Angel Sanchez cross the line at the 2022 UIL 4A Cross Country State Championships
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McAlpine Park Course Preview
It's the post season and national meets are going on around the country with national championship races at stake for the month of December. One meet where Texas has seen success is the Foot Locker/Eastbay/Champs South Region at McAlpine Park in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Certain factors would lead you to believe success would be more difficult for athletes from the Lone Star State, but there hasn't seemed to be any disadvantage lately.
Charlotte is almost 1,200 miles from Texas' capital city. It is the furthest state in the continental USA, in the region, from the race venue. November in North Carolina is usually a far different climate than most parts of Texas.
However, despite the distance and weather, there hasn't been a major disadvantage. When the course is hard and solid, the Texans seem to roll.
2021 South Region
In 2021, Natalie Cook (Flower Mound) won the girls championship race in 16:38 to win the region. On the boys side, three runners qualified out of the South Region. Sahil Dodda (Dallas St. Marks) finished runner-up, Emmanuel Sgouros (Houston St. Johns) was fourth, and Kevin Sanchez (Austin Vandegrift) was sixth as the three all ran under 15:06 to qualify for the national race.
2019 South Region
The 2019 race saw two girls, Camille Napier (St. Agnes) and Avery Clover (Atascocita) both finish in the top-10 and qualify for nationals. That year on the boys side, Judson Greer (Melissa) went 14:57 to get the win with Graydon Morris (Aledo) taking third place.
2018 South Region
In 2018, there was even more Texas dominance as the girls pulled off a 1, 2, 3 sweep. London Culbreath (McKinney North) won the region with Heidi Nielson (Katy Cinco Ranch), and Brynn Brown (Denton Guyer) finishing second and third.
That was literally, just half of it. Allison Wilson (Montgomery) finished fifth, Adoette Vaughan (Hockaday) was sixth, and Ava Peeples (Dallas Lake Highlands) finished ninth. That made Texas girls earning six of the 10 qualifying positions.
While the boys didn't get the 1, 2, 3 sweep like the girls, they did go 1-2 with Cruz Gomez (PSJA Memorial) capturing the region win and Carter Cheeseman (Fort Worth Christian) runner-up. Graydon Morris would again qualify for nationals with his eighth place finish.
This year, the Texas runners could end up forcing the issue once again. Check out the table below to see the Texas entries. Below are our picks to make a push to qualify for the national championship race.
Girls
Isabel Conde de Frankenberg (Cedar Park) - UIL 5A 2022 runner-up; won Team South Region Championships; qualified for Team Championship Nationals
Nicole Humphries (Flower Mound) - Won 2022 UIL 6A state champion
Samantha Humphries (FLower Mound) - 2nd at UIL 6A state meet; qualified for 2022 Team Championships
Haley Harper (Plano West) - 6th at UIL 6A state meet
Hannah Stuart (Unattached) - Runner-up at 2022 4A track and field state championships in 1,600m and 3,200m
Boys
Kevin Sanchez (Austin Vandegrift) - Won 2022 UIL 6A state title; runner-up at Team Championship South Region; qualified for 2022 Team Championship Nationals
David Mora (Lubbock Monterey) - Won 2022 UIL 5A state title
Angel Sanchez (Fort Worth Diamond Hills-Jarvis) - 202 UIL 4A state champion
Ayden Granados (McAllen Memorial) - 7th at 2022 UIL 5A state meet; third place at 2022 Team Championship South Region; qualified for 2022 Team Championship Nationals
Marcelo Parra (San Antonio TMI) - 2022 TAPPS 5A state meet runner-up; 4th at Team Championship South Region; qualified for 2022 Team Championship Nationals
Franco Parra (San Antonio TMI) - 2022 TAPPS 5A state champion; 6th at Team Championship South Region; qualified for 2022 Team Championship Nationals
Reese Vannerson (Houston Strake Jesuit) - 8th at 2022 UIL 6A state meet; Bronze medalist at 2022 U20 World Triathlon Championships
Riley Nedrow (Boyd) - 2022 UIL 3A third place
Andrew Mullen (Coppell) - 7th at 2022 UIL 6A state meet
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Angel Sanchez cross the line at the 2022 UIL 4A Cross Country State Championships
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McAlpine Park Course Preview