Caden Gary runs to a 4:08 and runner-up finish at the 2023 UIL 5A state track and field championships
We have already published our top three UIL 6A boys individual favorites for the upcoming cross country season and we'll continue to give out thoughts on the preseason top-10 individual runners, so be on the lookout for those coming soon.
We now begin to lay out our top UIL 5A boys and we begin with our picks for favorites we believe will have a shot at winning the state title.
The 5A boys classification is wide open after last year's state meet saw all of the top-10 finishers graduate and with the senior class making up 14 of the top 20 places.
The first on out list as the favorite is Lucas Lovejoy senior Caden Gary. He is the second best returning finisher from Round Rock last year.
Gary's high school career has been one of continuing development so far and thats the kind of career we love to see. His development has been on the fast track and it was on center stage during the spring track season.
Caden Gary runs towards the finish line of the 2023 Lovejoy XC Fall Festival
Photo by Jessie McCabe
As a freshman, he started his first cross country season with a 20:20.20 5K at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival and was running 18:41 by the season's end. His progress continued in the track season with 2:06, 4:28, and 10:57 season best runs.
In his sophomore campaign, Gary had advanced to becoming an integral part of the cross country squad. He ran a season best 5K of 15:35 at the Chile Pepper Festival and was 65th at the state meet. Likewise, he improved on the track with a 4:17.49 and a fourth place state meet finish in the 1,600m while dropping his 3,200m PR to 9:33.59 that season.
Gary should be one of the top recruits in the class of 2025 after his junior track season. In the spring, he ran PRs of 1:53, 4:07, and 9:06 finishing with a UIL 5A silver medal in the 1,600m from the state meet.
Can the Lovejoy Leopard ride that momentum from track and continue his improvement in cross country? What can he throwdown this year?
Caden Gary competes at the 2023 UIL 5A state cross country championships
Photo by Gabriel Nieland
The answers are of course forthcoming, and it'll be fun to watch them get answered.
Gary's marks were ones you might expect to see from a graduating senior, but with Gary having a full year of running remaining, we should see a very good fall season.
With that said, expectations should be moderated, but his linear improvement makes his ceiling high. Entering with a 15:21 personal best at 5K on grass could get blown out of the water quickly during the season after his 9:06 display in the spring.
At Lovejoy, Gary has the luxury of talented training partners who will be looking pushing for the back half of back-to-back team titles. While Nick Yarad did graduate, the returning group consists of William Carlson, Joseph Reid, Aaron Wimbish, and Devin Muaina who will help him press toward more improvement this fall.
