14. Roger Rivera - El Paso Hanks
Last fall, Roger Rivera emerged as a second low stick for El Paso Hanks. He finished in the top 10 in eight out of nine cross country races in 2018 including a ninth place finish at the Nike Desert Twilight Festival, a third place finish at the Region 1 meet in Lubbock and an eighth place finish in the 5a state championship. He didn't have a particularly long track season and didn't drop any crazy fast times, but he was able to win a district title at 3200 meters in a race where he had to contend with the guys from El Paso Eastwood. He wrapped up his track season with a third place finish in the 3200 at the Region 1 Championship as he barely missed qualifying for state but still impressively ran a massive personal best time of 9:23 on a hot, dry day in Lubbock. While Rivera's track times may not have been as impressive as other returners, he displayed an ability to consistently compete in the front pack of whatever race he was in. With that being said, he did not run at the NXR or Foot Locker regional meets in 2018 so we've yet to see him compete at a level beyond UIL championship meets. It will certainly be interesting to see if Rivera can carry his form from last fall into his senior year and challenge for a top three finish at state.