As sand through the hour glass, these are the days of......McNeil!
Yes, McNeil is really happening this year. The weather looks as if it is going to hold out enough to enable the meet to go on as planned.
There will be approximately both 250 of each boys and girls teams participating in this weekend's schedule of races at the UIL state meet site. This weekend will be lead up to the excitement of what is to come in November.
For many, this will be their first time at McNeil. Last year's event was cancelled because of weather related conditions to the park and the desire to preserve the course conditions for the Big 12 Conference meet and the UIL state meet that was to come later in the season.
RELATED: Virtual Meet Preview: 2018 McNeil Cross Country Invitational
That means the junior class had one opportunity to run in the meet and the sophomore class has yet to run at McNeil. Of course the freshman class has yet to experience the grace of the atmosphere, course, and the mystique that is the McNeil Invitational.
The meet is used as a necessary trial run for the state meet. As teams annually graduate their upperclassmen who compete for them at the state meet, this meet provides as an introduction to the youngsters as each team and coaching staff hopes for a trip back to Old Settler's Park in November.
For the fans, McNeil is also about the star power.
It's about the power punch of elite teams and athlete it draws and the chance to see all of the big dawgs from each different class and league in Texas to go at it in one race. There are no dividing factors for this meet other than ability.
Flip through the pages to see who the top 10 individuals and teams to watch out for are.