This Austin-Area Runner Scored A Career Race Wearing His Favorite Sunglasses

ROUND ROCK – Colby Huntress is not a superstitious person.

However, ever since the Austin Anderson High School junior began wearing a pair of Oakley’s he was gifted by his club coach – Born To Run’s Paul Carrozza – in May, special moments have tended to find the prep whenever he wears them.

So … it would have been wrong not to wear them on Saturday during the UIL Texas State Class 5A Cross Country Championships, right?

“Every time I wear them, I pretty much run well,” said Huntress, who scored a big personal record in May when he first wore the glasses and later won a championship in Oregon a month later sporting them.

Huntress might need to evaluate his pseudo-supernatural feelings, because he once again came up big, netting a sixth-place finish in the final race of his regular season on Saturday, clocking a time of 15:52.10 at Old Settlers Park.

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The junior was the highest-placing Austin-area runner on Saturday.

What was more impressive, yet, was Huntress’ final blow-by over the race’s last 100 meters.

The half-miler went to the well and kicked up dirt with some serious foot speed, moving past a row of competitors to claim that top 10 finish.

“Well, I always really have that extra gear at the end of races, and I knew I was going to have it,” Huntress said. “So just like seeing all those people and people yelling to me that I was close to being in the top 10. I just went for it and gave it all I got.”

Interestingly enough, Huntress was in 38th place after the first mile, trailing the leaders by 12 seconds after he passed through the split in 4:59. He moved up 17 places over the next mile, then began to pick-off runners one-by-one over the final stretch.

It was only a year ago that Huntress had finished 105th at the state meet.

But after a dazzling sophomore track season, including that PR-race at 800 meters in May at the TTFCA Meet of Champions, where Huntress went a career best 1:52.04; along with an Emerging Elite title at Nike Outdoor Nationals the next month in June with a time of 4:13.37, things began to fall into place.

Huntress said he committed himself to running from that point forward.

“At the start of the season, the whole summer, I just put in so much work,” said Huntress, who used to play basketball. “Just getting sick and having a big interruption in the middle of the season, I wasn’t going to let that get in the way of what could have been at the end of the season, because I still have a lot of talent and a lot of training under my belt.”

Huntress, along with Austin Vandegrift’s Kai McCullough, were the highest-placing Austin-area boys runners over two days at the state championships.

The pair finished sixth across the Class 5A and Class 6A races on Friday and Saturday.

Ending A Career On A High Note

Huntress wasn’t the only upperclassmen who finished in a flurry.

Leander senior Gage Horejsi ran a tactically sound race, too, making up 23 places from the first mile to the final 5,000th meter, finishing 18th overall in a time of 16:06.3.

“Tired right now, but the adrenaline over that last 100 meters was amazing,” Horejsi said.

With less than 600 meters to go, Horejsi said he heard a competing coach issue a statement to his runner, saying “There’s top 15, go get him.”

“He didn’t do it,” Horejsi said, “so I did and I reached and I found some gears I didn’t think I had.”

It was a fitting final note to Horejsi’s season.

After picking up three top five finishes over the start of the campaign – including a win at the Giddings Tejas Invitational – Horejsi overcame an asthma attack during his district race and then rebounded by submitting a third-place finish at regions.

He clocked a career best time of 15:52.40 on the season.

Exceeding Expectations

Austin LASA’s Eva Cragnolino could feel momentum in her favor going to the line on Saturday at the state championships.

The high school junior had racked up six wins prior to her first appearance at state.

So she went out hard over the first mile, staying with the leaders as they went through the mile around 5:26 – Cragnolino was just seven seconds back and in seventh-place.

“It was within the race plan,” she said. “…I wanted to go out with the lead pack and stick with them.”

The Austinite did not waver from there, remaining in seventh-place for the entire race up until she crossed in eighth.

“This is probably the best day of the season at states,” she said.

