Midway through the season, SO#1/US#12 The Woodlands, SO#2/US#20 Southlake Carroll and SO#3 A&M Consolidated had separated themselves from the pack of 5A contenders. And The
Woodlands had the upper hand as Carroll and A&M held their own through the 4th men, but hadn’t been able to match The Woodlands depth at #5. Would things turn out differently for the main challengers today, as both had viable 5th man candidates and reputations for performing well at the State meet?

With Carroll (1st & 3rd) and A&M (2nd) securing the top three places, they couldn’t have asked for a better start, as runners streamed across the finish line. And when Carroll’s #3 and #4 were on the heels of the same slots for The Woodlands, the dream was still alive as they held a 31-40 lead. But then The Woodlands slammed the door, with all 7 in before both Carroll and A&M’s #5, and every other team’s #4.

The winning total was 58 points, as the Highlanders had 5 of the top 18 scorers and a 15:58 average for 5k. Seniors Alex Neff (7th scorer, 9th overall), Evan Blair (8th/12th), Bryan Downey (10th/18th) and Dom Zucconi (15th/26th) paved the way. Southlake Carroll followed with 76, and had the fastest average at 15:53. A&M Consolidated claimed the bronze with 88 points, averaging 16:04. Flower Mound, the 2005 runner-up and completing a late-season surge, finished 4th with 139. Del Rio scored 153 to round out the top 5.

This was the Highlanders state record 13th title, and 3rd in the last 4 years. But it came after a disappointing 6th last year, one of the "worst" finishes ever for this powerhouse program. "This season was very special for me," said Coach Dan Green. "We returned 6 of the 7 guys that ran in the state meet, but they had learned how to lose. Early on this year, Alex Neff emerged as a leader, but one man can not lead the team. Bobby Van Horn, Bryan Downey, & Evan Blair rallied around Alex and a TEAM was born. This State title did not just happen on Saturday, it was a result of these four seniors spearheading the quest."

"The coaching staff was not shy about stating the team goal. We intended to go for the "Gold". This team just shows what can be done with a good plan, hard work, dedication, and commitment to each other." And what about next year? "I’m excited about our younger guys and hope they realize the job that these seniors have done. To repeat, we will need good leaders and great commitment! We want to make this a habit."

Southlake Carroll coach Robert Ondrasek was happy with his team’s performance. "Colby Lowe did what he had to do. CJ Brown just keeps getting stronger. He stepped up, which helped take the pressure off Colby. Our #3 and 4 (seniors Chris Moore and Richard Grue) have been battling injuries and ran well today. Our usual #5, Ahmed Toure, took a bad spill early in the race and got ‘tumbled’ over and over by the pack. He ended up with a bad cut and didn’t finish where he could have. Another sophomore, Evan Garner, ran well and helped fill the gap left by Ahmed’s bad luck."

5A Team Summary:
1. 58 The Woodlands (7-8-10-15-18-22-30) Top 5 Average Time: 15:58.75
2. 76 Southlake Carroll (1-3-11-16-45-65-83) Top 5 Average Time: 15:53.27
3. 88 A&M Consolidated (2-9-17-23-37-49-79) Top 5 Average Time: 16:04.98
4. 139 Flower Mound (4-12-19-40-64-69-72) Top 5 Average Time: 16:20.43
5. 153 Del Rio (13-33-34-35-38-53-55) Top 5 Average Time: 16:31.00
6. 173 Plano West (20-29-32-41-51-52-71) Top 5 Average Time: 16:37.67
7. 175 Kingwood (14-25-39-47-50-54-56) Top 5 Average Time: 16:36.84
8. 181 Strake Jesuit (21-27-31-42-60-63-67) Top 5 Average Time: 16:39.13
9. 195 Cinco Ranch (5-6-57-61-66-76-80) Top 5 Average Time: 16:29.86
10. 237 Edinburg North (26-43-48-58-62-70-78) Top 5 Average Time: 16:51.43
11. 258 El Paso Socorro (24-36-46-75-77-82) Top 5 Average Time: 17:03.74
12. 272 Corpus Christi Carroll (28-44-59-68-73-74-81) Top 5 Average Time: 16:59.45

#1 The Woodlands finishers:
9. Alex Neff, 12, 15:43.85
12. Evan Blair, 12, 15:47.45
18. Bryan Downey, 12, 15:57.25
26. Dominick Zucconi, 12, 16:09.05
33. Connor Reed, 10, 16:16.15
42. Quinn Valentine, 11, 16:21.85
52. Drew Butler, 10, 16:33.25

#2 Southlake Carroll finishers:
1. Colby Lowe, 11, 15:05.15
3. CJ Brown, 10, 15:22.85
19. Chris Moore, 12, 15:57.35
28. Richard Grue, 12, 16:11.20
70. Evan Garner, 10, 16:49.80
90. Kyle Ondrasek, 11, 17:11.55
108. Ahmed Toure, 10, 18:27.15

#3 A&M Consolidated finishers:
2. Duncan Phillips, 12, 15:15.45
16. Daniel Tomkins, 12, 15:50.90
32. Ben Jeter, 12, 16:15.70
43. Jorell Laube, 12, 16:22.50
61. Chris Schuett, 11, 16:40.35
74. Jordan Pierce, 12, 16:54.15
104. Josh Rychlik, 12, 17:54.55

A buzz was in the air as the runners toed the line, with the top 2 from 2005 back to renew their rivalry. Last year, A&M Consolidated sr Duncan Phillips hung on the shoulder of Southlake Carroll jr Colby Lowe, before kicking home for gold. Both combatants had later qualified for Foot Locker Nationals and went on to state track titles, Phillips in the 1600 and Lowe in the 3200. Lowe was coming in undefeated this season, including wins over Phillips at A&M and Nike South, but a similar situation last year had ended up in Phillips’ favor at state.

As the gun sounded, the crowd roared and raced to their chosen vantage points to watch this battle of titans. As expected, Lowe took the early lead and was pushing the pace 400 meters in, along with soph teammate CJ Brown (9th as a freshman) as Phillips and The Woodlands sr Alex Neff (3rd to the Big 2 at A&M and Nike South) followed closely. No change at the mile, Lowe and Brown splitting 4:33, with Phillip and Neff in hot pursuit. On the next hill, furthest from the finish, Brown started to drop back and it was down to 3. Lowe continued to surge Neff began to drop nearing the 2-mile, as Lowe split 9:42 with Phillips on his shoulder.

Lowe continued to mandate the pace across the dam, as Phillips hung on just like last year. It was status quo upfront coming off the levee with 1200 to go, but Brown had now regained 3rd as Neff was paying the price of his quick early pace. At the final u-turn (400 to go), Lowe was still in charge, but Phillips was just a step back and appeared poised to use his 1:52/4:10 speed to grab victory, just like last year.

But Lowe would not be denied, hammering the final incline with 200 to go as Phillips ran out of steam, softened up by the relentless pace and periodic surges thrown down by Lowe. The margin had expanded to 10 seconds at the tape, as Colby Lowe sped home in 15:05. Duncan Phillips was next in 15:15, his game effort 4 seconds faster than last year and truly worthy of a defending champ. CJ Brown, only a sophomore, improved by 31 seconds to claim bronze. Hard-charging Nathan Milles, a Flower Mound senior, followed in 15:29 and Laredo Alexander jr Ivan Garcia ran 15:33 to round out the top 5, edging Cinco Ranch’s duo of jr Zac Flowers (15:34) and sr Kyle Goldsmith (15:36).

"It was awesome," Colby Lowe proclaimed! "I worked harder this year, put in a bunch of miles. I just wanted to go out and race hard." The race played out eerily similar to last year, but with an even better result for Colby this time around. "Each race is different. I felt strong throughout, even at the finish. I was determined to do it." Coach Robert Ondrasek said, "We talked about being a champion, knowing what you have to do at the right time, and then you have to do it. Duncan ran a great race, he’s a great runner."

Next up is Foot Locker South and a chance to qualify for Nationals again. Only 7 South Regions boys have made it as a sophomore and then again as a junior, and looking ahead, only 18 boys from all regions have qualified 3 or more times in their careers (Jorge Torres being the lone boy to go 4 times). "It’s gonna be an awesome race out there, too. I don’t know whose back this year, but everyone will be fighting for position. There might not be another race (if you don’t qualify), so you have to give it everything you have."

Top Individuals:
1. Colby Lowe, Southlake Carroll, 11, 15:05.15
2. Duncan Phillips, A&M, 12, 15:15.45
3. CJ Brown, Southlake Carroll, 10, 15:22.85
4. Nathan Milles, Flower Mound, 12, 15:29.60
5. Ivan Garcia, Laredo Alexander, 11, 15:33.85
6. Zac Flowers, Cinco Ranch, 11, 15:34.10
7. Kyle Goldsmith, Cinco Ranch, 12, 15:36.15
8. Albert Cardenas, Judson, 11, 15:41.05
9. Alex Neff, Woodlands, 12, 15:43.85
10. Taylor Ray, Coppell, 12, 15:45.65

SO#1/US#19 Kingwood had set the tone early and often, winning all their meets comfortably including Texas A&M and Nike South. In their rearview mirror were SO#3 Cinco Ranch, whom they’d handled 3 times this year, and SO#4 Keller, which they hadn’t faced. Yet maybe looming largest of all was SO#5 Southlake Carroll, a talented squad hampered by injuries this season, which they’d traded gold and silver with at the last two state meets.

With many of the top athletes running as individuals without teams, it was more confusing than usual for spectators to sort out the team battle. What was evident, as Southlake Carroll soph Tara Upshaw came home 3rd (1st team scorer) and Kingwood jr Kristen Hanselka 6th (2nd scorer), was that Carroll and Kingwood were both off to a good start. Then Keller joined the party, pushing in three within 13 seconds, scoring 3-4-6. Kingwood’s #2 was next, tacking on 8 points (20th overall) to tighten things up. But just 5 seconds later was the beginning of the end, as Carroll jr Taylor Stephens scored 11, and was followed by senior teammates Christina Ferber (12 points), Kirsten Brown (18) - all 3 within 8 seconds - and Emily Denny (26). These seniors have battled various injuries this season, but their hard work and experience paid off with the 2nd team gold of their careers.

Southlake Carroll earned the title with 58 points and averaged 11:38 for the 3200 meter course. Keller parlayed its strong top 3 into 79 points for the silver medal, as they averaged 11:41. Kingwood, a perennial power with 6 state titles, claimed bronze with 103, averaging 11:47 without the services of usual #3 Megan Munoz. Plano West was 4th with 114 points and an 11:52 average, edging Cinco Ranch with 115 and a 11:54 average.

"I’d go to war with our 7," said Southlake Carroll coach Robert Ondrasek. "We talked about it yesterday. We’re the champions for 24 more hours, are we gonna give it to them, or make them take it away. They went for it, and I’m proud of them" Not that it was easy. "Keller ran awesome. I thought they had us," he added. "Taylor Stephens (#2 today) showed up big. Tara (Upshaw, #1) went out too fast, but she showed me how strong she is. For a while I was just hoping that she’d finish, but she ran awesome."

Keller coach Renee Saettel, in her 1st year as head coach, was pleased with her team’s silver medal effort. "It’s great. It’s a little bittersweet, since we beat Southlake Carroll the last two weekends (close races at District and Region). We actually had the lead through 4 (by 8 points). And our 5th girl, just a freshman, did a great job also."

5A Teams:
1. 68 Southlake Carroll (1-11-12-18-26-39-58) Top 5 Average Time: 11:38.85
2. 79 Keller (3-4-6-21-45-68-80) Top 5 Average Time: 11:41.52
3. 103 Kingwood (2-8-23-24-46-47-69) Top 5 Average Time: 11:47.85
4. 114 Plano West (5-20-25-31-33-42-54) Top 5 Average Time: 11:52.06
5. 115 Cinco Ranch (13-15-16-27-44-63-65) Top 5 Average Time: 11:54.93
6. 151 Clear Lake (14-19-30-40-48-55-56) Top 5 Average Time: 11:59.99
7. 178 A&M Consolidated (7-10-37-60-64-74-76) Top 5 Average Time: 12:03.54
8. 184 San Antonio Reagan (22-28-34-49-51-53-75) Top 5 Average Time: 12:06.31
9. 210 The Woodlands (32-35-41-43-59-67) Top 5 Average Time: 12:09.90
10. 226 Marcus (9-29-57-61-70-78-81) Top 5 Average Time: 12:14.61
11. 268 Austin Westlake (17-36-66-72-77-79-82) Top 5 Average Time: 12:25.89
12. 273 PSJA North (38-50-52-62-71-73) Top 5 Average Time: 12:24.72

#1 Southlake Carroll finishers:
3. Tara Upshaw, 10, 11:04.40
24. Taylor Stephens, 11, 11:40.70
26. Christina Ferber, 12, 11:42.20
34. Kirsten Brown, 12, 11:48.50
49. Emily Denny, 12, 11:58.45
64. Caitlin Gilbert, 10, 12:07.40
86. Hannah Brown, 9, 12:25.00

#2 Keller finishers:
9. Laleh Mojtabaeezamani, 11, 11:20.80
11. Kelly Dawson, 11, 11:27.45
17. Chelsea Scott, 9, 11:33.60
40. Ashley Vincent, 9, 11:51.60
71. Julie Durrwachter, 9, 12:14.15
96. Shannon Miller, 11, 12:42.40
108. Heather Davis, 11, 13:24.90

#3 Kingwood finishers:
6. Kristen Hanselka, 11, 11:15.95
20. Addie Quinn, 11, 11:35.90
45. Jessica Boice, 10, 11:56.20
47. Shelby Nicholls, 10, 11:56.50
72. Sophie Blake, 9, 12:14.70
73. Jessie Porter, 11, 12:14.95
97. Hailey Nicholls, 10, 12:43.55

This was one of those times where the consensus top three finished in the expected order.

Southlake Carroll soph Tara Upshaw, 6th as a freshman, took the early lead and pushed the pace - her usual MO. A lead pack of 4 formed quickly, consisting of Upshaw, Richardson sr Jillian Rosen (undefeated this season and the leading returnee), Brazoswood soph Lauren Smith, a relative unknown coming into the season before winning Nike South and silver at Texas A&M, and Cy Creek sr Allison Pye, the Nike South and region runner-up to Smith. Near the mile mark, Smith surged to the front and only Pye covered the move. Crossing the dam, Smith had a sizeable lead and Pye was drifting back as Upshaw moved into 2nd. Down the final circular slope with about 500 to go, Jillian Rosen began to roll in 3rd. A dangerous finisher, with a 4:53 mile at NON to her credit, she passed Upshaw and set her sights on Lauren Smith. Both looked good heading up the final hill, but the longer-legged Rosen seemed to inch closer which every stride. Near the top, about 150 meters from home, she took the lead and never looked back.

Jillian Rosen’s winning time was 10:48, a comfortable 9-second margin of victory. Lauren Smith, in her first state meet appearance, claimed a well-deserved silver in 10:57. Tara Upshaw, the early leader, held on for 3rd in a gutsy 11:04, holding off hard-charging Alvin jr Brittainy Robertson in 11:05. Langham Creek jr Nicole Peters, the fifth returnee, held form to grab 5th in 11:14. Kingwood jr Kristen Hanselka, Georgetown jr Alicia Jenkins and Lamar jr Shelby Bottoms followed in 6-7-8. Overall, Region III took 6 of the top 10 places. Next year should be a humdinger, as only Rosen graduates from the top 10.

Although a senior, this was Jillian Rosen’s 1st full cross country season. "I gave up soccer last summer just before cross country practice started. Then I had a bunch of injuries from a car accident and I was just getting used to the training so I missed some early meets. I ended up 7th at state last year."

It went a lot smoother this year; an undefeated season culminating in her 1st state championship today. "My plan was to go out hard for the first 30 seconds to get out of the pack, then just kinda cruise until the last 400 and give it all I had. I did get out well, but then at the mile I was getting too much air in (due to the wind in her face and dust kicked up by the lead cart) and my asthma started acting up and I was wheezing. Then I started to drop back." At that point, Lauren Smith took control and built a sizeable lead. "She was amazing. But I kicked hard the last 400 as planned and it worked! It feels really good and I sure hope to get some more this spring." Her college plans for next year? "I just signed with Arkansas."

Top Individuals:
1. Jillian Rosen, 12, Richardson, 10:48.80
2. Lauren Smith, 10, Brazoswood, 10:57.95
3. Tara Upshaw, 10, Southlake Carroll, 11:04.40
4. Brittainy Robertson, 11, Alvin, 11:05.15
5. Nicole Peters, 11, Langham Creek, 11:14.10
6. Kristen Hanselka, 11, Kingwood, 11:15.95
7. Alicia Jenkins, 11, Georgetown, 11:17.20
8. Shelby Bottoms, 11, Lamar, 11:17.90
9. Laleh Mojtabaeezamani, 11, Keller, 11:20.80
10. Melissa Mahoney, 10, Cypress Woods, 11:24.75