Preseason XC Countdown: Boys #12

<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>

Only one team in the Lone Star State can claim 6 straight championships in their sanctioning body's largest classification.

 

What else can you say about a team that has won 5 straight team championships?  Antonian ranked 16th in the state with a 5-man average 3200 time of 10:29 during outdoor track, and their average of 4:39 in the 1600 ranked 8th.  The database projects the Apaches as heavy favorites for a sixth title in 2014, and their returning team average would puts them 22nd among all boys teams; they would rank 2nd in the UIL 4A and in the top 7 in 5A.  Justin Garcia came on strong late in the season to rank 7th among all freshmen in Texas, and he could be a star if he continues to develop.  Depth is a big concern behind the returning top 4, however, so Antonian needs some runners to bridge that gap and help the team stay strong in the event of an injury or illness to one of those front-runners.  The Apaches will only lose one top-7 runner to graduation this year, and that means the championship streak could continue for some time.

 

  San Antonio Antonian (TX)
  1) Mateo Mendoza   16:22.10
  2) Justin Garcia   16:26.00
  3) Jacob Garza   16:27.80
  4) Benjamin Lopez   16:49.90
  5) Michael Brisita   17:49.00
  Average Time: 16:46.96 Total Time: 1:23:54.80 1-5 Split: 1:26.90
  6) Yaw Dawamena   17:57.30
  7) Cristian Mendoza   18:19.60