Stratford High School’s boys cross country team won the state Class 4A UIL team title on Saturday, Nov. 9, during a meet held in Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.Spartan junior Austin Richard finished Saturday’s race second overall in a time of 15:56 in cold and windy conditions, while his teammate Brian Quinlan took eighth place with a time of 16:06.82 to lead the Spartans to a winning 75-point performance total.
The second-place team was Lucas Lovejoy from Lovejoy ISD in Collin County. Kingwood Park High School was eighth overall in 4A UIL state competition, the highest place claimed by a Houston-area high school team after Stratford.
“After we finished the race, I had no idea where we stood (as a team),” Austin told the Houston Chronicle. “But then after they announced us as first place, it was just a rush of emotion. Everyone was jumping up and screaming; it was crazy.”
The Stratford High team’s overall performance included the following runners and times: Hayden Richard, 16:34.43; Jake Roberts, 17:00.71; Nick Terrazas, 17:09.17; Paul Brastrom, 17:36:24; Douglas Baker, 17:41.73. Spartan team coach is Tony Brillon.
“The greatest enjoyment is to watch these young men put in enormous hours of work on a daily basis to reach a common goal – to win state. They are just a very dedicated group, and they never gave up," he said.
Stratford High’s state title comes after several years of hard work. In 2011, the Spartans placed 11th overall at the Class 4A state meet. The boys’ team finished this year as 4A state champions.
In separate but related 5A and 4A state UIL news:
· Memorial High School sophomore Khayla Patel was a cross country district champion, winning the girl’s 5000-meter race in 18:06:99, and advancing to State finals were she finished 15th overall with a time of 18:49:78.
· Memorial Varsity Tennis took second place at the Class 5A UIL State Team Tennis Tournament held on Nov. 4-5 at the Texas A&M University Tennis Center in College Station.
The Mustangs won their State semifinals match on Nov. 4 against El Paso Coronado (10-4), but lost to their rivals, the New Braunfels Unicorns, in the Team Tennis State finals held Nov. 5.
This was Memorial High School’s fifth consecutive year to advance to the UIL State Team Tennis Tournament.
Communications Dept. student intern Kali Venable compiled and wrote this report.
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