*James American Horse (Bentonville, AR) and Caden Thurman (Wolfe City, TX) battle to the line in the elite boys race at the Garmin MileSplit TX XC Invitational on Saturday.
Photo Credit: Jessie McCabe/MileSplit Texas
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DENTON, TEXAS -- As Bentonville High School (AR) senior James American Horse found himself stride-for-stride with Wolfe City's (TX) Caden Thurman down the final 100-meter grass straightaway in the elite boys race at the Garmin MileSplit TX XC Invitational, the Arkansas talent knew he couldn't settle for second.
He and his teammates didn't take a draining six-hour bus ride to Denton to come away empty-handed.
"We traveled so far to come here," American Horse said after the race. "If I'm already up there with (Thurman), just might as well try and get it done. It ended up working."
The two seniors bolted to the line to the delight of cheering spectators gathered by the finish at South Lakes Park, and it was American Horse who crucially dipped at the timing pad to take the elite race win in 15:32.00, just a tenth of a second ahead of Thurman in 15:32.10.
That not only earned American Horse an individual title, but it made for his first-ever sub-16:00 5k performance and boosted Bentonville to a dominant team win with a low 60 total points.
That team title win comes with a lot of weight as well, as Bentonville upset Arkansas' top-ranked Fayetteville team, who also made the trip across state lines and finished fourth.
Beyond the show-stopping battle between American Horse and Thurman, impressive team showings from Bentonville and dominant individual performances made for some of the top highlights in Denton on an action-packed Saturday morning.
The sun had barely begun to rise at South Lakes Park at 7 a.m. when the first start gun promptly went off, but athletes from Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana took to the start line at the Garmin MileSplit TX XC Invitational more than awake and ready to compete.
RESULTS - PHOTOS - INTERVIEWS
The elite boys race may have produced the most exciting finish of the morning, but a dominant front-running performance from Georgetown (TX) senior McKenzie Bailey kicked off meet action, and she came into the varsity elite girls race looking to have fun.
Bailey, the top seed entered in the race, surged to the lead from the gun, and it was her and Plano West (TX) senior Haley Harper who pulled away from the field early. But just a mile in, Bailey opened a significant gap on Harper that never ceased as she raced her way to a win in 17:56.20.
"I think that's just been my goal in most of the races lately, is just enjoy it," said Bailey following her win.
Harper, who has had a breakout fall as a senior in her first season dedicated solely to distance training, came in solidly behind Bailey for second in 18:17.60.
Photo Credit: Jessie McCabe/MileSplit Texas
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But Bailey wasn't shy to make her joyous attitude known as she weaved through South Lakes Park. With the mantra "Have a good race" written in Sharpie on her back, Bailey grinned as she passed cheering spectators en route to her win.
And on the team side, Bentonville didn't come to Texas to mess around. Led by junior Haley Loewe running 18:44.10 for third, the team from Arkansas got their program's team winning streak started by scoring 73 points for the team title, ahead of strong Texas teams in Northwest Nelson with 104 and a Bailey-led Georgetown with 167 points.
Over 1,800 athletes and 75 teams took to the South Lakes Course on Saturday morning, and between the American Horse-Thurman battle, Bentonville dominance and Bailey's confident racing, it made for quite the spectacle to highlight Saturday's Garmin MileSplit TX XC Invitational action.
To view MileSplit's complete coverage -- photos, interviews, race videos and more -- be sure to check out the meet page.
Related Links:
Garmin MileSplit TX XC Invitational Meet Coverage