Katy Tompkins boys race at the 2023 Friday Night Lights

Proudly representing its title as the "speed city" given by Olympic legend Carl Lewis, Houston has continued to produce some of the most impressive runners and teams over the last five years. This year has largely remained the same as existing contenders continued to improve while some new teams appeared on the scene and asserted themselves.

Whether it be the top Region II contenders or the expected Region III contingent, Houston has had another great year of representation on the cross-country scene. So, let's take a look at the top-ranked teams coming out of Houston, and see what they've accomplished and what they look to fight for going forward.

1. Katy Tompkins

A team that's made more than regular appearances in these articles throughout the season is the likely Region III champion, Katy Tompkins. Tompkins came into this year with a young core of talent that had the potential to do impressive things and that's exactly what they've done so far. The Falcons have won all but two of their races thus far and have been consistent and methodical in their approach to deconstructing their competition. 

Tompkins started the season off at Friday Night Lights where they lived up to their top three preseason ranking by placing six runners in the top twelve, with three of them finishing in the top four. The next week, Tompkins ran away with another competitive meet, this time at the Seven Lakes Invitational where the Falcons scored just forty-three points against a strong contingent of Region III competition.

Arguably their most impressive performance of the season came at the Strake Jesuit XC Invitational where the Falcons went 1, 2, 3 against a fierce level of competition that included The Woodlands whom we'll see later in this article. Since then, we've seen Tompkins place fourth at a loaded Lovejoy XC Fall Festival and second at a stacked Nike South Invite.

Parker Wood has been the leading man for the Falcons this year and has been closely flanked by Griffen Saacke and Austin Garcia for much of the year. This trio's ability and consistency has been the catalyst for Tompkins's success and if they continue to produce at the rate that they have Tompkins will continue to perform at a high level.

Tompkins's success can be attributed to their ability to remain consistent at the front of races and their tight split. Given this consistency and the proximity at which they run, Tompkins looks to be the runaway contender for the Region III crown here in a few weeks time. But for now, Tompkins comes in as the best Houston boys team this year.

2. Bridgeland

Another team that's regularly been featured throughout the season is the current favorite for the Region II championship, that being the Bridgeland Bears. Similar to Tompkins, Bridgeland came into the season with a very young team that had very high expectations and they've largely met those expectations as they've managed to retain their spot in the top ten nearly every week to this point in the season.

Bridgeland started their season later than most as they debuted this year's squad at the Brenham Hillacious Invite in early September. However, it was more than worth the wait for Bridgeland as they put four in the top ten and six in the top sixteen to run away with the meet. The Bears then made the short trip up to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational where they once again put on an incredible performance and ran away with the victory, scoring just fifty-nine points in a field of nearly 400 runners.

Since then, Bridgeland has faced some of the toughest competition in the state as they traveled to Round Rock for the HOKA McNeil Invite where they placed fourth behind some of the best teams in the state. Most recently we saw Bridgeland at the Nike South Invite where they placed third and nearly knocked off Tompkins who are currently ranked as one of the top three teams in the state.

In terms of individual talent, Bridgeland has one of the best runners in the state in the form of Benjamin Montgomery who has placed in the top three of every race he's been in this season. The junior has had a young but effective supporting cast as sophomores Kyle Pawlak and Maddox McCallister have provided the Bears with a great 2-3 punch this year.

At the moment Bridgeland looks to be ahead of The Woodlands in the race for the Region II title however knowing the Bears, they won't be content with a narrow advantage heading into this critical part of the season. Bridgeland has looked great so far this year and with such a young core, this team will be one to watch for years to come.

3. The Woodlands

If you've been around Texas cross-country at any point over the last decade you know that The Woodlands has been one of the most successful and talent-rich programs ever. However, coming into this year The Woodlands was a largely unknown commodity as a cast of young runners was tasked with the challenge of taking over one of the most storied programs in the state. Given the magnitude of that task, The Woodlands has had what's largely been a successful year thus far.

The first time we truly got to see what The Woodlands looked like this season was at the Strake Jesuit XC Invitational where the Highlanders placed a close second to Tompkins. The Woodlands then competed at the Grizzly XC Invitational where they picked up their first win of the season.

