Weekend Rundown: Hannah Long picks up 17:35 win at Memphis Twilight

By Doug Binder

In race where just three of the 273 varsity girls competing broke 19 minutes, junior Hannah Long of Eureka (Missouri) posted a 36-second victory by running 17:35.07 at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic in Tennessee.

Long also led her team to the title as junior teammate Rachael Yergersen scored eight points and freshman Andra Staicu 14. Eureka scored 80 points.

Bailee Dean of Cane Ridge (Tennessee), the state's 3,200-meter track champion, ran 18:11.42 for second and Kate Mattox (Mississippi), a freshman, was third in 18:49.36. Mattox won the Mississippi 3,200-meter track title in the spring as an eighth grader.

Camden Barrett of West Plains (Missouri) won the boys varsity race in 16:04.34. He was one of three Zizzers in the top four and scored 17 points.

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At the American Fork Grass Relays in Utah, Connor McMillan covered the two-mile loop in 9:52 for the second-fastest time in meet history. Luke Puskedra (9:41) holds the record, from 2007. (Image of McMillan at right by Rochelle Pinnock).

McMillan, of US#3 American Fork, led his team to an overall time of 51:48. That was just two seconds short of the meet record set by American Fork last year.

Other top times came from Kramer Morton of Alta (10:03), a Foot Locker finalist; Clayson Shumway of Lone Peak (10:04), a transfer from Colorado where he was the state XC runner-up last fall; American Fork's Zac Jacklin (10:06); and Brady Early of Riverton (10:07).

On the girls side, Marlee Mitchell of Bingham (11:51), Alyssa Snyder of Park City (11:53), Maddy Criscione of Park City (11:56) and Whitney Rich of Bingham (11:56) ran the 4-5-6-7 fastest times in meet history.

Bingham put together a cumulative time of 62:51 and beat preseason US#57 Park City.

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At the Cheyenne Mountain Stampede in Colorado Springs, Jordyn Colter of Cherry Creek opened her season with an impressive 50-second win in 18:55. Second-place finisher Emma Gee of Legacy, one of the top runners in the state, was second in 19:45.

Marcelo Laguera of Pomona was the fastest of the boys, running 16:41.

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At The Woodlands' Friday Night Lights meet in Texas, Madi McLellan of The Woodlands ran away with the two-mile victory in 11:14 to reach the finish before Julia Heymach (11:30) of Manvel and Madie Boreman (11:34) of Rouse.

The Woodlands girls also won the team title with 42 points.

In the boys race, Bradley Dohner of Klein Oak finished in 12:40, six seconds ahead of Pedro Nasta of the John Cooper School.

Cedar Park scored 90 points, Klein Oak 112.

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Also in Texas, at the Marcus Invitational, Austen Dalquist from Keller picked up the victory by running 15:26 as 12 boys in the race went 16 minutes or faster. 

Natalie Rathjen from Highland Park also performed well, winning the girls race by 23 seconds in 17:38. 

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In Wilsonville, Oregon, sophomore Ella Donaghu of Grant broke the 3,000-meter course record at the Wilsonville Night Meet, running 9:57 for the fastest time in all of the flighted sections for girls. She won the sophomore girls race by 49 seconds. Donaghu's older sister, Piper, won the senior race in 10:13.

Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski of Forest Grove, injured last spring during track season, opened with a win in 8:58 in the senior boys race.

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Finally, it's worth mentioning that there was a high school cross country meet on Saturday at Barrow, Alaska. 

It was called the Whaler Invitational and Austin Monzon of Anchorage Christian ran a very respectable 16:23 (can we presume it was on tundra?)

Barrow is the northernmost city in North America and one of the world's most remote locations along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. Sunday's temperature was 36 degrees and light snow was forecast.