Dateline November 21, 2015, The Woodlands, TX: Hoping for a repeat trip to Nike Cross Nationals in consecutive years, the Lady Marauders competed at the Nike South Regional held under cold and muddy conditions on Saturday, November 21st, at The Woodlands, TX, just North of Houston.
The Ladies finished 3rd with a point total of 91, just five points shy of 2nd place Kingwood, with 86 points, and some 13 points behind first place Southlake, finishing with 78 points.
Under similar conditions just two weeks earlier (awful and awfully muddy), the Ladies had persevered and won the Texas State Championship, but alas on this day of “slip sliding away” conditions, their charmed season came to a close when they could not obtain adequate traction to preserve their, to that point, perfect season.
There was some hope for an “at large” bid to the Nike South Nationals, but unfortunately that was not to be. However, the result at the Nike South Regional takes nothing away from a remarkable year and a truly charmed season. Winning a TX State Championship is a tall order, which requires a healthy team that’s peaking at the perfect moment in time. That goal was achieved, along with a Regional and a District Championship.
So if the Cross Country season ended a little bit earlier than desired, that just leaves more time to mount a successful distance track campaign in the Spring.
Also competing at the Nike South Regional in the Girls Open Race, the Girls 2nd Seven had a magnificent performance, finishing 2nd. And from the Boys, both Cole Klashinsky and Parker Brady competed individually in the Boys Championship and Open Races, respectively.
From a season wrap-up stand point – the bottom line and major take away is simply the ladies’ ran like and are your “2015 Class 6A Texas State Champions”! 🙂
Ergo, it was a very good year indeed!
Dateline November 7, 2015, Round Rock, Texas: On this cool, gray Saturday afternoon in early 
November, a day frequented by intermittent downpours in the morning, the Texas State Cross Country Championship Meet was held at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, TX.
The site, of course, is familiar to Marcus and the Lady Marauders who had been in this very same place just a year earlier, in the very same scenario. Like last season, the Varsity Seven were undefeated entering the State Meet, having overcome all challenges and challengers to date, even if it took a sixth runner for a razor-thin margin of victory at this year’s Regional to once again be undefeated entering State.
Last year, of course, the Ladies came up just a mere eight points shy of a TX State Championship, or approximately one to two runners behind each team member from last year’s first place finishers. The TX State XC Silver Medal of course is nothing to sneeze at, but with all but one runner returning from last year’s team, hopes have been high all season that the Ladies could be in this very position — poised for a title run at State this weekend.
But nothing in Cross Country is for sure, and there are no guarantees that they’d be back in Round Rock to defend. Three years ago, in 2012, the Lady M’s had finished third at State and had no seniors on their First Seven, with the team thinking they’d be returning the entire varsity squad. Alas, due to transfers and injuries, that next year’s team, the 2013 squad, came up short and failed to advance out of Regional to State. So, the one certainty in Cross Country, a brutal sport that takes its toll on the body, is that there was nothing certain about a return to Round Rock.
But, there was great desire for this year’s squad, having come so close just a year ago. So the Ladies adopted a team motto of “Own It”; own the burden and take on the responsibility to do what it takes to be in a position to have a shot to run like a champion on this very weekend.
Coaches Brevard and Telaneus worked with this year’s squad all season from the knowledge that the girls have the pedigree to do the job, if only the mileage, practices and competition were orchestrated in such a way as to ensure, with luck, prayers and good fortune, that the team would peak at the right time, and with all team members healthy and hitting on all pistons. So the Ladies First Seven raced a selective schedule this year, for the first time, one designed to ensure they’d not be limping into Round Rock or just watching, which alas is where they were in 2013. So, this year, they raced and won at the Marcus I Invitational at the end of August against stiff competition, but not again until early October at the McNeil Invitational (on the State Course, a change of routine from the prior years of annual trips to the Woodlands HS hosted Nike South Invitational; this year’s trip to McNeil was designed to ensure that they’d be comfortable on the State Course one month later if they were so fortunate to be competing). And then they rested again until the start of the “Championship Season” when they won a very close District Championship against the defending State Champs, which allowed them to move on to the “couldn’t have been” closer win at Regional.
