Panhandle Preseason 1st Team
7. Konnar McClendon - Canadian
There is more than tumbleweed, tractors, and hay out in the Panhandle and McClendon showed us that with her fabulous freshman season last year.
The Canadian star basically won every race or finished runner-up all season long last year until the state meet. She was an all-state finisher in Round Rock with her 7th place at the UIL 3A meet in a 11:58 PR.
On the track, she just missed out on a medal at the state meet in the 1,600m with a fourth place 5:20 finish. She added a 12:01 on the track and she should be one to watch on grass this fall.
6. Sierra Sanchez - Canyon Randall
Sanchez has been an important piece of the Randall program over last three years. She finished 85th at the state meet and ran 19:17 SB at Jesuit Classic.
On the track, she dropped a 2:22 PR in 800m along with a 5:28 SB in the 1,600m.
5. Avery Brown - Canyon
Brown ran a 19:56 in the 5K during the early goings off last cross country season. That was in September and as a freshman. Her rating on this list is based on her 3,200m runs that 4A competes in as well as her track times.
Brown was the sixth place overall finisher in Round Rock at the UIL 4A state meet and that was following a runner-up Region 1-4A finish. Overall, she had a 11:11 PR last cross country season over the two-miles.
On the track, she was a huge force. She was fifth at the state track meet in the 800m going 2:19, fourth at state in the 1600 going 5:10, and a 11:26 in the 3,200m to finish runner-up in the 3200m at her district meet.
4. Zanashia Harris - Lubbock Coronado
The Coronado freshman's season was successful - - and that's putting it mildly.
She qualified for state in cross country with a third place finish at the Region 1-5A meet. Harris followed that up with a 18:44 PR at state to make it four consecutive sub 19 minute races to end her season.
She ran 61, 2:20, and 5:25 PRs on the track, so that should give her good speed to go with a high school level off-season base to improve on her 15th place XC state meet finish last year.
3. Abree Winfrey - Canyon
The metro Austin area is like a second home for Winfrey. She has been the state cross country and state meets every year (except 2020-COVID) and has medaled more than anyone I know.
Last year, she was the bronze medal winner at the state cross country meet when she ran 11:37. She had a 19:10 PR in the 5K at the Milesplit TX XC Inv.
On the track, she added another silver medal in the 300 meter hurdles and then two golds in the 800m and 4x400 relay.
Winfrey's experience is so vast that she added a national title in the 400 meter hurdles at the Nike Nationals Outdoors.
2. Hannah Stuart - Canyon
Stuart did not compete on the high school circuit last season, but she did lineup as an unattached runner on occasions. Those occasions were impressive, specifically her 18:39 at the Eastbay South Region and a 18:46 at the Garmin RunningLane Nationals.
Stuart was dominant during the track season. She ran 4:59 and 10:51 on the track. It wasn't only about her times; she was one of the fiercest competitors in Austin back in May as she took two silver medals home in the 4A 1,600m and 3,200m.
1. Taytum Goodman - Springlake Earth
Who would think that a 1A runner would possibly be the best distance runner in the entire state of Texas? Well, that could be the case this season. The 1A classification girls don't usually run the 5,000m and Goodman didn't during her freshman year nor much of her sophomore season.
However, she teased us with one 5,000m race at the Small Schools XC Nationals and she whizzed a 17:33 around the Lubbock Course.
The running genius does it all from the 400m to the 5k and she does it well. I wouldn't bet against Goodman in anything!