Marble Falls runners finish in Class 4A’s top 15
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Tyler Hamblin (left), cross country head coach Chris Schrader, and senior Nick Dahl celebrate the Mustangs’ best finish at a state meet Nov. 4. Courtesy photo
Marble Falls High School cross country runners Nick Dahl and Tyler Hamblin posted their best finishes at a state meet Nov. 4.
Dahl, a senior, finished the Class 4A 5K course in 16 minutes and 17.2 seconds for 14th in the individual standings, while Hamblin, a junior, was done in 16:18.2 for 15th overall. The state meet was at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
Head coach Chris Schrader commended the Mustangs for their improved times and finishes as compared to 2021 and 2022.
Schrader pointed out that Dahl clocked 16:48 and was 72nd at the Class 5A state race in 2021 and finished 26th in 16:55 at the Class 4A meet in 2022. Hamblin was 91st in 2021 in 16:59 and 29th in 17:00 last year.
“The course was muddy and wet last year,” the coach said.
He praised the Mustangs for executing the plan for this year’s meet, pointing out the race’s winner, Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis senior Angel Sanchez, has a reputation of starting fast and wanting to put distance between himself and the rest of the field. The top 15 runners finished the first mile of the 3.1-mile race in under 5 minutes.
“He’s the defending state champion,” Schrader said. “He’s not going to jog the first mile. Tyler and Nick were right behind him and in the thick of it. I was there at the one mile (mark) and the two mile (mark). They were within striking distance.”
To Schrader, the duo’s success comes back to their commitment to putting in the work.
“Everything they had done since May paid off,” he said. “Those two trained all the time. Those two showed up in good weather, bad weather. It was nice to see them finish.”
While Dahl completed his eligibility in cross country, Schrader said he believes Hamblin has the tools to be among the elite in the state.
“Tyler’s in the driver’s seat if he takes care of business,” he said. “He can win the state meet next year.”
Though the cross country season has ended, the two will join the boys track team in the spring as middle distance runners.
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CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Tyler Hamblin (center) is off on his 5K run at the Class 4A state meet Nov. 4 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