Class 5A Boys Results:

1. Bryce Denton, Anna, 15:16.90
2. Aiden Fitzgerald, Friendswood, 15:32.00
3. Miles Westbrook, El Paso, 15:39.20
4. Charlie Houck, Boerne Champion, 15:41.90
5. Jaxon Asbill, Dayton, 15:51.60
6. Colby Huntress, Austin Anderson, 15:52.10
7. Diego Romero, El Paso Americas, 15:52.90
8. Elijah Merino, Humble Kingwood Park, 15:53.20
9. Tristan Arceneau, Lucas Lovejoy, 15:54.00
10. Matthew Binkley, Montgomery, 15:58.60
11. Carson Brown, Humble Kingwood Park, 16:00.30
12. Andrew Malan, Frisco Lebanon Trail, 16:00.40
13. Andrew Deyoung, Grapevine, 16:00.50
14. Tyler Connally, Aledo, 16:01.10
15. Matthew Morales, Georgetown, 16:01.40
16. Luis Tovar, Boerne Champion, 16:02.10
17. William Carlson, Lucas Lovejoy, 16:04.40
18. Gage Horejsi, Leander, 16:06.30
19. Malin Arnoldussen, El Paso Burges, 16:06.60
20. Amisadai Yanez, Texas City, 16:07.70

Austin-Area Finishers:

6. Colby Huntress, Austin Anderson, 15:52.10
15. Matthew Morales, Georgetown, 16:01.40
18. Gage Horejsi, Leander, 16:06.30
42. Joaquin Gonzalez, Austin LASA, 16:27.70
43. Ethan Herrera, Lockhart, 16:28.80

Class 5A Girls Results:

1. Elizabeth Leachman, Boerne Champion, 17:14.80
2. Dana Rojas Vasquez, McAllen, 18:07.60
3. Brady Solansky, Comal Smithson Valley, 18:10.50
4. Sofia Phillips, North Richland Hills Birdville, 18:15.40
5. Savanah Moya, New Braunfels, 18:15.40
6. Molly Garrison, Aledo, 18:16.60
7. Ella Magallan, Burleson Centennial, 18:24.60
8. Eva Cragnolino, Austin LASA, 18:24.90
9. Camryn Benson, Lucas Lovejoy, 18:31.80
10. Lilly Koenig, Comal Smithson Valley, 18:37.40
11. Kenzi Ramirez, McAllen, 18:41.10
12. Micah Neal, Aledo, 18:42.70
13. Natali Velasquez, Colleyville Heritage, 18:49.50
14. Presley Robertson, Frisco Wakeland, 18:53.80
15. Mykel Murray, Aledo, 18:54.50
16. Kynley Albright, Boerne Champion, 18:55.20
17. Mason Murray, Abilene, 18:59.50
18. Skyler Fonseca, Comal Smithson Valley, 19:00.40
19. Mia Perez, Comal Smithson Valley, 19:02.60
20. Aubrey Pozzi, Comal Smithson Valley, 19:03.80

Austin-Area Finishers (Top 60):

8. Eva Cragnolino, Austin LASA, 18:24.90
32. Melia Flowers, Georgetown, 19:22.50
48. Sierra Harrell, Georgetown East View, 19:41.90

Class 5A Boys Team Results:

1. Lucas Lovejoy, 77
2. Boerne, 137
3. Frisco Wakeland, 153
4. Grapevine, 174
5. Boerne Champion, 185
6. El Paso Burges, 188
7. McAllen, 189
8. Weslasco East, 198
9. Friendswood, 242
10. Montgomery, 243

Class 5A Girls Team Results:

1. Comal Smithson Valley, 54
2. Lucas Lovejoy, 97
3. Aledo, 145
4. McAllen, 151
5. College Station A&M Consolidated, 160
6. Frisco Wakeland, 166
7. Boerne Champion, 171
8. Dallas Highland Park, 216
9. Colleyville Heritage, 254
10. Montgomery, 282