Osvaldo Melchor running towards the finish line at the 2020 UIL state XC meet
Class 3A
The District 10-3A race showed us what to watch out for Monday.
Tania Ramirez (Boyd) has been on a roll the last couple of weeks. She was sixth at McNeil by going 12:19 and then boom, she went 12:00 at Decatur and then 11:51 at district.
Not only did she run fast, but Julia Torres (Callisburg) wnt 12:04, Addison Hite (Pilot Point) wnt 12:08, and Rory Hake (Whitesboro) went 12:12.
Joining the 10-3A for the regional championship quest should be Elaine Eborn (Commerce) who has a 12:11 SB, Marigold Hunter (Troup) who has a 13:13 SB, and Aubree Godwin (Paradise) with a 12:13 SB of her own.
Whitesboro was the region champ last year and only graduated one runner and Paradise currently has the best season average at 12:44. Consider those two to be favorites for the team title. Quitman and Atlanta are also looking like they have good shots to get to state.
Osvaldo Melchor (Whitesboro) was the regional champ last year and finished eighth at state. He would be the obvious person to look at as the favorite to win this year.
However, we are looking at David Magdaleno (Waskom) who has the fastest time heading in. His 16:07 leads the region, but Emory Crayton (Chapel Hill) isn't far behind with his 16:15 SB.
Valley View and Whitesboro finished second and third last year at state and Whitesboro brought all of their guys back and have been running well.
Chapel Hill is led by Crayton and has Lucas Thomas under 17 minutes. Add that with a 0.25 second compression between the three through five runners and Chapel Hill should contend.
When isn't Boyd in the mix in this region? This year they are in it again. Led by Noah Richardson, they have a 17:57 team average and should claim a state qualifying position. Commerce, Callisburg, and Valley View also have plans and quality chances to attain one the qualifying spots.