RACE SUMMARIES:
Boys Varsity 5k Even with a huge field of over 350 athletes, Southlake Carroll TX sr Colby Lowe jumped to the lead within the first 100 meters as is his norm. The Nike South champ and 2-time Foot Locker finalist is unbeaten this season, and does not mess around when the gun sounds.
At the 1-mile mark, Lowe sped past in 4:40, followed by his teammate jr C.J. Brown in 4:45, Lockhart TX sr Rory Tunningley in 4:47, Anna TX sr Cody Hughes (12th at 2006 Foot Locker South) in 4:48 and The Woodlands TX jr Reed Connor in 4:53.
Lowe continued to motor, passing 2 miles in 9:24 with his teammate Brown still the closest pursuer in 9:40. Tunningley remained in 3rd at 9:56, while Connor had moved into 4th in 9:59, with Hughes now 5th.
In the team chase, SO#3 The Woodlands TX had 5 in the top 17 for a raw score of 49 at 2-miles, while SO#2 Rogers AR had 97 and only 2 within the Woodlands top 5. Could the Rogers squad pull off a hard-charging final mile similar to last week’s Nike South performance, where its scorers had improved an average of 9 places per man, moving past The Woodlands and nearly catching Cedar Park?
Colby Lowe continued to press, building a 27-second cushion to cruise home in 14:53.1. C.J. Brown held on to 2nd in 15:20.1, duplicating his runner-up finish to his much-heralded teammate in each race this season. Rory Tunningley was passed by Reed Connor with an 800 to go, but stormed back in the final straightaway to grab the bronze, 15:24.8 to 15:25.0. The Woodlands sr Layne Nixon finished 5th in 15:53.6, ahead of Rogers #1, sr Aaron Hamilton in 7th. And when The Woodlands sr Michael Golden and jr Drew Butler followed on his heels in 8th-9th, the team title was well in-hand. There would be no final mile heroics today, as The Woodlands prevailed 25-68. Next was West Plains MO in 3rd with 144, then Plano West TX with 174 and Houston TN with 205 to round out the top 5.
“Our guys really bounced back and had a great day, beating Rogers, a team that defeated us by 28 points a week ago,” said The Woodlands coach Dan Green. “Reed Connor ran much closer to (Southlake Carroll’s) C.J. Brown than last week, and our 1-5 spread was still tighter by 14 seconds. Our entire top 7 ran faster today than they did here last year.”
"I think we woke-up a sleeping giant,” said Rogers coach Carlton Efurd. “The Woodlands sent a strong message today by the way they competed. We ran a good race, but they ran great. Most years we would be happy to finish 2nd at the Chile Pepper, but our expectations are higher this year. It was a bit disappointing. Two of our top 5 ran slower than they ran at the Chile Pepper last year. That's a good indication we didn't run quite up to our potential."
Top Teams (full Boys Team Results) 1. 25 The Woodlands TX (1-2-5-6-11-15-20) Avg: 15:52.1 2. 68 Rogers AR (4-9-14-17-24-30-51) Avg: 16:11.1 3. 144 West Plains MO (3-22-32-41-46-48-63) Avg: 16:29.3 4. 174 Plano West TX (13-34-38-44-45-97) Avg: 16:39.5 5. 205 Houston TN (16-23-49-57-60-66-83) Avg: 16:45.1 6. 240 Broken Arrow OK (7-8-55-77-93-103-159) Avg: 16:46.9 Top Individuals (full Boys Individual Results) 1. 14:53.1 Colby Lowe 12 Southlake Carroll TX 2. 15:20.1 C.J. Brown 11 Southlake Carroll TX 3. 15:24.8 Rory Tunningley 12 Lockhart TX 4. 15:25.0 Reed Connor 11 The Woodlands TX 5. 15:50.1 Layne Nixon 12 The Woodlands TX 6. 15:51.7 Philip Palomino 11 West Plains MO 7. 15:53.6 Aaron Hamilton 12 Rogers AR 8. 15:58.5 Michael Golden 12 The Woodlands TX 9. 15:59.0 Drew Butler 11 The Woodlands TX 10. 16:00.2 Ryan Farrar 12 Broken Arrow OK
Girls Varsity 5k Early in the race, a runner in green with a “G” on her singlet shot to the front, looking strong and smooth.
