Photo by Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
In this week's installment of the 2024 6A season preview, we see our first team jump up several spots from their finishing position at last year's state meet. Bridgeland is one of the younger teams in the 6A division, with their entry into the division coming in 2018 after the school opened the year before. That being said, their rapid ascent into one of the state's top talent producers has primed them for a sneaky run toward the podium this year.
Bridgeland has always been a competitive team at the 6A level despite their relatively short amount of time in the division. They first qualified for the state meet as a team in 2020 in a reduced field of twelve, placing ninth. The Bears then returned again in 2022 where they finished ninth for the second time.
Coming into 2023, Bridgeland looked prime to make the state meet again with a solid team led by one of the state's best runners in the form of Benjamin Montgomery. The Bears put together their best season yet, competing at the front of multiple big meets. And while they didn't end up on the podium and ultimately ended up finishing sixth, they knew that 2023 was going to be a building block for next year where they could go all in with their best team yet.
The Bears come into 2024 with the perfect mix of youth and experience, and with a surprising new addition to their team, Bridgeland looks set to make a run at being the state's top team. The majority of their core is heading into their junior season where they'll look to continue building on the solid foundation they've set to start their careers. So, let's dive into the individual talents that make up this team and see how they stack up against the state's best.
Photo by Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
Every top team needs a standout individual talent and the Bears have that in the form of well-known 3200m state champion Benjamin Montgomery. Montgomery has been impressive throughout his career, however, the 2023 cross-country season was his best yet. He won incredibly difficult races like the Hillacious meet and the Texas A&M High School Invitational easily while also putting in podium performances at McNeil and Nike South.
He ultimately finished third at the UIL State Championship in a time of 15:06.70 and followed that up by running 15:00.20 at the NXR South Regional which qualified him for NXN where he finished 36th. While Montgomery's cross-country season was nothing short of impressive, his spring campaign was exceptional as he won 80% of his races and went on to take the 3200m state title in 8:51.50 which was the state's best time in 2024. Montgomery returns this fall to lead the Bears at the front of the field and he'll be looking to add another state title to his resume as well.
Coming into the fall we already knew that Bridgeland was going to be a strong team, however, a surprise addition to the team takes Bridgeland from a podium hopeful to a potential title contender. Former Katy Tompkins star and 9:05 3200m runner Griffen Saacke will be joining the Bears this fall.
Saacke adds a whole other layer of potential to this Bridgeland team as he provides them with a second low stick to run at the front with Benjamin Montgomery. He's the eleventh fastest returner from last year's meet where he placed 25th as a sophomore, and given his performances on the track he should be slated to run very fast this fall.
Photo by Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
His addition to this team truly makes the fight for the state title that much more interesting. We know that Southlake Carroll has two low sticks and 1st and 4th, but with Montgomery placing 3rd last year and winning the state title in the spring plus the addition of Saacke who will likely place in the top ten this fall, this fight becomes interesting. The theme of this season is quickly shaping up to be who has the best depth to back up their guys at the front and Bridgeland has some good pieces.
The first of these pieces is junior Kyle Pawlak, who like many Bridgeland runners, came into high school with some solid performances but has come into his own over the last year. Pawlak had a great 2023 cross-country season where he quickly had to contribute to one of the state's better teams as a sophomore. He regularly scored in the No.2 spot for the Bears and finished the season with a personal best of 16:02.10 at NXR South after running 16:07.20 at the state meet.
Pawlak followed up his string of consistent performances in the fall with more improvement in the spring as he regularly ran in the 9:40s over 3200m. He finished the season with a personal best of 9:35.67 which came at the Sam Mosley Relays and he also qualified for the regional meet in his first year running at the varsity level.
The second of Bridgeland's key contributors concerning depth is junior Maddox McCallister who has had nearly an identical career to Pawlak. McCallister showed stark improvement from his freshman cross-country campaign, running in the 16:10s consistently over a mix of difficult courses. He finished the season with a personal best of 16:02.70 which came at the UIL State Championship.
Similarly to his teammate, McCallister also took another big step in the spring where he ran in the 9:40s regularly and finished the season with a personal best of 9:36.69 which also came at the Sam Mosley Relays. Both Pawlak and McCallister will be crucial to Bridgeland's success at the state meet his fall and they'll likely be the deciding factor in where this team ends up.
Photo by Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
In terms of summer training, Bridgeland traditionally isn't a high-mileage program when compared to some of the state's other teams. Instead, Bridgeland prioritizes workouts that address specific aspects of race preparation to ensure that their athletes are prepared for a variety of racing scenarios. Additionally, Bridgeland ensures that their mileage isn't the sole focus of their training which allows their athletes to maximize their performance in the workouts that matter, rather than straining to try and run too much mileage which compromises performance on the important days.
Another thing to note regarding Bridgeland's program is the way that their racing schedule will be constructed. Bridgeland is not a team that chases fast times or tries to be paper champions in September and early October. Rather, Coach Waters chooses to have his team run on a variety of difficult courses to ensure that his guys have seen everything by the time they get to the state meet. Everything is geared toward maximizing performance in November when it matters, not getting times on the board so they can be talked about more in September.
In terms of the battle for the team title, Bridgeland matches up well at the front with Southlake Carroll and Vandegrift. Leonard and Bullard will battle Montgomery and Saacke at the front of the field. Vandegrift is built slightly differently as they don't have a definitive second low stick to partner Hudson Haley in this fight but they have faster and more tightly packed depth than both teams. This three-team battle is ultimately going to come down to who has improved the most from the spring to the fall and whose supporting cast can maximize their performance on the right day.
While Bridgeland comes into the 2024 season with by far their best team on paper, ranking them third is the highest I think they can realistically be at the moment. The addition of Saacke puts them in a different situation from being a team that looked like they could get third on a good day to a team that should be third and could potentially challenge for more.
Patience will be key in terms of what Bridgeland shows us when the season starts as they may not look like the third-best team in the state on paper in September. However, they've shown us multiple times that their results show up when it matters and this team has a lot of potential to be a sneaky state title hopeful if they have the ideal year.