The race where we've really been able to get a solid hold on where the Highlanders sit against some of the state's top competition came at the Nike South Invite where The Woodlands placed fourth behind Southlake Carroll and the two teams mentioned above in Tompkins and Bridgeland. While the Highlanders certainly would've liked to finish higher than fourth, more importantly, this meet gave them a great baseline of how close they are to retaining their dominance within Region II.

The Woodlands have been led by the duo of Tyler Hedgepeth and Ethan Sharkowicz this year and they've largely been to thank for the success The Woodlands has had this year. The main strength this team has is rooted in their ability to run together and this will ultimately be the primary decider for how far this team can go.

At the moment The Woodlands look to be behind Bridgeland in the battle for the Region II crown however this is by no means set in stone yet. If The Woodlands can move their top runners closer to the front of the pack they have the potential to utilize their tight split to edge out the Bears for the win. This won't be easy but don't count the Highlanders out just yet.

4. Houston Stratford

Coming into the year, Stratford felt like a team that was underrated and had a sizable amount of potential to make some noise and that's largely been an accurate assessment of their season so far. The Spartans have continually dropped solid times week in and week out and their efforts have ultimately put them in a position where they'll likely qualify out of Region III here in the coming weeks.

Stratford ran their full squad for the first time at the Seven Lakes Invitational where they placed fourth behind three of their fellow Region III competitors, not a bad race but certainly not the ideal outcome. Stratford then competed at the Strake Jesuit XC Invitational and this is where we got our first sense of how good this team can be when they have a good day. The Spartans finished third behind Tompkins and The Woodlands however the race was close with Stratford averaging 16:20 over 5000m.

Stratford hasn't had the most consistent results this year however when they're on their game they're arguably the clear second-best team in Region III. At their best, Stratford is currently averaging 16:04 as a team with a sixty-seven-second split which undoubtedly makes them a contender for the state meet. However, the key for the Spartans will be remaining healthy and ensuring they have a good day on the right day.

To have this good day, Stratford will need Benjamin Pearce and Jona Morford to continue producing under the 16:00 mark as they've done so consistently. If they're able to do this and maintain a split somewhere under the seventy second mark, Stratford should be in a good enough place to be the second team out of Region III.

From here, Stratford will need to stay consistent and ensure they're healthy when the time is right. When this team performs to their potential, they're a formidable opponent and one of the favorites to make it out of their region. For now, Stratford has looked good more times than not, however, they'll need to make sure they're in the right form on the right day.

5. The Woodlands College Park

The third and final member of Region II making an appearance on this list is the perennially underrated College Park. The Cavaliers have been forced into somewhat of a little brother rule due to no fault of their own as they've consistently had solid teams but being down the road from The Woodlands is a tall task for anyone. That being said, this year's College Park team marks yet another year where the Cavaliers have a chance to make the state meet and continue establishing themselves as a program to watch.

College Park ran their first true 5000m of the season at the Klein ISD Invitational where they placed second by a heartbreaking margin of only a single point. Moving on from this, College Park traveled to the Texas A&M Invitational where they once again placed second, this time behind a talented Bridgeland team. While the Cavaliers may have not gotten a win out of these meets, the consistency they showed has been the catalyst for their season.

Since then, College Park has competed in two massive meets against stiff competition in the form of the Cowboy Jamboree and the Nike South Invite. In keeping with the theme of consistency, College Park placed fifth in both meets where they demonstrated a strong ability to run together in a big field, something that will help them tremendously moving forward.

The key to College Park's consistency has been the strong performance of standout sophomore Camden Gibson who's lived up to the hype through his first season in the program. Gibson has been helped greatly by an experienced senior trio in the form of Witman Forke, Charles Ross, and Charles Hall who've remained consistent points scorers for the Cavaliers.

Looking ahead, the battle to make it out of Region II will be a close one however if College Park's consistency has taught us anything it's that they'll be in contention. The key for this team will be to not get bogged down in the midfield and to assert themselves as close to the front as they can be. If their contributors can do this, College Park should be the third Houston team to make it out of Region II.