Approaching the mile, she’d been identified as Greenhill TX fr Chelsey Sveinsson, 2nd at last week’s McNeil (TX) Invite in 18:04, and her 5:39 split confirmed that she meant business. Next in 5:52 was a stellar pack of Enid OK fr Rani Melvin, Hereford TX sr Ashley Mason and Plano West jr Jenny Swan, followed by Lamar TX sr Halsey Fowler in 5:55.
At the 2-mile, Sveinsson maintained her commanding lead, with Swan running second, while Mason and Fowler were 3-4. The team battle appeared to be between SO#10 Hereford TX and HL#6 West Plains MO.
There was little change near the front in the final stages, as Chelsey Sveinsson broke the tape in a sparkling 17:52.4. Jenny Swan ran all alone to earn silver in 18:33.2. Halsey Fowler pulled away near the end, clocking 18:54.1 for bronze. Bishop Kelley OK jr Andrea Lewis, a 1st-year runner, placed 4th in 19:00.2, just ahead of Ashley Mason in 19:01.8 for 5th.
West Plains MO did pull off the team title, scoring 97 points with a 19:39 average and a 40.2 1-5 spread. Hereford TX, a disappointing 5th at Nike South last week, welcomed back usual scorer Alyssa Diaz who had missed that and other recent meets, and scored 106 for silver with a 19:43 average and a 1:09.3 spread. Bentonville AR, ranked #1 in the state, tallied 137 for 3rd, ahead of Lamar TX with 140 and Plano West TX with 145 to round out the top 5.
“We beat some good teams today,” said long-time West Plains coach Joe Bill Dixon. “We know there is good competition here and that’s why we come. We’re thrilled to be here.” He added, “Dacey Mitchell (8th) and Brittani Johnson (16th) have been trading off our top spot recently. Brittani (defending champ) fell on a run last winter, dislocating and fracturing her kneecap, and missed the entire track season. She ran as our #5 early in the season and is making a great comeback.”
Top Teams (full Girls Team Results) 1. 97 West Plains MO (8-15-22-25-27-30-35) Avg: 19:39.2 2. 106 Hereford TX (5-13-26-29-33-67-75) Avg: 19:43.0 3. 137 Bentonville AR (7-21-23-37-49-80-105) Avg: 19:56.4 4. 140 Houston Lamar TX (3-14-16-17-90-91-106) Avg: 19:51.4 5. 145 Plano West TX (2-20-36-40-47-66) Avg: 19:55.4 6. 168 Rogers AR (9-12-41-43-63-83-99) Avg: 20:07.9
Top Individuals (full Girls Individual Results) 1. 17:52.4 Chelsey Sveinsson 9 Greenhill School TX 2. 18:33.2 Jenny Swan 11 Plano West TX 3. 18:54.1 Halsey Fowler 12 Houston Lamar TX 4. 19:00.2 Andrea Lewis 11 Bishop Kelley OK 5. 19:01.8 Ashley Mason 12 Hereford TX 6. 19:08.9 Grace Heymsfield 10 Elkins AR 7. 19:10.4 MacKenzie Bloom 11 Bentonville AR 8. 19:14.0 Dacey Mitchell 11 West Plains MO 9. 19:18.2 Natalia Guerrero 12 Rogers AR 10. 19:20.4 Rani Melvin 9 Enid OK
PREVIEW:
features Rogers AR & Woodlands TX boys rematch, Colby Lowe, 2006 champ Brittani Johnson
Weather forecast for 11AM: 68 degrees, sunny, 54% humidity, 10% chance of rain
Known for colorful t-shirts featuring running chile peppers, here's this year's design
ENTRIES:
BOYS TEAM ENTRIES include (DyeStat Regional and Harrier Super 25 rankings):
