Preseason XC Countdown: Boys #11

<p> Texas MileSplit is counting down the 12 days until the first full weekend of cross country meets. &nbsp;Each day we will highlight one boys team and one girls team, with the idea that they are &quot;programs to watch&quot; for the upcoming season. &nbsp;This series is not intended to be a true ranking of the top 12 teams in the state overall, but instead an opportunity to highlight schools that have had strong recent success or have lots of talent returning for this fall.</p>

After a strong track season, Ryan Flores is prepared to lead up front, but who will shore up the back end of this team?

 

If the team listing below looks a little short to you, then you're right.  Four-time defending 2A state champion Luling only had results from 7 runners in the Texas MileSplit database last season, and three of them graduated.  That means there are only 4 returning runners for us to use to evaluate the team (this is why it's important to demand that meet directors send in properly-formatted results).  You don't win 4 titles in a row without developing new talent from year to year, though, and we're betting that the Eagles can manufacture a few more top-5 quality runners.  If so, Luling will have the advantage of a strong front-runner, as all signs point to Ryan Flores being solidly under 16 minutes this fall.  With the reclassification, it's not possible for there to be a five-year 2A championship streak, but "five-time champion" is still a possibility: when you look at only four runners per team the Eagles rank first in the new 3A.

 

	Luling (TX)
	1) Ryan Flores		16:14.19
	2) Will Frazier		17:02.38
	3) Issac Castillo		17:28.00
	4) Isaac Rodriguez		17:43.47
	Average Time: 17:07.01 Total Time: 1:08:28.04 1-4 Split: 1:29.28