Lovejoy boys compete at the 2022 Lovejoy XC Fall Festival
Boys Team Preview
The Bentonville (AR) boys have achieved success within the Lone Star borders. Last year, they won the MileSplit TX XC Inv and they did it again, just last weekend. Their running achievement isn't just here, it's been long running in the Natural State. They've won the last six Arkansas 6A state team titles and appear to be in the driver's seat for another one this season.
They opened their season up last weekend in Denton, Texas at the 2023 MileSplit TX XC Inv. and they were impressive; even more so for an opener. They ran a 15:57 team average for a 23 point total while exploiting a 0.23 second one through five split. They have a real three-headed monster type of front running leadership. James American Horse is a national level type of individual runner, and he's got Eli Seavey and Matthew Shelly as close reinforcements. Those two were only seconds from one another last week and just ten behind the team leading American Horse.
Bentonville is back for another chance to kick some more Texas posterior this weekend (my words not theirs), but they'll have their work cut out for them.
Waiting for Arkansans will be several top ranked Texas boys. The hosts from Lovejoy saw the Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas (CCCAT) poll rank them No. 1 in the UIL 5A classification for the second consecutive time this year.
Their only race was a few weeks ago on August 26th at the Southlake #1 XC Invite where they were outran by at least three teams they probably didn't plan on beating them. Don't expect that to happen again. That "poor" performance was still a 15:23 team average for just over three miles and a 0.56 second split.
Juniors William Carlson and Caden Gary are the pacers for this very talented team with high goals and expectations. The Leopards are experienced, talented, and well coached. If they've already had their bump in the road for the season, then look out for them going forward! They were UIL 5A runner-ups last year and their sights are on the top of the podium.
Coppell is another podium squad from last year's UIL state meet. They were the third place team in 6A last fall and despite graduating a couple integral seniors, this squad is somehow potentially better.
Led by seniors Henry Henze and Samarth Dubey, this team tasted success last year and they seem addicted to it. Henze and Dubey have run 15 lows already this year, but the rest of the squad isn't too far behind. They've split 0.54 seconds, 0.43 seconds, and 0.48 seconds this year and if they follow suit to last season, expect them to continue to get better with time. In fact, after taking last weekend off, this could be an improvement on their first three meets.
In my opinion, one of the most dangerous teams in the state right now is Katy Tompkins. The CCCAT has them ranked No. 5 in 6A, but they might be right there with Vandegrift as a the second best team in Texas right now.
When you think of all of the good teams, you think of good coaching, senior leadership, hunger, racing intelligence, a tight pack, and depth -- this team has all of that.
All season, their seniors have shown leadership and Parker Wood with the performances of Austin Garcia . Last weekend, they teamed with sophomore Griffen Saacke to run between 15:30 and 15:36 for the three of them. The rest of the Falcons scorers came through for a final 15:47 team average and a 0.41 second split, which helped them top No. 3 ranked The Woodlands head-to-head.
As for the depth part . . . well they ran without junior Mathias Pitzel last week who is their top returner from last season.
Other teams who figure to be in the mix this weekend and could really make a statement are teams like Plano West, Austin Lake Travis, Round Rock, and Argyle who are all very good teams.
If that's not enough to pique your interest, then think about this .... for regular season meet, the boys race will be so competitive that there are four ranked teams we haven't mentioned.
The CCCAT UIL 5A No. 4 ranked Frisco Wakeland, No. 5 Frisco Reedy, No. 6 Grapevine, and No. 7 ranked Colleyville Heritage are all running on Saturday. All four of these teams have plans to compete for a state title later on this year and they have very little room for error at their district and regional meets.
UIL 6A No. 9 ranked Northwest Nelson not only has Matthias Peterson running well, but they have a full squad of boys who will be a competitive team this weekend.
While this will be a huge showdown, this weekend all of these teams will get to run carefree in a championship like race, but without consequences with the result.
Boys Individual Preview
Individually, this race should be equally as dynamic. The leaders from several of the top teams like Bentonville, Coppell, Round Rock Tompkins, and Lovejoy will all play a hand at leading the front pack of this race before it's over.
However, there will be some other guys who will also play a part.
Aleksandr Acuna (Denton Braswell) has the fastest 5K time in the state so far. He ran 14:58 two weeks ago to win the Marcus Coach T Invitational over several guys were either already state champions or who had run sub fifteen-minutes last year.
Caden Thurman (Wolfe City) is entered in the field and he was third place last season behind Kevin Sanchez and Wyatt Athey. Sanchez is now at the University Notre Dame and Athey is at the University of Texas, so Thurman is the top returner from last year and he also went on to run sub fifteen-minutes last season.
Although just a junior, I think Matthias Peterson (Northwest Nelson) is one of the state's future leaders. He has demonstrated his fearlessness to run fast early paces. It looks like he is figuring out on the fly how to stay in the race later and later as they progress. It will eventually come together and I think it will be sooner than later. He'll be a front runner in this race, you can take that to the bank.
Ellis Eserman (Denton Guyer) is having a fantastic senior season. He was sixth at this meet last year and is fresh off a runner-up finish last week at the MileSplit TX XC Inv.
Aviel Gasko (Dallas Wilson) is a sleeper, but might not be for too much longer. The DISD talent has already run 15-mid to 15:40s three times this year and this just might be the race he really breaks through.
Speaking of sleepers, I think Andruw Villa (Abilene), Colby Lange (Keller Timber Creek), Logan Tauch (Melissa), Bridger Bowcutt (Keller), Parker Noffz (Marcus) and Argyle teammates Brian Woolums and Tyler Westrom are all guys you should expect to be front runners.