- SO#2/US#13 Rogers AR, last week’s Nike South runner-up
- SO#3/US#23 The Woodlands TX, Nike South 3rd-place
- 9 of the top 10 ranked teams in AR, including #1 Rogers, #2 Conway and #3 Lake Hamilton
- Broken Arrow OK, 2nd in last week’s Edmond Pre-State 5A race
- Edmond Memorial OK, 4th in last week’s Edmond Pre-State 5A race
- Deer Creek OK, the 2006 state 4A champ
- West Plains MO, a Heartland bubble team
- Choudrant LA, the 2006 state B champ
- Plano West TX, a South bubble team
- McKinney Boyd TX, ranked #4 in state 4A
- Hereford TX, ranked #7 in state 4A
- SO#4 Southlake Carroll TX has only entered 4 team members
BOYS LEADING INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES include:
- Southlake Carroll TX sr Colby Lowe, Nike South champ, 2-time Foot Locker finalist, unbeaten
- Southlake Carroll TX jr C.J. Brown, Nike South silver
- Anna TX sr Cody Hughes, 2006 state 2A champ and 12th at Foot Locker South
- Lockhart TX sr Rory Tunningley, Nike South 4th
- The Woodlands TX jr Reed Connor, Nike South 5th
- Rogers AR sr Aaron Hamilton, Nike South 7th, last year 7A state champ
- Choudrant LA sr Kasey Baker, 12th last year
GIRLS TEAM ENTRIES include:
- SO#10 Hereford TX, 5th at Nike South
- HL#6 West Plains MO
- 6 of the top 8 teams in AR, including #1 Bentonville, #2 Rogers and #4 Fayetteville
- Plano West TX, a South bubble team
- Bishop McGuinness OK, the 2006 state 4A champ
- Enid OK, 6th in last week’s Edmond Pre-State 5A race
- Lamar TX, ranked #9 in state 5A
GIRLS LEADING INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES include:
- West Plains MO sr Brittani Johnson, defending champ with 18:20.3
- Greenhill TX fr Chelsey Sveinsson, McNeil Invite silver in 18:04
- Conway AR soph Erika Setzler, 2006 state 7A champ
- Rogers AR sr Natalia Guerrero, #2 state 7A returnee
- Cabot AR sr Emily Carpenter, 5th last year, #3 state 7A returnee
- Hereford TX sr Ashley Mason, 10th at Nike South
- Hereford TX sr Abby Metcalf, 15th at Nike South
- Bentonville AR jr Mackenzie Bloom, 5th at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree
- Bishop McGuinness OK sr Molly Ferguson, 4A state champ
- Rogers AR jr Courtney Efurd, 2nd last year
- Bentonville AR jr Katie Dalton, 11th at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree
- Enid OK fr Rani Melvin, 12th at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree
- Lamar sr Halsey Fowler, 4:57.28 for 1600 in track last year
SCHEDULE: Chile Pepper Open (10K) 8:00 a.m. Fun Run/Walk (1 mi.) 8:05 a.m. Awards - Chile Pepper Open and Fun Run 9:00 a.m. Men's Collegiate (10K) 9:45 a.m. Women's Collegiate (6K) 10:30 a.m. Senior High Boy's Invitational (5K) 11:00 a.m. Awards - Collegiate Men and Women 11:05 a.m. Senior High Girl's Invitational (5K) 11:30 a.m. Senior High Boy's Open (5K) 12:30 p.m. Junior High Boys (5K) 12:30 p.m. Senior High Girl's Open (5K) 1:15 p.m. Junior High Girls (5K) 1:15 p.m. Awards - Senior and Junior High 2:00 p.m.
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