Weekend Rewind: State Meet Action Takes Center Stage


As the season winds down to its final few weeks, this weekend saw a continuation of state champions crowned across the country. Below is a breakdown of all the biggest state meet action. 


Florida's Best Shine At FHSAA Championships

Caroline Wells after setting Apalachee Regional Park course record. 

The weekend started off with the 3A and 4A classifications competing on Saturday while the class 1A and 2A schools competed on Sunday.

The first race of the weekend was the 3A girls which featured the ladies from Winter Springs High School led by MileSplit50 No. 12 ranked Caroline Wells, who won the individual title in 17:16.50 to power the Bears to the team win with 72 points over Leon High School's 86.

Wells became the first girl from Winter Springs High School to win an individual state title and she did it in record-setting fashion as her time set a new Apalachee Regional Park course record, besting the previous mark of 17:17.58 set last fall by Valeria Lastra of Mater Academy Charter

The boys class 3A race hit the course next and featured MileSplit50 No. 12 ranked Belen Jesuit Preparatory School. The duo of Javier Vento and Aiden Villasuso finished first and second to lead the team to a 30 point victory for its 12th title in program history.

The class 4A girls saw a bit of drama as race winner Amber Schulz of Timber Creek High School had her title rescinded when officials discovered that she hadn't competed at the district and regional meets due to injury and was thus ineligible to compete with her team at the state meet. Race runner-up Keleigh Scallon of Newsome High School was awarded the title with a time of 18:29.30. The senior helped her team finish second behind HB Plant High School.

Nease High School's, Rheinhardt Harrison winning the Class 4A state title.

The highlight of the Class 4A boys race was Nease High School's, Rheinhardt Harrison. The junior clocked a 15:26.90 on the Apalachee Regional Park course. His teammate Bradley Anderson Ball placed second running 15:43.50. The guys from Christopher Columbus High School took the team win in a close one 84 to 89 over Viera High School. 

The action continued on Sunday with two MileSplit50 honorable mention girls teams competing in Bolles and Pine Crest. More to come once results are posted. 

Related Links:


Desert Vista and Highland Spar At Arizona State Meet 

The Desert Vista (AZ) Girls after the Division 1 state championship race. 
- - -

The 2020 AIA State Cross Country Championship took place at Crossroads Park in Gilbert, Arizona on November 12th and 13th and featured the MileSplit50 17th-ranked ladies from Desert Vista High School in Division 1. 

The team faced fierce competition from Highland High School, but Desert Vista prevailed behind  MileSplit50 No. 14 ranked Lauren Ping who took home the individual title in 17:13.40, the fastest time of the meet, and runner-up Katie Sigerud. Ping's performance was speed rated a 148.

Sophomore Kayla Case led the Hawks by placing third followed closely behind by teammate Emma Baugh who placed fifth. The Thunder would then place two more inside of the Hawks top four but the Hawks would place all five before Thunder's top five, keeping scoring close. The two low sticks would ultimately lead to the overall team victory, 41-44.  Desert Vista had a 2:20 compression and an 18:18 5K average while the Hawks had a 57-compression but an 18:34 average.

Girls Division 1 Team Scores  (Full Results)
PLACETEAMPOINTSSCORERSTIMES
1Desert Vista High School411+2+6+9+23 (25+33)2:20 1-5 Split | 18:18 Avg
2Highland High443+5+10+12+14 (20+28)0:57 1-5 Split | 18:34 Avg
3Perry High School824+8+17+26+27 (40+48)1:44 1-5 Split | 19:04 Avg


Post-race interview with Casteel's Dayton Carlson.

In Division 2, sophomore Mia Hall won her first individual title by almost 13 seconds, running 17:54.60 to lead Flagstaff High School to the team title. Hall is the daughter of two-time Olympian Ryan Hall and marathoner Sara Hall

Over the course of its two days and four different divisions, the meet featured four athletes who posted speed ratings over 180. The top two times came on Friday, in the Division 2 boys race from Casteel's Dayton Carlson and Flagstaff High School's Max DavisCarlson ran a 15:06.10 which was speed rated at 189 while Davis who finished second in the race posted a 15:24.80 for a 183-speed rating.

Rio Rico High school's Roshan Tinoco-Miranda posted the third-fastest time from the Division 2 race. The senior ran 15:32.40 also on Friday. The final 180-speed rating actually came from the first race of the two-day meet when Brophy College Preparatory's Xander Black ran a 15:34.6 to beat Desert Vista's Noah Jodon (15:37.80).

Boys Division 2 Top 5 Individuals (Full Results
PLACEATHLETETEAMRESULTPOINTS
1Dayton Carlson12Casteel15:06.101
2Max Davis12Flagstaff High School15:24.802
3Terrence Keyes11Gilbert High School15:43.103
4Logan Marek11Ironwood Ridge High School15:47.404
5Alexander Rafferty12Millennium High School16:03.805

Related AIA State Cross Country Championship Links


LaSalle Acadamy Sweeps Rhode Island State Championships

Jack Mcloughlin leading the way for the La Salle Acadamy boys victory. 

The La Salle Academy Rams are a powerhouse program in the state of Rhode Island; and have been for many years. This year both the boys and girls teams showed just how strong the program is. After winning the RIIL Class A Championships last weekend, they came back and won the overall RIIL State Championships.

The ladies were led by senior Kaylie Armitage, the 2019 state champion, who finished second this year in 17:58.53 to help secure victory for the Lady Rams, 49-57, over East Greenwich High School. The individual title was claimed by sophomore Reese Fahys from East Greenwichwho ran 17:43.51. 

Reese Fahys' after running a 17:43 for the RIIL title.

The guys, once again, found themselves locked in a heated battle with Bishop Hendricken. After beating them, 21-47, at the class championship last weekend, they managed to prevail again, 24-60, for the overall state title. The Rams were led by senior Jack McLoughlin, who clocked a 15:27.32 for the individual title. Check out more from the RIIL State Championships in the links below. 

Related Links:


Major Upsets at Alabama State Championship

The state of Alabama has two Milesplit50 ranked athletes and one ranked team, and two of the three were upset this weekend.

Individually, No. 21 Ethan Strand and No. 22 Crawford Hope both had tough state meet performances. Strand, who was looking for his third straight Class 7A boys state title, placed 12th overall. In Class 6A,  the favored Hope placed seventh. Walker Cole of Oak Mountain won the Class 7A individual title in 15:13.66, the fastest time of the weekend worth a speed rating of 189. 

The MileSplit50 No. 7 ranked Huntsville boys kept their winning streak alive with a win in Class 7A. The team had an impressive 24-second 1-5 compression and a 15:58 average over the 5K course. 

Check the links below for more action from the 2020 AHSAA XC State Championship

Related Links:



Top Performances Of The Weekend:
  • Even though the Michigan State Meet was last weekend, the action continued this weekend in the Wolverine State with the MITCA Michigan Meet of Champions. MileSplit50 No. 13 Audrey Dadamio took home the win in the girls race clocking a 17:10.90. In the boys race, Benzie Central's (MI) Hunter Jones continued his undefeated streak running 15:15.61. Watch for the current MileSplit50 No.13 ranked sophomore to potentially take a jump into the top 10 in the rankings this week. 
  • MileSplit50 No. 20 ranked Christian Brothers Academy won the NJSIAA Non-Public South Sectional scoring 22 points.


The Weekend Rewind