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Three of the top boys distance runners in the state were among the last 40 boys left toeing the line on the last day of the 2021 cross country season.
The 2021 SPC Boys cross country champion Emmanuel Sgouros (Houston St. John's), SPC runner-up Sahil Dodda (Dallas St. Marks), and UIL 6A state champ Kevin Sanchez (Austin Vandegrift) all competed today at Balboa Park in San Diego, California for the Eastbay Nationals.
If you aren't one of those stat watchers and you're not one of the few paying attention to who's developing, running fast, and returning then you might have missed these three being some of the best Texas runners entering the season.
Following the COVID shutdown, the SPC didn't have a formal cross country season in 2020. That may have caused many to miss the rise and development of Sgouros and Dodda. Sanchez naturally took the next step himself, but took things upon his own shoulders to be a state champion and known name.
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The three had to qualify along with the other 37 finalists to challenge for the national title. The Texas harriers all finished within five seconds of one another yesterday.
Sgouros made a huge move from 14th to 10th place in the last 400m to earn All-American honors with a time of 15:29.40. Sanchez was less than a second behind in 15:30.10 for 11th place and Dodda was 16th overall in 15:34.90.
Now that the season is over, the three could be focusing their attention on resting and recalibrating for the outdoor track season.