Meet Preview: UIL Region 2 Championships

William Grundy

Region 2-4A

Girls

Region 2 has the top girls team in the state with Celina. The defending state champs graduated a couple of seniors, but still have plenty of firepower.

That spark comes in the form of senior Alexis Frick and junior Aimee Clarke. Frick has a 11:29 SB and Clark with a 11:59. 

It's Kathryn Tucker (Kaufman) who has the top time in the region with her 11:05 from the Gerald Richey XC Invite & Region II Preview. The Kaufman No. 1 has been explosive all season long including a win at the Celina XC invitational.

Also running under 12-minutes this season is Trista Etheridge (Mabank) who has a 11:53 SB. Kira Johnson (Nevada Community) and Madison Thurston (Kaufman) are just north of 12-minutes this year and five other girls are under 12:15 making for an exhilarating individual race.

Despite Celina's perceived advantage, it won't be a cake walk. They are the CCCAT No. 1 ranked team in the state, but No. 8 Kaufman is another strong team who won't want to settle for second place. Mabank comes in with the third best team average of 12:54 and Sulphur Springs enters with a 13:06 with Pittsburg and Godley both having 13:08 team averages. 

Boys

Anna junior Kenny Bibb won his second consecutive district cross country title with his 15:58 run at district 11-4A. After a strong track season, he is looking for his third top-10 finish at the state meet. This could be the best UIL 4A boys state meet in a couple of years and the district race proves Bibb will be right in the mix. He'll have to first navigate the outstanding Region 2-4A meet to continue his pursuit of the title. 

Bibb will see District 16-4A competitors Abel Solorio (Cumberland Academy), Hardy Swan (Athens), and Miguel Arce (Canton) who are all having good seasons. Their runs at district showed they are ready for the championship run. Solorio ran 15:48 for the win, Swan in 15:57, and Arce in 16:04.

They will all have to deal with Angel Sanchez (Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis) at the regional meet. Sanchez won his district in 15:32, which was slight work for the junior. Sanchez was fourth at last year's state cross country meet, but he has been nearly unstoppable since then. He's produced several 14-minute races and should be the pacer for the region.

The boys team race will showcase Kaufman who is the No. 6 ranked team in the state. They have a 16:56 team average heading into regionals. Pittsburg's 16:56 average puts them squarely in the mix with Kaufman and makes them a challenger for the regional title. 

Anna, Aubrey, and Alvarado will also be in the race for qualifying to the state meet.