First Team
7. David Mora (Lubbock Monterey)
3rd @2021 UIL 5a State XC
1600 - 4:10
3200 - 9:31
5000 - 14:56
Mora is coming off a tumultuous junior track season in which he established himself as one of the state's top milers by running 4:10 at the Texas Distance Festival and winning the extremely competitive 5A region 1 championships.
Unfortunately for Mora, he ended up ninth in the 1600m after falling with 600 meters to go at the state meet and his 3200m performances in the spring did not align with his 1600m excellence. With all that said, these are preseason rankings for cross country and Mora was fantastic on the grass in 2021 despite COVID derailing training and performing.
Mora was third in 5A Region 1, then also took bronze at the state meet behind the same two athletes who beat him in Lubbock. Finally, he finished 75th at the Garmin Running Lane Cross Country Championships. While that may not sound like an unbelievable result, 75th place in a field of that size and quality is very admirable and demonstrates impressive composure on Mora's part. He enters his senior cross country season as the top returner in 5A, and has as likely of a chance as anyone to turn bronze into gold in 2022.
The intriguing thing about Mora to start the season is that word on the street is he already ran a 14 minute 5K last month.
6. Ayden Granados (McAllen Memorial)
1600- 4:11
3200- 9:08
Ayden Granados has earned the a spot in the preseason first team because of his performances at state championships and personal bests set on the track this past spring. While his races leading into the 5a State Cross Country Championship were by no means poor, it is fair to say that his performance at Old Settlers Park was by far his best of the season. His eighth place finish at the 2021 state meet means he will be the third highest returner in 5a headed into the 2022 season. To be eighth on this list also requires a strong track season. This past spring, Granados lowered his 3200 personal best by 21 seconds and 1600 by 12 seconds from his sophomore campaign. What's more impressive is that his times of 9:08 and 4:11 were each run at the 5a State Championship where he claimed the silver medal over 1600 and 3200 meters. He will be Conference 5a's top returner in each event next season and one of the main men to beat on the grass as well.
Though Granados will face fierce enough competition to break the tape in Round Rock, it will also be interesting to see if he can prove himself to be among the whole state and south region's top tier of athletes in 2022.
5. Luis Pastor (El Paso Coronado)
1600- 4:11
3200- 9:03
Consistency is what stands out the most on Luis Pastor's resume. Consistent performance is never a given for even the most talented of runners, but over the last two years he has raced over 50 times and only finished outside the top 10 once. In his debut at the state cross country meet this past fall he finished 10th. This leaves him fourth among returners in class 6A.
In the spring, he returned to the state track meet where he ran 9:03 to secure fourth place on the day, and a second consecutive top five finish in the 6A 3200 final. That same day, he also finished fifth in the 1600. His time of 4:11 is the fourth fastest among the state's returners in 2022 while he is fifth among returners in the 3200.
The only questions about Pastor heading into his senior year are about how he would fare in one of the South Regional meets put on by Nike and Eastbay where he would face elite competition from all over Texas and its surrounding states. Regardless of whether he toes the line in The Woodlands or Charlotte in late November, there is no reason to doubt that Pastor will be serious contender and in the hunt for the 6A state title at Old Settlers Park.
4. Omer Ibrahim (El Paso Pebble Hills)
1600 - 4:18
3200 - 9:21
5000 - 15:02
The last boy to finish in the top three at the 6A state meet in the 800 and cross country in the same school year was Sam Worley when he won both titles in 2016/17. Six years later, Omer Ibrahim enters his senior year as top returner in the 800m and third among returners in 6A cross country.
If any notions exist that he may just be an 800 guy who had one good day on the grass at the 6A State Championship, those were dispelled by his race at NXR South where he improved on his eighth place finish at state by placing sixth in a more competitive field. To put this achievement in perspective, this finish would have secured him a trip to Nike Cross Nationals had the meet taken place last year.
Although it's true that his impressive range is highlighted by his 800m prowess, his potential to do serious damage near the front of the state's biggest races this fall should not be underestimated. Ibrahim is like a mixed martial artist with several styles and abilities. It allows him to race any event or deplore any kind of race strategy.
3. Marcelo Parra (San Antonio TMI)
1600 - 4:12
3200 - 8:55
5000 - 14:37 (outdoor track)
Apart from winning the TAPPS 5A cross country title last fall, Parra's other performances on the grass didn't quite match up with his success on the track in 2022. Fortunately for Parra, the bulk of this imbalance can be attributed to his outstanding performances in the spring which cannot be overlooked as he began competing well against top class competition from across the country. The first instance of this was in March at the Adidas Track Nationals when he finished third in a very tight two mile race. Despite not consistently racing against high level competition outdoors, he managed to summon his best performances late in the season when he finally lined up against elite athletes.
At the TTFCA Meet of Champions, he edged out some of the state's top seniors to win the 1600m and 3200m races. This momentum carried him into his signature performance of his sophomore year at the RunningLane Track Championships where he finished second in the 3200 in a staggering time of 8:55. He finished off his season at NSAF Outdoor Nationals where a 5000m personal best of 14:37 earned him seventh place in a stacked field. If Parra can translate his performances from the spring into equally elite racing on the grass then he will be amongst the favorites for all the major championships in November.
Parra has the fastest sophomore performance in Texas history at the 3200m distance on the track, the challenge will be to translate his track running into cross.
2. Franco Parra (San Antonio TMI Episcopal)
Mile- 4:16
3200- 8:55
5000m- 14:32 (outdoor track)
Up to this point in Parra's career, his cross country resume doesn't jump off the page. However, his performances on the track have propelled him to the second spot in the preseason All-State team. The sophomore's personal bests over 3200 and 5000 meters are exceptional for a highschooler of any age, but the value of these times is enhanced by the scale of the races in which they were run. At the end of May, Parra ran 8:55 to claim third in the 3200 at the Running Lane Championships behind his brother and UIL 6A state champion Kevin Sanchez. A few weeks later, he flipped both of them in the 5000m championship at NSAF Outdoor Nationals as he secured victory in 14:32.
Along with the rapid times and top three finishes against top class competition, these performances demonstrate a rare degree of fearlessness and have given Parra invaluable experience of racing successfully in elite fields. These factors combined with his fitness displayed in the spring should have him brimming with confidence headed into the fall.
Franco is not only the second Parra family member on this list, but the second TAPPS runner on the first team. Are the Parra twins even better than second and third ranked runners? Only time will tell, but to live up to these rankings, they'll have to perform up to the billing on grass like they've done on the track. They are soccer studs, so they have the familiarity of performing on grass.
1. Kevin Sanchez (Austin Vandegrift)
1600- 4:11
3200- 8:50
5000m- 14:34
Kevin Sanchez has earned the top spot for the simple reason that he has the gold medals from track and cross country to back up his elite times. Heading into his senior year, Sanchez is already an All-American and two-time state champion. This past year, he demonstrated that he knows how to peak at the right time and sustain it throughout the championship season. At the state cross country meet in 2021, he not only won by eleven seconds, but finished 31 seconds ahead of the closest returner. He went on to finish second at NXR South and 11th at the Eastbay Championships.
In the spring, he retained his spot at the top of the state's largest conference by winning the 6A 3200m title, then took another massive step forward by winning the Running Lane Championship 3200 in 8:50. In summation, Sanchez has cemented himself as the man to beat this fall by running fast, winning big races and in more than one case, winning a major title by running exceptionally fast.