The Scoop: Performances Are Still Heating Up Late In Season

Nov 20, 2022

Team South Regional

* Grapevine's Adam Burlison earned an auto-qualifier at the Team Nationals South Regional Championships

Photo Credit: TTFCA/Texas MileSplit

- - -

To kick off the day, the Team South Regional was held in The Woodlands, Texas and faced pouring rain while pushing through temperatures in the high 40s.

The task ahead was to finish in the top five individually and be one of two teams to auto-qualify for Team Nationals in December.

It was an all-or-nothing moment.

Just about 200 boys and 185 girls from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi lined up to take their chance to punch their ticket to this national championship.

On the boys side, 23 runners dipped under 16-minutes for 5K on Bear Branch Park's course.

Junior Adam Burlison of Grapevine (TX) was the first individual to cross the finish line in 15:19. The UIL 5A runner-up finished before the UIL 6A champion and Notre Dame signee Kevin Sanchez by seven seconds.

It was a tight finish for the remaining three spots as four runners were within five seconds of one another.

Oklahoma State signee Ayden Granados clocked a 15:36 for third and Marcelo Parra and Pablo Lesarri had a blanket finish when they crossed the line in 15:40. Despite all his efforts, Parra's brother Franco Parra was sixth with a 15:40. Parra's brother, Franco, who finished sixth in the race, also booked his ticket by virtue of Grapevine's win in the team race.

Looking into the team auto-qualifiers Texas completely dominated as Southlake Carroll and Grapevine earned 56 and 133 points to claim their spots to compete at Team Nationals. The Dragons, the MileSplit50 No. 10 ranked team, had Logan Cantu pave the way with a 10th-place finish.

The rest of the team finished 12-18-29-46 respectively.

The MileSplit No. 14 ranked boys team, led by Burlison, finished 1-35-63-67-81. The Woodlands College Park (TX) finished third overall and will be looked at as an at-large candidate.

* Sophomore Isabel Conde De Frankenberg grabbed the Team Nationals South Regional Championship title

Photo Credit: Roderick Pernetter / MileSplit Texas

- - -

One of the most anticipated races of the day was shaped up to be an exciting one.

The Team South Regional consisted of the powerhouse individuals and teams battling it out all the way through to the finish. The top eight girls dipped under 18-minutes for 5K.

After a runner up finish at the UIL 5A Cross Country Championships, Cedar Park (TX) sophomore Isabel Conde De Frankenberg claimed a bit of redemption by grabbing the title in 17:23. Edinburg North (TX) junior San Juanita Leal snuck in for second with a 17:27, her second-fastest time of the season.

There was an Oklahoma standout who was able to break up the top Texas finishers. The OSSAA state cross country champion Liesel Kehoe of Edmond North (OK) punched her ticket to Team Nationals with a time of 17:33.

The final girls to auto-qualify for nationals were the UIL 5A state cross country champion Mckenzie Bailey of Georgetown (TX) and the UIL 6A cross country runner up Samantha Humphries of Flower Mound (TX). These girls finished within one second of each other at 17:44 and 17:45 respectively.

If Flower Mound does ultimately get in -- which they should -- then Denton Braswell's Macy Wingard, who was seventh, will likely get in as well. Ava Bushaw, who led the Carroll girls to the title, was sixth and was automatically in by virtue of her team's win.

Similar to the boys, the Texas teams dominated the top-place finishes as they scored under 100 points.

Despite finishing second to Flower Mound at the UIL 6A cross country championships, Southlake Carroll was able to sweep the team titles as the girls scored 57 points, just three points over Lucas Lovejoy (TX).

Flower Mound finished third with 70 points.