That set the stage for State. Keller had tied the Ladies first five at Regional and it took the sixth runner to determine that contest. Keller, like Marcus had two top ten and two top 25 finishers. The stage was set for a rematch and show-down at State. Would history repeat itself in back-to-back years, or would the Ladies break that mold by controlling their own destiny and thereby writing a better ending from last year. In addition to Keller, waiting in the wings, and just one place and 8 points back at this year’s Regional was perennial powerhouse Southlake Carroll, which had placed five runners in the top 20 at Regional and all seven in the top 30. Also, there was that other team from the District, Hebron, that had run past them at State a year ago, and they were just 14 points back at this year’s Regional. And finally there were all those other schools from the other Regions, all of whom were, to some degree, playing the same game – get through District and Regional and try to peak at State.
Of course there’s really only one way to settle the matter – run the race. But as if to add an 
extra degree of difficulty, the rains of late October had saturated the Austin area, and with consecutive days of rain coming into this weekend and hours of rain the morning of 
race day with six prior races battering the course before the 6A Girls Championship race, the entirety, all 5000 M, had been turned into a big bowl of oatmeal. Actually, in more than one place, a stream, nearly a river in one spot, ran through it. This wasn’t about putting on a longer set of spikes or 
switching into super-treaded running shoes, this was about overcoming the elements, and past demons, to rise to the occasion, dealing with the high degree of difficulty, and mud through it, own it, and see it all the way through to the end and not blink, even when getting mud in your eyes.
A few years back, we quoted this motivational poem and it seems fitting to do so again:
Anything is possible, if you think it is worthwhile
if you’re willing to go the distance, to go the extra mile.
With determination and effort, you can often achieve more
because you don’t always get what you wish, but what you work for.
Dreams can become challenging, but no matter what the cost
strive to complete the task before you, and you’ll never end up lost.
So bring with you your goals, and leave your doubts behind
whether you think you can or can’t, you certainly will find
you’ll be right either way–so never quit, and this is why:
You’ll never become a failure, until you fail to try.
And so, when the MXC Ladies toed that muddy line this Saturday, they didn’t let 
anything bother them, or stop them, and they ran through it. They ran as a team, and they ran for each other. Bottom line, you know by now, they ran like champions! They owned it. And, we proudly can report, they won, with 78 points (two more than last year’s 2nd place finish, ironically), 9 points over 2nd place Southlake (87), 21 points over 3rd pace Keller (109), and well ahead of the other teams competing. They won it as a team because they could win only with a total team effort. Good teams may 
have a great runner or two, but great teams run together, for one another, and the Lady Marauders saw this one through to the end and proved they’re a great team, and the 2015 Texas State Champions.
This of course was also the final TX HS UIL race to be coached by their beloved Coach, Brad Brevard, who will be retiring at the end of the school year, after 22 years of coaching. So, while the Ladies were most definitely winning one for themselves, and their school – its 4th Girls State Championship and first since 2000 – they also were winning one for Coach Brevard (their Gipper), giving him the best early retirement present
one can give a Cross Country Coach, a state championship in a final, memorable, beautiful season. There’s nothing quite like going out on top.
While the TX HS season is over, the XC team’s year isn’t over. The Ladies have a few more goals, and records they’d like to own. Info on the upcoming Nike South Regional is noted below. Good Luck Ladies in achieving all your goals. May you continue to own it, and run like the champions that you are at Nike South, and with luck, beyond.
PS, a Trump like “HUGE” shout out to Cole Klashinsky for a fantastic season that 
culminated in his earning a trip to State, based on his stellar Regional performance, with him running a most admirable 38th overall at State. A job well done. There’s more photos below of Cole and Lady Ms.
PPS, another Trump like “HUGE” shout out to all those Marcus fans that spent their Saturday in Round Rock cheering on MXC and the Ladies, many of whom aren’t CC runners. While it was a team win, it definitely showed incredible Marcus school spirit for there to be so 
many students and former students attending, and loudly cheering. Most definitely a job well done.
PPS, thanks to Coach T and Mr. D for a wonderful season. As capable as Coach B is, we also know that it takes a team, and the coaching team’s teamwork and commitment to the kids and the program is 
truly noted by all observers.
PPS, a final thanks to the best photo-taking, tweeting, photogenic principal around, Gary Shafferman. Keep up the good works.
