6A Girls
So, the 6A girls and boys races will both be very close and very hard to predict who the winners will be. But here we go.
By watching the entire season and considering history, it is clear the 6A girls state champion will come out of this region. The only question is who it will be. Well, we can't answer that this week but I can tell you the Region 1-6A champion will be Southlake Carroll.
Carroll is clearly in good shape based on their district results, but very little goes according to plan in this region. Flower Mound has also looked good all year long, but they were beat at the district meet by Coppell.
Oh yeah, many people have forgotten about Coppell. They are the defending state champs and for one reason only. That reason is because of an epic team race where they ran an unbelievable split for a state meet type of race. At the district meet, they executed a near identical race with their 1 - 4 runners going 3 , 4, 5, and 6th paces all within eight seconds. Overall, they ran a 18:52 team average and a 35 second split.
This race will be so exciting, that the battle for fourth place and the last state qualifying position will come down to the little things. Keller and El Paso Franklin will be in such a tight battle that it could come down to a tie breaker.
Here are the girls top four team finishes:
1. Southlake Carroll
2. Coppell
3. Flower Mound
4. Keller
The girls eventual individual state champion could also come from this race. All expected it to be Brynn Brown's title, but injury has made that impossible this season. That means there will be a new regional champion as well as a new favorite for a state title.
Natalie Cook will win the regional title and she will win the 6A state title.
6A Boys
After all of the races, the 6A boys team race will only confirm that Region 1 provides the entertainment that makes cross country a great sport.
The boys team battle will be good. Flower Mound has been the best team in Texas all year long. However, none of that matters now.
Flower Mound has five runners capable of running fast and tight. They've taken home several state meet trophies in the last several years. This could be the best Flower Mound boys team of all of them.
Speaking of running tight, there are few teams who do it like Southlake Carroll. Their leader Nate Lannen will run with whoever is in the front with his aggressive running style. The rest of his teammates will not be too far behind and when you see one, you will see another and another. They had an excellent district meet race and if they replicate that performance then watch out!
The race for the third and fourth qualifying positions will be premium as there are several teams who are capable of running well enough to qualify for state. El Paso Americas was one of the teams last year who secured one of them and they will be in the mix once again. Northwest Eaton surprised a lot of people last week at their district race. However, the last two qualifying teams could go to two teams who have been running well all season long and competing in some very tough races.
Top are our boys top team finish finishes:
1. Flower Mound
2. Southlake Carroll
3. Coppell
4. Lewisville Marcus
Individually, the finishes will be very important in the team standings. Jarrett Kirk has had a strong season prior to a fourth place district performance. He should win this race, but there will be several other FM Jaguars in the the front of the race who will also be accompanied by Nate Lannen, Whit Dennis, and Evan Caswell.