Start Line Weekly
RMAC: Adams State men and Western Colorado women win titles
Adams State won the men’s title with 33 points to No. 2 Colorado School of Mines’ 48, with No. 9 Western Colorado third (79) and UC-Colorado Springs fourth (107). Mines’ Dawson Gunn won the men’s 8K in 23:17.3. In the women’s race, No. 5 Western Colorado won with 40 points over No. 1 Adams State (55), UC-Colorado Springs (64) and No. 3 Mines (69); Mines’ Emily LaMena took the individual title in 20:38.2.
Texas: El Paso Eastwood ends Southlake Carroll’s run
No. 6 El Paso Eastwood won the UIL 6A boys title with 56 points, ahead of No. 3 Southlake Carroll (68), the seven-time defending champion, and Keller (109). It is the first 6A boys title for a team outside Southlake Carroll, The Woodlands and Kingwood in 21 years. Denton Guyer’s Ruel Newberry won the individual race in 14:36.3, with Eastwood’s Noah Garcia third (14:40.4) and Southlake Carroll’s Kai Gutierrez fifth (14:43.1). Flower Mound won the 6A girls title with 68 points over The Woodlands (125), and Katy Tompkins’ Bailey Pipes won in 17:20.5.
Michigan: Dudek repeats and No. 4 Ann Arbor Pioneer wins Division 1
No. 1 Natasza Dudek repeated as the Division 1 girls champion in 16:26.6, the second-fastest girls time in Finals history behind her own 16:09.5 from last year. Her Ann Arbor Pioneer teammates Keira Von Blon (16:49.8) and Sienna Klemmer (16:54.7) were second and third, and the No. 4 Pioneer girls won the team title with 87 points. Pioneer senior Kamari Ronfeldt also repeated in the boys race, running 14:45.9, the second-fastest time in Finals history behind Dathan Ritzenhein’s 14:10.4 from 2000.
Oregon: Summit boys and Crater girls win 5A titles
No. 2 Summit won the 5A boys title with 28 points to Crater’s 53, and No. 2 Crater won the 5A girls title with 27 points to Summit’s 99, trading the titles they won a year ago. Summit senior Bjorn Blankenship won the boys race in 14:19.6, the fastest high school 5K in the country this season on MileSplit, 2.7 seconds ahead of Crater’s Garrett Faught. Lincoln’s Ellery Lincoln repeated as 6A girls champion in 16:57.6, and South Eugene’s Yosuke Shibata won the 6A boys race in 14:53.3.