Caden Thurman with arms wide open after finally capturing the XC state title
Texas UIL State XC Championships
The 2022 UIL 2A Boys state meet ended on an exhilarating note and left a lot of anticipation for this year.
The match up between Plains and Tenaha is as good as it gets. They are two evenly matched teams and talented squads that only seven points separated them last year.
One of the best individual runners in the classification wasn't able to finish the race last year and his turnaround state meet race was anticipated.
Check out our 2A boys state meet recap.
2A Boys
Moving on to the 2A Boys race, we see that the race was very similar to the girls' race in the way that the individual battle wasn't competitive but the team title was extremely tight.
On the individual side, Wolfe City senior Caden Thurman came away with the dominant victory as he produced a twenty-one-second gap and won the race in 15:27. The race was extremely tight at the mile mark with five runners coming through within just two seconds of each other. However, Thurman showcased incredible poise as he stuck with the pack and began to assert himself as the fastest of the bunch over the second mile.
But Thurman saved the best for last as he opened up in a big way over the final mile, pulling a large gap over the field and taking the race win by a comfortable margin. Thurman's ability to run this race so evenly and with so much poise is easily one of the most impressive things we've seen this weekend and he was rewarded with a state title to show for it.
This victory marks Thurman's fourth state title of his storied career in the 2A division. His ability to run with consistency is truly impressive and we'll see him carry that quality to the University of Houston next fall.
On the team side, the battle for victory proved to be extremely competitive with the top two teams being separated by just ten points. Ultimately, Plains came away victorious thanks to a strong performance by their fifth runner Christian Sanchez who quite literally won them the race as ten places separated him from Tenaha's fifth runner. Plains's victory once again demonstrated just how important it is to have a good fifth runner as it won them the state championship in this instance. Plains got out to a conservative start but ultimately were able to move up the field and secure the victory thanks to a strong second and third mile. They showcased a strong pace over the back half and simply ran away with the race thanks to it.
In terms of the remaining podium on the individual side, Waco Meyer junior Marco Cunningham came away with second place as he battled at the front with winner Caden Thurman over the first two miles. Thurman ultimately pulled away over the final mile but Cunningham was able to hold on for second. In third place, Stockdale senior Taylor Warrick also battled with Cunningham and Thurman over the first two miles, having a strong start and holding on for the final place on the podium.
On the team side, Tenaha made it close but ultimately didn't have enough in the tank over the final miles to catch Plains. They showcased a strong presence at the front of the race and look for them to be back fighting for victory next year. In third place, Wolfe City rode a strong performance from race winner Caden Thurman onto the podium. Thurman not only took home the race win but also willed his team onto the podium.
The battle for the 2A Boys team title was one of the tightest we've seen this weekend. The main thing we can take away from this race is just how important it is to have a good fifth runner as it can quite literally win you the state championship.
