2010 was a good year. There were some real heavy hitters racing the scene at that time and a few future stars in the making on the come-up. There was a big tango in early October at Highland Park on a warm, slightly windy day at the St. Joe's Invite. The boys race was a showdown between EHS and CHS with former Bear Matt Rice donning the blue of Runnels and attempting to take on the field. The girls race was downright nasty. A pair of sub 18s headlined this race as several top 5A programs rumbled.
Matt Rice racing in high school on a fall day.
In the boys event, the 2A little engine that could in Episcopal did not back down from the squad from Catholic High School. The Knights missed the firepower mid-pack, and while they won the battle for first fifth-place finisher, the Bears put three in the top 10 scoring positions to set themselves up for a 73-87 victory. Matt Rice did work as well, putting a junior Cole Stafford away by almost 20 seconds.
The girls race would be the highlight though as Anna Katherine Devitt bested Gabrielle Jennings by 3 seconds in 17:52-17:55 fashion and joined the small group of LA runners who can say they beat the prodigy. A slew of names highlight a who's who of the era. Abby Ter Haar, Ellen Barkemeyer, Morgan Passman, Andi Aguilar (okay I'm stopping here, my fingers hurt) and many others. From a team standpoint, SJA brought out the whoopin' stick and put it on the field by less than halving the second place team, going 51-104 over MCA.
For you over-zealous types, do check out the JH results, especially the boys. There are some gems in there.