Benjamin Pearce (Houston Stratford) charges towards the finish line at the 2022 UIL State Cross Country Championships
-Written by Alex Chambliss
Each year the 6A Boys Division continues to prove that Texas is the true pinnacle of distance running. Whether it be the nationally renowned programs or some of the most impressive individual talent, Texas continually produces some of the most impressive distance performances.
That being said, no team is complete without the driven athletes that make up the depth that turns regular programs into championship contenders. These are the guys that lock in the points and lock up championships and let's take a deeper dive into who they are and why they're poised for a big year.
1. Benjamin Pearce
Starting off this list we head to Region 3 and Stratford, the home of junior Benjamin Pearce. Pearce has been a consistent producer for the Spartans since his freshman year, demonstrating solid times with consistent progression. Last Fall, Pearce really began to shine, clocking a 15:41 and qualifying for the state meet.
This spring, Pearce continued to demonstrated why he deserves to be on this list, dropping massive personal best's of 9:42 in the 3200m and 4:25 in the 1600m. Pearce's steady progression over the last year leaves him poised to have another massive improvement this year and lead what has been a historically talented Stratford program back to Round Rock in December.
2. Hayden Price
Next on this list we stay in Houston and head over to Region 2, home of the Bridgeland Bears and Hayden Price. Price has long been a contributor to some solid Bridgeland teams however, he has had anything but an easy road to this point. A litany of injuries including Long Covid which caused heart and lung damage and a broken foot to top it off plagued much of Price's sophomore and junior campaigns.
Despite this, Price taken a huge step forward from being a point scorer, to cementing himself as Bridgeland's number two runner behind Benjamin Montgomery. Price took this step by clocking a 9:38 3200m, a 45 second PR, and 4:29 1600m, a 14 second pr. Fueled by his arduous road to success, Price looks to help a talented Bridgeland team mount their most significant challenge in the program's young history this fall.
3. Kebede Kerlin
Heading to the home of the UIL State Championship, we find senior Kebede Kerlin of Round Rock High School. Kerlin is a more than experienced producer for Round Rock having competed at the state meet in back to back years for the Dragons. However, Kerlin's individual achievements are equally as impressive which is why he's found himself on this list.
Last Fall, Kerlin began to assert himself towards the upper echelon of 6A runners as he clocked a 15:44 personal best to begin the season. Kerlin took an even greater step forward in the spring as he achieved massive personal bests in the 800m and 1600m, running 1:56 and 4:21 to go along with a solid 9:51 3200m. Based on his continued progression last fall, coupled with an outstanding track season, Kerlin looks to be one of the contenders at the top this fall.
4. Cortlin Salge
For this entry we head back to Bridgeland for another member of the Bears poised for a big year. Similarly to his teammate Hayden Price, Salge has long been a contributor on the Bridgeland team and he also stepped up with several big performances in the spring that he'll be look to to translate into success this fall.
Salge helped lead a talented middle distance group coming out of District 16-6A, where he clocked a personal best 1:55 800m. He then followed that up by dropping a 4:23 1600m personal best the following week. Salge's progression throughout the spring coupled with an already fast 16:15 personal best set him up well for a huge improvement his fall.
5. Kai McCullough
When you're able to run a 15:38 in your debut high school race, it becomes very obvious that you possess an ability very few are fortunate enough to have. However, on a team like Vandegrift where you're running next to a two-time state champion, performances like these can often be overlooked by the larger community. That being said, Kai McCullough is a name poised for a breakout year.
Despite being just a freshman, McCullough was able to provide consistent production for a second place Vandegrift team who looks to return to the podium this year. Couple this with a strong freshman track season running a 15:11 track 5000m and a 9:41 3200m it becomes easy to see why Kai McCullough is poised not only to be a key contributor, but another breakout candidate this fall.