DFW Boys Third Team
21. Brett Jacobs (Sr.) Colleyville Heritage
Jacobs got better as the 2022 cross country season went on. He ran a solid 16:33 at the Region 1-5A meet and just missed qualifying for the state meet by a few positions. He finished third in his rae at NXR South with a 15:32 on a short course.
In the track season, Jacobs' his potential. He ran a 16:06 in the 5K at the Texas Distance Festival and ran three sub 10-minute 3200m races capping out with a 9:49 PR. That was impressive since it seemed he was focusing more on the shorter distances. He ran 1:57 and a 4:26 PRs in the 800m and 1600m races.
20. Caleb Millard (Sr.) McKinney Boyd
In his junior cross country season, Millard hovered around the 16-mid to low ranges all season long. His PR of 16:00 came at the Jesuit XC Classic, which is on a course suited for fast kids.
The track season saw just how fast Millard was when he ran to even more PRs in the 1600m and the 3200m. He lowered his mile time to 4:19 at the RunningLane Track Championships in Huntsville, Alabama against some stiff national talent. Millard then added a 9:20 PR at his district along and followed with a 9:23 at area and 9:22 at the Region 1-6A Championships.
19. Nick Yarad (Jr.) Lucas Lovejoy
Yarad just might be the key to Lovejoy getting back on top of the UIL 5A classification. He was a 16-high guy last season at the 5K distance and ran a 16:22 PR in Arkansas at the Chile Pepper Festival.
A significant top three could be brewing this year if Yarad's track season transitions to the grass. He PRed in the 800m with a couple of 2 flat runs before turning his focus to the 1600m and 3200m distances.
That's when he improved to the low 4:20s and PRed at the Texas Distance Festival with a 4:19 and then shattered his previous 3200m PR when he dropped it to 9:20. In the steeplechase, Yarad also turned in a 6:25 (fourth atg Texas Relays) and a 6:40.
18. Logan Tauch (Sr.) Melissa
Tauch began his junior cross country season in good form. He went 10:01 on 8/19 at the Rock Hill Twilight XC Invitational and a week later at the Southlake Carroll Inv, he had already gone 15:44 for 5K. It wouldn't be until a month later we would see him lace up again at Lovejoy, and he wasn't quite recovered as he ran only produced a 18:07, albeit on a challenging Myers Park course.
Tauch was able to engineer a good enough championship season and he qualified for the UIL 4A state meet. Tauch has witnessed up close and personal the rise of the Melissa running program, so seeing a motivated senior season from his should be expected.
His track season indicates he is back in full form. With personal records of 4:27, 9:15, and 14:51 in the 5K at the Texas Distance Festival we know that with a healthy season Tauch will be a dangerous runner.
17. Parker Noffz (Jr.) Lewisville Marcus
Noffz was really good last fall. He ran to 15:34 at Chile Pepper and was able to qualify for the UIL 6A state meet from the "Region of Doom." He ran a 15:15 to finish sixth in the Open 1 division on a short course at NXR South showing his racing moxy.
On the track, he produced personal records in the 800m (1:59), the 1600m (4:19), and the 3200m (9:21). Now that he is a junior and an upperclassman, don't be surprised to see Noffz take another developmental step and become one of DFW's top runners.
16. Toby Eaton (Sr.) Mansfield Legacy
Eaton has improved with every cross country season, now that he is a senior that trend should continue. He initiated his 2022 season with a 15:43 PR at the Waxahachie Woodhouse Invitational and a week later, at Southlake, he ran even faster (15:40) on another speed friendly course.
Only the Garmin MileSplit TX XC Invitational and the UIL 6A state meet were the races he ran over 16:00, but hs was able to produce a PR of 15:24; he placed 35th overall at the state cross country meet.
We saw Eaton run personal bests of 1:59, 4:20, 9:20, and then 15:20 in the 5K at Texas Distance Festival on the track. I'm not sure what the Legacy record books look like, but he should definitely make runs at them all year long.