by Lance Phegley

Look for a complete wrap-up of the Texas State Track and Field Championships and the final Greater Houston High School Track and Field Rankings in the July issue of Inside Texas Running. Subscribe to ITR today!

Houston-area high school distance runners will comprise half of the field in nearly all the distance races at the 5A state championships. The Bayou City stampede was led by Klein Oak's Steve Magness, who failed to improve on his state record 1600 mark of 4:01.58 but easily won the Region II title in that event.

Eschewing the full-throttle-from-the-gun strategy he employed to set the record at his District 5A-15 meet, Magness settled in for a 2:06 first half, before powering away to a 4:07:01 clocking. Klein junior Eric Stanley, second to Magness' state record in a stunning 4:03.77, once again scored a silver medal -- this time with a half-second margin over Mitch Sanders (Cypress Springs) in 4:11:13. Both Magness and Stanley qualified for the state meet.

Stanley also finished second in the longer race (3200m), again coming up just short of another district rival. Brian Sullivan (The Woodlands) aced Stanley by less than one second in 9:04.88.

Talk about tough luck: in just a couple of weeks, Stanley has turned in a 4:03, 4:11, 9:06, and 9:05 -- and lost each race. Times that would earn him state championships in just about all 50 states.

On the girls side in Region II, Brittany Brockman (Langham Creek) did double duty as her 10:46.70 left Callie Wells (The Woodlands) nearly 14 seconds in arrears in the 3200. Brockman later scored a 1600 victory in 4:54.61. Cassie Hostick (Cedar Park) finished second in 4:55.49 -- the lone distance runner from outside the Houston area to qualify for state from that region.

In the Region III meet -- comprised of all greater Houston schools -- the form chart held in the boy's 1600. Kyle Miller (Cinco Ranch) bested Brian Duplechain (Kingwood) by three seconds for the overall title. Miller stopped the clock in 4:13.74, while Duplechain followed in 4:16.86. Miller entered the meet with a seasonal best of 4:09.06, with Duplechain just inches behind at 4:09.43.

The girls 1600 was won by Liz Phillip (Kingwood) in 5:04.61. Humble's Brittany McGuire finished second in 5:05.36.