WATCH Texas UIL State XC Championships
LIVE on MileSplit (produced by NFHS)
November 3 - 4, 2023 at 8:00 a.m.
Last year's UIL 6A girls race was unbelievable and historic.
Flower Mound won their third consecutive state title and they did it in dramatic fashion. Not only did twin sisters Nicole Humphries and Samantha Humphries tie for first place with an identical 17:36.40, but teammate Alexandra Fox finished third and cemented a Jaguar 1, 2, 3 sweep to propel them to the team title.
San Juanita Leal (Edinburg North) was fourth at state last year and also ran under eighteen-minutes with her 17:57 run.
Related: Predictions: 6A Boys UIL State Championship
Here are some key factors and stats to keep an eye on for this weekend's UIL 6A state championship race.
UIL 6A Girls Individual Preview
This year could be vastly differently than last year's race despite the top four runners all returning.
Last week, neither Nicole Humphries nor Alexandra Fox ran in the Region 1-6A Championships (Nicloe hasn't competed all season long). Additionally, last year's regional champion Samantha Humphries was only able to produce a runner-up finish.
Macy Wingard (Denton Braswell) took the Region 1 win in 17:15 and the sophomore looks like one of the favorites to capture this year's title. Alexandra Walsh (Southlake Carroll) was the third runner in the region to run sub eighteen-minutes with her 17:52 run.
Staucie Lees (Conroe Grand Oaks) won Region 2-6A with a 17:41 to pull away and outlast Kathryn Koonts (Klein) in 17:51, and Stoya Laydevant (The Woodlands) in 17:59.
Madison Peters (Pearland) ran 17:23 to win Region 3-6A for the second straight season. Peters was ninth at last year's state meet and Rowan Saacke (Katy Tompkins) was runner-up in 17:57.
San Juanita Leal looked like she has recovered from a nagging injury and demonstrated good fitness with her 17:12 Region 4-6A win.
Other Girls To Watch
Maddison Surita (Edinburg Economedes)
Emma Wade (Cedar Park Vista Ridge)
Tibbie Mustacchia (Austin Vandegrift)
Julia Shimel (Humble Kingwood)
Claudia Klander (Katy Mayde Creek)
Jamie Klander (Katy Mayde Creek)
Felicity Hamilton (Klein Cain)
Elizabeth Smits (Southlake Carroll)
Adelynn Rodriguez (El Paso Eastwood)
UIL 6A Girls Team Preview
We already stated the adverse position Flower Mound finds themselves in compared to last season.
What could create a kerfuffle would be seeing Nicole Humphries and Alexandra Fox line up for Flower Mound. Sources tell me that's exactly what could happen if things checked out right at the end of this week.
Fox has run well all season long and last week's omission from the line up was precautionary and to ensure a full strength run this week.
Even without Fox and Nicole, Flower Mound still finished runner-up in the hardest region in the state and still has the talent to podium on Saturday.
The Flower Mound staff is only one of two teams with two coaches who have won team state titles on it and Andrew Cook is the king of getting athletes fit enough for quality runs at the state meet level or higher.
Topping the Jags in Lubbock was last year's state meet runner-up squad Southlake Carroll. They ran a 18:33 team average with a 1:11 split. They look to expound on that this weekend as they try to get back on top of the 6A classification.
The Dragons are led by Walsh and Elizabeth Smits who have been a consistent 1 - 2 punch all season long. The three, four, and five runners ran within 19 seconds of one another last week with the sixth runner only three seconds back.
If the back of the top five closes the gap, Carroll could be back atop the 6A girls totem pole.
Northwest Nelson has been closing the gap all year long and with one meet left, this just might be when the iron hot and NW Nelson strikes.
MJ Novelli and Reyna Heisserer are both 18 mid girls and give the team a powerful punch up front with the three and four girls runnings within five seconds of one another. The fifth position will be crucial for NW Nelson to reach the podium. However, like Flower Mound, this is the other team in the state with two head coaches on staff who have won team state titles.
The Woodlands is having a great season and they have closed the gap on the rest of the state. They had a 18:52 team average to win Region 2 and only ran with a 1:22 gap.
Laydevant and Weller lead the way for the Highlanders, but their three, four, and five runners all ran within ten seconds.
Kingwood also ran 18:52 at their Region. Their difference is the 1:54 split. If they can close that gap look for them to make a podium push. They've done this a time or two before, most recently last year when they podiumed with a placed third finish.
Although a bit further back time wise, Austin Vandegrift is the only Region 4 team with a legit shot at the podium.
The Vipers ran a 19:19 team average with a 1:06 split. Tibbie Mustacchia leads the way with her 18 mid ability and Annie Burton provides another swift runner with the experience. Vandegrift has more experience at the three, four, and five spots than just about anyone and their four and five runners can run tight.