Sixteen teams qualified to compete for the 2018 UIL State Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning in Round Rock, and for the first time since 2015, Smithson Valley earned the opportunity to race for both the boys and girls titles.
The Ranger boys expected to be back in this position. One year removed from finishing fifth at the state level, Smithson Valley returned four seniors and three juniors on the seven-runner roster. That includes three of the top 15 runners in Region 4: Clayton Wilkerson, Mason Garner and Andres Engle. Now, their eyes were set on a bigger prize.
"We felt like we had a chance to go for the gold," Wilkerson said. "We came to this race knowing it was going to be a challenge and we were totally up for the challenge."
"Four years of training and training, and ups and downs," said Garner. "This has been the one day that I've been waiting for, really, for four years. I just wanted to give it my all and have fun, doing whatever I could."
The 5k course at Old Settler's Park was certainly one the Rangers were familiar with, having raced there in the McNeil Invitational back on Sept. 29. And on the hilly, muddy terrain, the gameplan was to stick together.
"That's what we were working on, trying to close in together, be all solid together and try to make a move for the front," Garner explained.
"We kind of anticipated what it was going to be like," Wilkerson said. "We were just trying to stay focused on what we wanted to achieve."
For the second straight season, the Rangers showed they belonged with the state's best. Led by strong finishes from Wilkerson (23rd, 15:30.03), Garner (24th, 15:30.32), and Engle (65th, 15:54.75), Smithson Valley once again took fifth overall in the final team standings. The improvement was evident in their times: the Rangers' average finish was nearly 12 seconds faster than they were in 2017.
"I think we all worked our butts off and tried our best. We really worked for it," Garner said. "You can't just run with these kind of guys anywhere else. It's a one-of-a-kind deal, a one-of-a-kind team. It's been a trip."
"We came from a program that didn't go to state for eight years," Wilkerson explained. "We didn't even make it past district. We turned that around. I know we're leaving something great for the next class to continue on."
While the Ranger boys were saying goodbye to some of the best runners in school history, the Ranger girls were undergoing a revival, making their first appearance at the state championships since 2016. What makes the feat even more impressive is that they qualified without a single senior or junior on the roster. Sophomore Amalie Mills (41st, 18:46.95) and freshman Alethea Brown (78th, 18:55.16) paced the Rangers to a 12th overall finish - a great start and a perfect learning experience for this young core.
"It's amazing," said Mills, "We know that in the following years we're just going to do so well and get to where we want to be. It's just going to get better from here. It was great having a really good bonding experience with everybody. It was just fun to have everyone here with us."
An impressive senior boys class leaving their mark. A young girls core ready to grow and carry the baton. After their performance at the 2018 State Championships, it's clear that Smithson Valley is built to last.