Christian Gonzalez (Sulphur Bluff) won Region 3-1A
WATCH Texas UIL State XC Championships
LIVE on MileSplit (produced by NFHS)
November 3 - 4, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.
Girls Team Preview
Taytum Goodman (Springlake Earth) ran her 11:31 for her fastest time of the season. However, there is little need to doubt her and her abilities. She's one of the winningest runners in UIL history and already has three 1A cross country state titles.
Jace Chisum (Jayton) was runner-up to Goodman at Region 1-1A. She ran 12:20, faster than her 12:34 third place performance last year.
Rylie Eckert (Richland Springs) won the Region 3-1A title with her 12:03 run. That performance is far better than her 13:08 from last year's state meet where she placed 15th last year.
Isabella Billingsley (Tilden McMullen County) won Region 4-1A in 12:46.That was her slowest time of the season and twenty-four seconds behind her district winning run. That time is over a minute faster than her 13:38 at the state meet.
Freshman Abby Carter (Saint Jo) was the runner-up at the Region 3-1A championships in 12:35 and could be in for a podium finish this weekend.
Girls Team Preview
Last year's state champs, Miller Grove won't be competing as a team this year, so a new championship squad will stand at the top of the podium.
After a third place finish last year at the state meet, Springlake Earth could be one of the teams leading the charge. They won the Region 1-1A title with a 13:25 team average and a 2:47 split
The Jayton girls were runner-ups with 97 points. The did it with a 13:26 team average and a 2:26 split and last year's runner-ups Nazareth were third at Region 1 and used a 13:53 average and a 1:03 split. Their ability to run tight could be something that gets him back on the podium.
Saint Jo won region 3-1A with a 13:28 average and a 1:45 split and Tilden McMullen County won Region 4-1A with a 13:38 team average and a 1:34 split. These two teams should also challenge for the podium.
Boys Individual Preview
Christian Gonzalez (Sulphur Bluff) ran the fastest Regional time with his 16:35 in the Region 3-1A race. He didn't have the race he would have liked at last year's state meet with his 28th place run, but expect him to have a much different outcome as a senior this year.
One of those boys is the top returner from last year, Jose Ventura (Lasara) Ventura was third in 2022 as a sophomore and is coming off of a 16:48 Region 4-1A Championship.
Ryker Haivala (Cumby Miller Grove) was runner up at Region 3-1A with a 16:47 run. As a freshman, he was fifth place at the state meet in 2022 and could be running for another podium finish.
Eli Williams (Zephyr) was third at the Region 3-1A meet with a 16:55 run behind both Gonzalez and Haivala.
Wiley Gaskins (Sands) won Region 1-1A in Lubbock with a time of 17:15. He was eighth at the 2022 state meet.
Brandon Timms (Tilden McMullen County) was the Region 4-1A runner-up last week with his 17:20 performance. Timms was the tenth place finisher as a sophomore last year.
Boys Team Preview
Last year's state champion squad Saltillo didn't get our of the region as a team, so there will be a newly crowned team champion.
Perennial 1A powerhouse program Miller Grove has a shot at getting back on top of the podium. Just two years removed from their last state title, they have pieces to win. They were second last year, missing out on the win by two points.
They only managed a third place finish at the region meet with their 18:21 team average. It was their 2:24 split that opened the door for Slidell and Sulphur Bluff.
Jayton was the third place finishing team at state last year. They won the Region 1-1A championships last week. Their 18:27 team average was swift enough to outdistance runner-up Texline by over 70 points.
Slidell won Region 3 with a 18:17 average and a 1:24. split. They have a good thing going with their number two, three, and four runners to go with their top runner Joshua Garvin.
Sulphur Bluff was second at Region 3 with 18:18 average, but they ran a 3:39 split. That result will take them from a good spot in the race to far away from the podium.
Region 4 had a couple of teams who were close in the final results for the qualifying positions. Goodrich won, just five points ahead of Nordheim who was just four points ahead of Fayetteville and their five point total ahead of Tilden McMullen County.
This group all had team averages in the mid 19-minutes from 19:25 to 19:30. The thing that could keep them all from making the podium are their large deviations from their number one runner to the fifth.