Weather: Rainy with race time temps in low 60s; course conditions after the morning downpours and six prior races resulted in a sloppy, soupy, mud batter of a course, littered with puddles and even a few running streams circumnavigating the course
Meet Results:
Official TX: http://mychiptime.com/uil_xc.php?theID=9488
TX Mile Split: http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/213863-uil-state-cross-country-championship#.Vj-QkdKrRlY
Team Results Top 5 Girls:
Marcus Team Results at State:
Girls:
| 6 | Owen, Quinn | 10 | Marcus | 19:05.70 | 4 |
| 13 | Reed, Madeleine | 12 | Marcus | 19:24.10 | 10 |
| 23 | Brown, Payton | 12 | Marcus | 19:42.10 | 15 |
| 38 | Green, Allyson | 10 | Marcus | 20:00.70 | 24 |
| 39 | Hutcherson, Ashton | 12 | Marcus | 20:01.60 | 25 |
| 55 | Ferreyre, Nina | 9 | Marcus | 20:26.90 | 35 |
| 105 | Gossett, Ryan | 12 | Marcus | 21:13.20 | 75 |
Boys:
39 Cole Klashinsky 12 17:20:20 5:33/M
Next Up: NOV 21 – 8 AM – Nike South Regional Championship @ Bear Creek Sports Complex, The Woodlands, TX MAP: http://goo.gl/maps/uLI5 Proximate Street Address: Faith Bible Church, 5505 Research Forest Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77381
Photos: Some of best posted to Marcus XC Shutterfly…
Dateline October 26, 2015, Lubbock, Texas: In an absolute nail biter, the Lady XC Marauders prevailed at the UIL Region 1 Meet to win their second consecutive Regional Championship.
The race results could not have been tighter. Marcus and Keller’s first five came in tied at 78, with both teams placing two runners in the top 10 and four runners in the top 25. With a tie through the first five scoring runners, the race came down to the cross country 6th runner tie breaker to determine which team would be crowned Regional Champion. Marcus’ 6th and 7th runners came in at numbers 42 and 44, ahead of Keller’s 6th runner who finished 46th. Thanks to a 6th runner margin of a mere 4 points, Marcus won the tie-breaker and the championship, with Keller taking 2nd.
Southlake Carroll came in a close 3rd, just 8 points back, but placed five runners in the top 25. Joining Marcus, Keller and Southlake for a trip to the Texas State Championship is fellow District member Hebron, finishing just 14 points back. Fellow 6-6A member Flower Mound finished 5th, once again showing the incredible strength of Marcus’ home district.
Here’s a breakdown of the scoring:
With a Regional that couldn’t have been tighter, the State Championship should be more
than close and plenty exciting. Fan power to cheer on the Lady Marauders may help make the difference, so please find information below about race details for those considering a trip to Round Rock to support MXC and the Lady Marauders.
Also competing at Regional in the Boys’ Championship Race was MXC’s Cole Klashinsky who finished an impressive 14th, coming in with a time of just 15:23, in a packed field.
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Event Location: Lakeview Pavillion, Old Settlers Park, Round Rock, TX
Street Address: Lakeview Pavillion, Old Settlers Park, off Harrell Parkway, Roundrock, TX
Race Time: Girls 6A Texas State Cross Country Championship 12:10 PM
Directions: I-35 south to Round Rock. Exit on Hwy 79, I-35 exit 253, and turn left under I-35 (go east on Palm Valley Road). Go 3.2 miles to Old Settlers Park. The park is on the left. Parking is at Dell Diamond with a shuttle service to the course. The course is about 1 mile into the park. You can walk this if shuttles are slow or crowded.
Parking: @ the Dell Diamond Stadium Lot, $5 per car (so car pool if you can).
Shuttle Bus to Course: Free
Race Admission Fee: $10 per person (Revised: the fee went up $10 in 2015)
Advice: Plan on it taking some time to drive from I-35 exit 253A (on to highway 79, East Palm Valley Road) to the Dell Diamond (there will be traffic), get parked, take the shuttle bus (or walk) to the race course, and then find the team to wish them good luck before the race. It should be very doable with a 630 AM – 7 AM FloMo departure. Consider bringing a folding chair, some water and maybe even a picnic lunch. It should be a great day to race, and cheer on Marcus and the Lady Marauders! We hope to see you there. PS, super tip, and not guaranteed, but given that Dell Diamond and its parking is on the North Side of Palm Valley, and the left turn into the parking lot is likely to be backed up for those coming in from I-35 due to the light and typical lack of police traffic assistance, one may be able to save a bit of time waiting to turn into the lot (if running late) by taking the Texas 130 Tollway and exiting at Exit 423 and then turning right (West) on to 79 Palm Valley – this will allow you to take a right turn into the Dell Diamond Parking Lot – but again “no guarantees” this will save time and be worth the toll fee. 😉
State Course 5K Map:
Dateline October 19, 2015, McKinney, Texas: On a gorgeous, sunny, cool morning, the Marauders XC teams all toed the line Monday for the District 6-6A Championship held at Myers Park in McKinney.
