INDEX
Top Meet Highlights
* The elite boys field takes off at the Marcus Coach T. Invitational in Denton, TX.
Photo Credit: MileSplit Texas
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With thousands of athletes competing on Saturday, these meets featured some of the top highlights and performances of the day.
Marcus Coach T. Invitational
The nationally-notable Flower Mound (TX) girls squad made its season 5k debut and came away with the invitational win against some of the best competition in Texas. Led by a 3-4 finish from sisters Samantha Humphries and Nicole Humphries who each clocked new 5k PRs of 17:20.00 and 17:30.20, respectively, Flower Mound scored 58 points to grab the elite division team title. Finishing ahead of the Humphries sisters was Prosper (TX) senior Shewaye Johnson, running a sizable 17:08.80 personal best to post the best time seen in Texas so far this season. Second-place finisher Macy Wingard (Denton Braswell, TX) also made a statement with her final time of 17:15.30, as the young freshman now ranks US No. 10 for 5k and leads the way for the class of 2026.
On the boys side, Southlake Carroll (TX) continued their early-season success with a team win and 81-point score. However, the highlight from the boys field has to come from Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis (TX) junior Angel Sanchez, who won individually with a time of 14:58.90 and was the lone sub-15:00 finisher.
Timpanogos XC Invitational
The competition this season between star distance talents Tayson Echohawk (Orem) and Liam Heninger (Mountain View) is shaping up to be quite the showdown in the state of Utah.
For the third-straight week, Echohawk and Heninger raced together from the gun -- this time at the Timpanogos XC Invitational -- and finished within seconds of each other yet again. In their third season matchup, it was Echohawk who took the win in in the varsity elite boys race in 15:24.20, just fractions of a second ahead of runner-up Heninger in 15:25.00.
On the girls side, American Fork (UT) stud Avalon Mecham won the varsity elite division 18:29.60 in her first 5k of the season.
FEAST Patriot 20th Annual HS and MS XC Invitational
Isabel Conde De Frankenberg (Cedar Park, TX) stole the show in the girls varsity 5k with a barrier-breaking performance that ranks the Cedar Park junior among the best racers in the nation this season. Not only did her winning time of 16:56.62 make for a personal best and her first time under the 17-minute 5k mark, but puts her at US No. 2 so far on the season. To date, only Conde De Frankenberg and Alyssa Sauro ( Williamstown, WV) have run faster than 17 minutes at this point in early season competition.
Marcelo Parra (San Antonio TMI, TX) also had a national-caliber showing in the boys competition, running 14:54.62 in his first race of the season to secure both a PR and a win. That ranks the junior in the US Top 10 for 5k just weeks into the cross country season.
Granite City Invite
The meet in Granite City, Ill. featured one of the bigger upsets of the weekend as Ian Kemey took to the individual win in 14:34.20, ahead of his Rock Bridge (MO) teammate and Missouri 5k cross country record holder Andrew Hauser, who wound up finishing third in 14:47.50. Snagging that second-place slot was junior Dylon Nalley, who ran a new Marion (IL) school record of 14:38.60.
Behind the winning effort from Kemey and strong finishes from Hauser and the rest of their top seven, Rock Bridge took the team title commandingly with 41 points scored.
Individual Highlights:
McKenzie Bailey (Georgetown, TX): Clocked a season-best 17:17.38 to capture the girls varsity title at the FEAST Patriot HS and MS XC Invitational, good for a spot among the country's top 20 5k racers in the early season.
Isabel Allori (Libery Common, CO): Ran a 30-second 5k PR of 17:20.20 to win the girls varsity race at the Wyoming Cross Country Invitional, which ranks her in the top 20 nationally so far this season.
Sage Wilde (Liberty North, MO): Made his season debut with a 14:54.40 win in the boys 5k at the Tim Nixon Invitational. His time sits just off of his personal best of 14:42.33 from the 2021 RunningLane Cross Country Championships.
Connor Ackley (Hilliard Davidson, OH): Ran his second-ever sub-15:00 5k to win at the home-hosted Hilliard Davidson Hot Summer Bash in 14:57.90.