The 33rd Annual Rice Invitational Cross Country meet began Saturday at Rice University. The running started bright and early as the Yahoo Race, which was open to all runners started at 7:30 a.m. and the high school runners who were intertwined with the university runners, started at 8:00 a.m.

With 39 high school teams competing, the 2-mile races were broken into freshman boys, girls and boys varsity from big schools, girls and boys varsity from small schools, and girls and boys junior varsity.   Since the sun and the heat foreshadowed a smoldering day ahead, many coaches opted to place their runners in earlier more competitive divisions to beat the heat. This gave the runners a chance to compete with schools they may not see again and the opportunity to run a personal best because of the talent surrounding them.

The talent was apparent as the runners crossed the finish line. For teams such as the Clear Lake varsity boys who finished one and two, it gave their team a point advantage for the final team results. Clear Lake head coach Mark Horton, “This gives us a lot of confidence going ahead. We are happy to run well today but we know that there is a long way to go.”

The runners are only one month into the season and many have already made their state bound qualifying times, guaranteeing a strong Houston showing at the UIL State Championships in November at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

For complete cross-country results go to http://riceowls.cstv.com/sports/w-xc/sched/rice-w-xc-sched.html