For a select few teams, District is the first event of their “Championship Season” and a stepping stone toward a possible run at a Texas State Championship. The top three varsity squads advance to the Region I Championship in Lubbock (to be held this coming Monday, October 26th). For all other teams, District is most likely the last race of their season (and for the vast majority of participating seniors, the last race of their HS cross country careers). District 6-6A is loaded with talent. It’s a very tough District from which to survive to live to run another day. So the pressure is great, and the competition for a trip to Regional is even greater.
On this day, all Marauder teams performed more than admirably. For the Girls Varsity, it was an opportunity to challenge themselves against last year’s Texas State Champions, Hebron, and defend the Lady Marauder’s 2014 District Championship. Things went well for the MXC Varsity Girls, last year’s Texas State runner-up team, as the Ladies succeeded in defending their prior year’s district title. Scoring a total of 40 points, with four runners in the top 10, the Ladies finished 13 points in front of Hebron, which had two runners in the top 10, and 22 points ahead of third place Flower Mound, which also had two top 10 runners.
The Boys Varsity, the defending 2014 District Champs, had a much tougher hill to climb. Unlike the Ladies who have consistently been ranked as one of the top teams in TX and the nation, the Men graduated many varsity runners last year and were in rebuilding mode, hoping that they could run (and hang together, a la Ben Franklin’s admonition for the fledgling American Colonies) in such a way as to make it through the tough District 6-6A gauntlet. And on the tough hilly Myers Park course, with an extra high degree of difficulty provided by the freshly turned, loose dirt pathway (making it feel like running in clumpy sand), the Men did their best but unfortunately that wasn’t enough to punch a coveted ticket to Regional. The Marauders finished 5th, scoring 109 points, some 30 points back of third place Allen and 20 points back of 4th place Plano West. At least, on this tough day, Cole Klashinsky’s stellar 5th place finish, continuing his outstanding season long running, earned him a trip to Lubbock with the Lady Marauders.
The JV Girls were also defending a 2014 District Championship and like the Varsity Girls, they held serve and repeated, holding their Championship Crown, which they’ve now held for at least four years running. Scoring just 23 points, they finished with six of the top 10 runners, some 27 points ahead of 2nd place Flower Mound and 46 points ahead of 3rd place Plano West.
In the final race of the day, the defending champion MXC Boys JV team came close, but finished second to Flower Mound, some 17 points back of first place, but some 43 points ahead of third place Plano West. The JV Men had two runners in the top 10.
Good Luck Lady Marauders and Cole K. this coming Monday in Lubbock. Go West, Run Wild and Well, and Run On to Round Rock and a shot at a Texas State Championship!!! For those planning to attend the Regional on Monday, the Girls 6A race is 12:00 P.M. and the Boys 6A race follows at 12:30 P.M. (see link below) at Mae Simmons Park, Lubbock, TX. (Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/oqxHZ; Street Address: Mae Simmons Park, 1319 East 24th Street, Lubbock, Texas 79404; Nearest Major Intersection: MLK Blvd @ 24th St., Lubbock). If you go, cheer loud and proud for your running Marauders! Go MXC!
Weather Conditions: Sunny, low humidity and lower 60s for Varsity races; mid 60s for Girls JV, lower 70s for Boys JV.
Meet Results: http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/220697-uil-6a-district-6#.VirNE9KrRlY
Regional Schedule: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/uil/athletic_documents/Regional_1A_2A_3A_4A_5A_6A_CrossCountryMeets/CCSchedRace2015.pdf
Photos: Some best of…
Dateline October 10, 2015, Hurst, Texas: At the Birdville HS Flyin’ Hawks Invitational held today at Tarrant County College, the Marauders teams delivered a fine performance.
Both of the Varsity squads finished second, with the Girls Varsity sitting down all but one of their “top seven” runners. The JV girls finished 4th, and the JV Boys took high honors with a first place finish and the low spot for all of the MXC teams competing, swooping in at a mere 26 points.
Weather Conditions: Sunny, clear, moderate humidity, with the Varsity races in the lower 60s and JV races in the mid-60s.
Meet Results: http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/212228-birdville-flyin-hawks-invitational#.VhlsTOxVhBd
Photos: Some of the best of…
Dateline October 3, 2015, Round Rock, Texas: Under beautiful, crystal clear skies, on a gorgeous day in Round Rock, the Marcus Marauders participated in the McNeil CC Invitational for the first time and enjoyed the opportunity to compete on the TX State Championship XC course in a highly competitive tune-up meet with some 4000 participating runners.
