Hofstad returning to form in Texas

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Paige Hofstad is getting back into race shape faster than expected. The senior from New Braunfels, Texas, who missed nearly all of the 2015 track season with a hip injury, won the 6A girls race at the Southlake Carroll Invitational in Texas on Saturday in 17:23. 

She won by 23 seconds on a flat, fast 5,000-meter course. 

Hofstad was nervous about whether she would be able to regain the form that led to a runner-up finish at NXN and fourth at Foot Locker. But she appears to be well on her way. 

The Keller girls, with just one upperclassman, won the team title with 71 points. That was better than South region No. 5 Hebron, second with 110, and Southlake Carroll, third with 130.

David Strome of Colleyville Heritage won the 6A boys race in 15:05.71 and Sam Worley of Canyon was second in 15:22.23.

Jenks OK won the boys team title with 141 points, led by Matthew Young's fourth place finish.

In Rhode Island, at the Injury Fund Carnival, La Salle duo David Principe Jr. and Matt Bouthilette torched their opener by both dipping under 15 minutes for 5,000 meters. Principe ran 14:59.03 and Bouthilette was right there in 14:59.23. Teammate Jack Salisbury, at Nike Elite camper and teammate, sat this one out. 

La Salle still had five of the top 10 finishers and scored 26 points. 

On the girls' side, La Salle's Karina Tavares won the Sullivan Race in 18:43.13 as La Salle claimed the top four spots and six in the top 10. La Salle easily won, scoring 17 points.

In Utah, at the BYU Autumn Classic, Garek Bielaczyc of Salt Lake City East continued to show early season dominance with a 37-second victory on a three-mile course. Bielaczyc ran 14:45.2 for the win while Davis' Camren Todd was second in 15:22.8. 

Bielaczyc was 27th at Foot Locker last year.

Davis cleaned up on both sides of the gender line. The Darts scored 31 points to win the girls team title, 35 points to win the boys competition.

Isabella James, a senior from West, has suddenly revealed herself to be a big deal in Utah and won the girls race with 18:10.9. James is in her second year of running and told her local newspaper, the Deseret News, "I just can't believe it happened."

James described herself as "mediocre" last year. 

Also in Utah, at the Pre-Region 4 Meet, Lone Peak dealt American Fork an extremely rare varsity boys loss inside state lines. Casey Clinger ran 15:18 for three miles to win it. The two teams were tied through five runners but Lone Peak got the win on the sixth runner tiebreaker. American Fork is still without one of its stars, McKay Johns, who is expected to re-join the team in time for regionals.

In North Dakota, there was another sixth-man tiebreaker. This time New Town, the Class B No. 1 beat Bismack, the Class A No. 1, at the Anderson-Stavn Invitational. The result snapped an 11-year, 78-meet streak for Bismarck against North Dakota competition in the regular season. 

In Illinois, Lindsey Payne of Glenbard West won the girls varsity race at the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational in 16:40 and was just a few seconds shy of the course record. Payne has given up soccer this season and the added attention to running is obviously paying off. 

Glenbard West is the same school where defending state champion Lindsay Graham is -- when healthy -- one of the top runners in the country. Graham is taking the cross country season off after recovering from an injured foot and expects to return for indoor track season.

Check out Eric Hofmann's interview with Payne.

Minooka scored 72 points to win the girls meet. 

Blake Evertsen from Hinsdale Central won the boys race in 15:00.2, beating teammate Chris Brenk by five seconds. Neuqua Valley, though, packed up nicely to win the team competition with 33 points. 

In Tennessee, at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic, Anna West (18:04) and Sarah Nicholson from Lafayette MO went 1-2. Mississippi state champion Kate Mattox of Starkville, who was third. Lafayette won the girls competition with 66 points.

Javan Winders from Henry County TN won the boys varsity race in 15:25.8. Lafayette MO went 2-3-4 on the way to capturing the team title with 48 points.

In California, Great Oak got its season off on the right foot with boys and girls team wins at the Cool Breeze Invitational. Baylee Jones, the younger sister of Dani Jones, won the varsity girls 3-mile race for Desert Vista of Arizona. Spencer Dodds of Great Oak won the boys race. Check out Chuck Utash's photo gallery from the meet.

In Indiana, Parker West recapped the goings on at the Asics Marion Invitational, where Alex Buck and David Coffey were the top perfomers. ... In Terre Haute, at the THSB Invitational, Carmel senior Ben Veatch made his first race of the season a successful one, running 15:24 on the state meet course at La Vern Gibson.