* Strong matchups occurred at the TwiKnight Invite on Saturday in Utah
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On Saturday, Woods Cross' Carlee Hansen and Lone Peak's Eliza Arrington went head-to-head at the TwiKnight Invitational at Art Dye Park in American Fork, Utah.
The last time Hansen ran a 5K was at the end of August when she ran at the Wildcat XC Invitational and won with an 18:24.60, while this was Arrington's first full 5K since the 2019 season.
Throughout the race both of these competitors remained within striking distance of each other. As they came across the last turn, both Hansen and Arrington pumped their arms towards the finish line. Hansen won the meet by seven-tenths of a second, crossing the finish in 17:47.58.
Arrington was second in 17:48.22.
Lone Peak won the meet with 20 points, just 16 ahead of Springville.
1 Carlee Hansen 12 Woods Cross 17:47.58 2 Eliza Arrington 12 Lone Peak 17:48.22 3 Sarah Galbraith 10 Springville 18:24.57 4 Reagan Gardner 12 Lone Peak 18:28.41 5 Katelyn Bybee 11 Lone Peak 18:49.32
On the boys' side, Skyridge's Creed Thompson and Bountiful's Dalton Mortensen had another epic matchup. Earlier this month, the pair competed at the Nicholls Hollow Invite. Mortensen had the better meet and won in 15:22.50 for 3-miles, while Thompson finished in 15:38.00.
This time, it was a different story.
While both Thompson and Mortensen were shoulder-to-shoulder the entire 5K, it was Thompson who won at the 5K distance in 15:03.78. Mortensen finished four seconds behind Thompson as he crossed the finish line in 15:07.37.
* IMG Academy girls won the FLRunners.com Invitational 21
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IMG Academy Looked Strong at FLRunners.com Invitational 21
The IMG Academy girls, the MileSplit50 preseason No. 18 ranked squad, came together at the FLRunners.com Invitational 21 on Satuday at Holloway Park in Lakeland, Florida.
And it shouldn't be a surprise that Tatum David, the Ascenders' No. 1 runner, took the lead from the start in the Race of Champions. While she continued to extend her lead, her teammates Carly McNatt and Jais Ward stayed within 90 seconds of her finish. David won in 17:58.31 on the swampy course, while McNatt finished fifth in 18:51.81 and Ward was seventh in 19:04.74.
IMG Academy won the meet over HB Plant and Lakewood Ranch, outscoring second-place by 60 points. The biggest question for IMG Academy is which athletes can help move it further up the rankings? There's no doubt that David, McNatt and Ward will help this team win in 2020.
TEAM SCORES PLACE TEAM POINTS SCORERS TIMES 1 IMG Academy 81 1+5+7+24+44 (48+64) 3:08 1-5 Split | 19:27 Avg 2 HB Plant HS 141 4+25+28+31+53 (60+78) 2:33 1-5 Split | 20:20 Avg 3 Lakewood Ranch HS 152 13+14+27+42+56 (63+75) 1:53 1-5 Split | 20:28 Avg 4 Newsome HS 163 8+15+23+41+76 (94) 3:05 1-5 Split | 20:28 Avg 5 Timber Creek HS 174 2+21+37+43+71 (72+73) 3:22 1-5 Split | 20:30
Meanwhile, Javier Vento of Miami Belen Jesuit Preparatory won the Race of Champions boys section in 15:46.57. He won by five seconds over his teammate Adam Magoulas.
Vento and Magoulas both have been consistent this season. Vento has been running in the mid-15 minutes for 5K, while Magoulas has been running in the mid-to-=upper 15 minutes. They each ran well on this challenging course by running 183 and 182 speed ratings.
CHAMPIONSHIP BOYS 5000 METER RUN FINALS PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS 1 Javier Vento 12 Belen Jesuit Preparatory School 15:46.57 1 2 Adam Magoulas 11 Belen Jesuit Preparatory School 15:51.16 2 3 Ethan Lipham 11 Berkeley Prep HS 15:57.12 3 4 Matthew Mule' 12 Saint Andrew's HS 16:09.38 4 5 Dalin Mitchell 12 Seffner Christian 16:24.39 5
* Henry Murphy took a win at the LHS Sweetheart Varsity meet in Loveland, CO
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Missions Were on the Line at the LHS Sweetheart Varsity meet
At the LHS Sweetheart Varsity meet on Saturday in Loveland, Colorado, Henry Murphy and Jackson Shorten were two individuals on a mission.
Shorten wanted to continue his undefeated streak, while Murphy wanted to break it.
While Shorten, the Mountain View junior, started the meet off in an aggressive way and took the lead from the startm, things began to change as Murphy shifted in the final mile.
Once Murphy hit the track over the last 120m, he had a substantial lead. The Fairview senior crossed the finish line in 15:34.33, which is the fourth-fastest time in Colorado.
Shorten finished second in 15:53.69, making this his third sub 16 minute time for 5K this season.
BOYS 5000 METER RUN FINALS PLACE ATHLETE TEAM RESULT POINTS 1 Henry Murphy 12 Fairview High School 15:34.33 1 2 Jackson Shorten 11 Mountain View High School 15:53.69 2 3 Adugna Moritz 12 Fossil Ridge High School 16:23.79 3 4 Eric Sankey 11 Fairview High School 16:34.83 4 5 Dalton Kaines 11 Rocky Mountain High School 16:37.93 5
- Jack Fasano set a three-minute personal best of 14:51.86 at the Desert Daylight. He's the sixth athlete to break 15 minutes for 5K this season.
- Freshman Allie Love of Colleyville Heritage won the Timber Creek Falcon Fast Invite in Fort Worth, TX in 18:03.28. She won the meet by 33 seconds. She remains undefeated after winning races from 3200m to 5K this cross country season.
- Senior Caden Smith won the Centennial League Championships on Wednesday. He led Cherokee Trail to a top finish as a team.
- Cherokee Trail's Cameron McConnell had a strong meet at the Centennial League Championships. The junior won the meet in a season's best of 17:35.90.
- One of West Allis Hale's juniors set a personal best at the Boys Wisconsin State Invitational. Joshua Truchon won in 15:23.20. He won this race about 45 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
- Austin Popplewell drops another sub 15 minute for 5K at the Yorkville Invitational in Yorkville, IL. He opened his season at the Yorkville / West Aurora Dual Meet and ran a personal best of 14:45.30. On Wednesday, he ran a 14:53 and earned a 174 speed rating.
- Mia Cochran had a solid performance at the 14th PIAA Foundation XC Invitational. The junior at Moon Area earned a 143 speed rating after she ran a 18:16.00. She finished 19 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
- In the Lone Star state, the Woodlands Christian's Ben Shearer opened his first 5K of the season. Last year at this meet, he ran a 15:30.80 for eighth. This year, he was named the champion, shaved 24 seconds off his mark and earned a 188 speed rating. He finished in 15:06.33, and was three seconds off his personal best.
- At the Petoskey Invitational in Michigan, Julia Flynn of Traverse City Central won the meet in 17:41.42. At the same meet, sophomore Hunter Jones of Benzie Central won the meet by three seconds in 15:40.35.
- Abbey Nechanicky had a solid performance at the Lake Conference Meet. She won in 17:25.7.
- At the Beet Juice Invite, Harrison Witt set a season's best to win the meet in 15:23.00 for 5K.
* Strong matchups occurred at the TwiKnight Invite on Saturday in Utah
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On Saturday, Woods Cross' Carlee Hansen and Lone Peak's Eliza Arrington went head-to-head at the TwiKnight Invitational at Art Dye Park in American Fork, Utah.