), while Flower Mound competed at the Rick Neill Invitational at Lake Park in Lewisville (results not available as of press time).
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