6A
Girls
Individual: Natalie Cook, Aubrey O'Connell, Jenna Holland, Eva Jess, Avery Clover, Austin Owen, Sophie Atkinson
The state meet isn't going to end up how many of us thought it would at the beginning of the year. Heading into the season, it would be hard pressed to believe anyone could beat either Brynn Brown or Heidi Nielson yet alone both of them. Well, injury was the only competitor who had a good shot at doing it and it has momentarily put them both on the shelf.
So, whose up next? A ton of talented girls who weren't just going to succeed the win to Brown or Nielson if they were going to be there. Cook and O'Connell had impressive freshman years and their cross country and track success makes them quality candidates. Cook has been running well all year and O'Connell looked very sharp in taking the Region 2 win.
Regional champs Jess and Clover will be in the front pack and could very well win. Both ladies also had success early careers as well. This season, they've been consistent and have turned on the jets in the last few weeks.
Atkinson, Holland, and Owen are all runners who hover around the lead and have ability to take the win. Atkinson and Owen have the endurance and speed to outrun the rest of the field. Holland is having a great senior season and she has team motivations that need her to score as less as possible.
Sleeper: Addison Stevenson
Stevenson is my sleeper pick for a couple of reasons. Many people may not have a clue who she is or how good she has become, but we might all might find out tomorrow. The former sprinter and current jumper just picked up distance running this summer and ran her way to the Region 2 runner-up.
The Alaska native is from a state that is twice the area size of Texas but has far less of a population. Still, Stevenson has shown she is competitive enough to go out with the top girls and try to hang on. Her progression arrow is pointing up and to the right. Some of her best performances are at the biggest meets she has competed in. That along with her rate of improvement wouldn't surprise me to see her take another step up again and win it all this year.
Teams: Coppell, Southlake Carroll, Flower Mound, Prosper, Smithson Valley, Austin Vandegrift, Bridgeland
You will surely see coaches, teammates, fans, parents, and supporters scattered around the course and running from spot to spot to cheer on their teams during this one. The 6A girls races is always good and last year was great, but this will be a close race as it has been in the recent past.
Defending champions Coppell look to be getting hot right at the right time based on their two championship season races. They have run sub 50 second splits, which is what they've done well when they've been at their best including their epic state title race last year.
Flower Mound has been tearing up courses all season long, but we've seen the gap close over the last few races. However, they still have one of the best crops of runner in the state. Prosper and Vandegrift are both getting healthy at the right time. They both had optimistic races at Region 2 and they expect to be right in the thick of things on Saturday. Smithson Valley and Bridgeland are both coming along well during the championships season and they are also a talented team. These two teams are possibly two teams to watch out for in the future, but being as well coached as they are, they could prove to be ahead of schedule on Saturday.
Running lights out has been Southlake Carroll. They literally have been so lights out that their results would be questionable if they didn't have certain teams on this list in the races with them.
This group of Carroll runners are reminiscent of the baseball major league farm system. These runners are getting the call up and they're being counted on.
Only three of the Carroll girls who will run Saturday will have run at the state meet before and those three got their first shot last season. This is the first time since 2004 that not one girl in the program has either won a state title or qualified for NXN. Now that they have made it to the big show, they're producing at an All-Star level.
Sleeper: Kingwood
The Lady Mustangs are another team who has the ability to drop a low 1 - 5 split performance. At the state meet, that is the best way to get on the podium and with this group of teams, it is almost the only way to get the win. The Region 3 champs can run and will be looking to break up the DFW streak of state championships.
Boys
Individual: Ryan Cardinal, Jarrett Kirk, Ryan Schoppe, Anthony Monte, Nate Lannen, Evan Caswell, Jonathan Chung, Grant Wilcox, Christopher Daniels
In this race, we will see a 6A cross country state champion, runner-up, and third place finisher and all three are capable of winning. Two years ago, Kirk won the title and Schoppe and Cardinal were second and third last year. You can bet your bottom dollar these three guys will put on a show and they all three have expectations of winning.
Monte was a 2018 NXN qualifier and his 2019 season has been very good. Monte has been in the mix for the win in every race this year and Saturday will not be the exception.
Lannen, Caswell, Chung, and Wilcox have all been to state before. This year, medaling is the expectation for them, but winning a state title for them isn't out of reach either. Lannen has been on fire the last couple of meets and Caswell topped him at Region 1. Both are front runners and they will be in the mix.
Sleeper: Luke Lambert
The Wylie junior has been one with potential for two years. Now, he is one to watch out for. He went toe to toe with Cardinal, Monte, and Daniels. He has never been one to shy away from the competition and if he can put together the last 1K he could surprise some people this year.
Teams: Southlake Carroll, The Woodlands, Flower Mound, Klein, College Park, El Paso Americas
Does anyone outside of Carroll and The Woodlands have a chance? Yes, but history says the win should come down to one of them. Most of the first and second place trophies have gone to one of them for so long now and they both have a high percentage of winning to go along with the coaching and the talent.
As far as the other teams, Flower Mound is legit and has been the best team in Texas for the majority of the season. Do they have another Flower Mound type of a race left? We shall see; If they do, they can definitely win it.
Klein and College park ran very good races at Region 2-6A and weren't far from the Highlanders' lead. The same goes for Americas; They had a superb Region 1-6A race. If none of the three favorites run extremely well, any of the other teams can ran away with the win.
Sleeper: Coppell
The Cowboys can run. They've measured themselves against the top teams all season long and they continue to evolve and look good. Their fourth place finish at regionals wasn't an easy task. They were a bit back point wise, but they have the ability to run a team average within seconds of any one of the top teams. Their 2-4 split is only about 35-40 seconds and as long as Caswell is in the hunt for the win, they shouldn't be counted out.