The Lady Marauders Varsity, running competitively for the first time in a month, ran in the Gold Varsity race and took first over very strong competition, including state ranked Kingwood, Smithson Valley and Hebron, and some other very strong programs.
The Marauders Boys Varsity squad, also competing in the Gold Varsity race, did a team run where the entire squad stuck together until the two-mile mark. While the strategy resulted in the team finishing just 17th, the team did so with five runners under 17 minutes. And thanks to this stick-togetherness strategy, a number of runners achieved PRs (personal records).
The JV Girls ran split squads. One squad ran in the 6A Varsity race and took 10th, with three runners finishing in the top 30. The other squad participated in the JV 3200M race, but just as a foursome, so they did not run as an official team, but had a top ten finisher.
And the JV Boys ran a fantastic race, taking first over a packed field with 461 runners. The Boys JV top five runners all finished within a half-minute of each other
Weather: Sunny, clear, low humidity. Varsity races temps between 60-65 degrees; JV races temps between 70-80.
Meet Results: http://tx.milesplit.com/articles/164716-mcneil-invitational-complete-results-
Photos: Some Best of…
Dateline September 26, 2015, McKinney, Texas: At today’s Lovejoy Cross Country Fall Festival Meet, held at Myers Park in McKinney under sunny skies with temps in upper 70s for the Varsity races, but in the upper 80s for the JV races, the Lady Marauder teams both finished 6th, with the first team varsity once again enjoying a break from competitive racing. The Boys Varsity team finished 9th and the Boys JV team finished 2nd.
For Meet Results visit: http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/209032-lovejoy-xc-fall-festival#.Vgn5ZNJVhBf
Below are some “best of” pics:
Dateline September 19, 2015, Denton, Texas: This past spring’s severe flooding forced the relocation of the Marcus II Invitational race site from its usual home in Hickory Creek on the shores of Lake Lewisville, with its backdrop of the picturesque Lake Toll Bridge, to Denton’s North Lakes Park, the site of the dreaded Levee, a great vantage point for fans to watch the race unfold, but not necessarily a pleasant home stretch for competitors. This spring’s floods proved a fitting foreshadowing of the morning’s races in Denton as the skies opened up during the Elite JV Boys’ race (see “in race” photos below). And, worse yet, when the Park storm sirens sounded out the threat of severe weather just before the Open JV Boys’ race, the days’ races drew to an abrupt and premature close.
We’re sorry that the day’s inclement weather made it impossible to complete the race lineup and we hope now more than ever to be back at the Marcus II Hickory Creek site next year, with its spacious parking and accommodations. For those that didn’t get the chance to toe the line and compete, we hope you can wait until next year, as the chances of a repeat of consecutive years of the combination of severe spring flooding and a September downpour impacting the day’s races will return to normal North TX sunny high improbability.
Of the seven of 11 races completed on this day, MXC teams competed in six events. The Lady M’s took 2nd in the Elite Varsity Girls race, 7th in the Open Varsity race, and 5th in the Elite JV Girls race, all very respectable given that the ladies’ first team varsity runners were awarded another day off from race competition and all the other MXC girls’ teams had to step up a category.
The guys enjoyed their first meet victories of the year, winning both the Elite Varsity and Open Varsity races, and coming in 2nd in the Elite JV race. This was a great showing and a big confidence boost for the boys’ teams.
It was just too bad that the remainder of the guys’ JV team couldn’t compete in the Open JV race, as they were just about ready to go when the Park Sirens wailed sending everyone scrambling for the exits at the site, which was filled to capacity at the time given the day’s usual line-up of soccer and football games, and on this day supplemented by a softball tournament. The good news is that the weather never turned worse and the Marcus XC Program intends to be back at Hickory Creek next year, where we won’t have to compete for parking with the other activities that are typical of any given Saturday in September in Denton at North Lakes Park.
We do hope to see everyone back next year in Hickory Creek with its challenging course that includes an array of elevations and running surfaces, and a great place for a victorious team or runner to take a victory jump in Lake Lewisville, which is the only “big water” we hope anyone will be seeing at next year’s Marcus II Invitational.
This year’s Meet Results can be found at this site: http://tx.milesplit.com/meets/211652-marcus-ii-invitational#.Vgd3VtJVhBc
Enjoy some photos below from this year’s abbreviated 2015 Marcus II Invitational:
