The Spartan Varsity Boys and Girls hit the road this week to compete in the highly competitive and festive Hoka-McNeil Invitational at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, Texas. The course at Old Settlers Park is the site of the Texas UIL State Meet each November, so the Hoka Meet serves as a mid-season opportunity for teams to experience the setup and hilly terrain against top-level competition. Close to four thousand high school athletes competed in multiple divisions over Friday and Saturday and the atmosphere was electric. It was a fun and memorable experience for our athletes, coaches, and families.

Varsity Boys

Based on performances to date this season, our Varsity boys were accepted into the Elite Gold Division on Saturday morning. Of the twenty-six other teams competing in Gold, five of them came in ranked top-10 in the latest 6A State coaches poll, two ranked top-five in the 5A poll, and two ranked top-3 in the 4A poll. Against stacked competition, the Stratford boys proved that they belonged by finishing 12th place overall in team points. Ben Pearce led the Spartans by finishing 34th, Jona Morford followed in 75th,  and Daylan Rushing in 100th. Andrew Hopkins and Samuel Jordan were our other point earners and ran rock-solid races under tough conditions

Boys Gold Results (5K distance - 228 finishers)

Ben Pearce - 34th - 16:05

Jona Morford - 75th - 16:35

Daylan Rushing - 100th - 16:55

Andrew Hopkins - 123rd - 17:14

Samuel Jordan - 164th - 17:39

Owen Duggan - 190th - 17:58

Jake Rodriguez - 206th - 18:28

Varsity Girls

The Spartan Varsity girls qualified for the Elite Silver Division, but due to an unfortunate lingering injury to one of our runners, only four competed on Saturday. Niamh Collins could have entered the Gold Division as an individual participant, but instead competed with her team in Silver. Niamh seized the opportunity and won FIRST PLACE in a field of 202 runners. Her reward was a shiny new Hoka cowboy hat, a first-place medal, and well deserved recognition. It was a job well done by all of our girls against very good competition.

Girls Silver Results (5k distance - 202 finishers)

Niamh Collins - 1st - 19:19

Amelia Bommer - 106th - 22:03

Laura Gonzalez - 109th - 22:08

Olivia Ceraudo - 189th - 24:37

For the week coming up:

Sub Varsity

Klein Bearkat Tune-Up

Friday, September 29

Spring Creek Park

Tomball

Varsity

Nike South Invitational

Saturday, September 30

Bear Branch Park

The Woodlands