Elizabeth Smits competes at the 2023 Southlake Inv No. 1
MileSplit TX Preseason Girls 6A Rankings
Yesterday we had Danny Aidan Torres and Adelynn Rodriguez representing the same school on our preseason preview. Today, we added Aleksandr Acuna on the boys preseason preview who joins schoolmate Macy Wingard's selection to make Denton Braswell another team with selections on both sides.
Now, Elizabeth Smits makes Southlake Carroll the third 6A team in the state with girls and boys preseason selections.
Last year Smits was a consistent presence for Carroll in their top two individual finishers. This season, she ranks No. 5 in the top returners from 2023 and with a 10th place finish from the state meet. Smits is also the third best UIL 6A returner from Round Rock behind only Macy Wingard and Alexandra Fox.
Time wise, her 17:50 run from Old Settler's marks her personal best, which helped the Lady Dragons garner a runner-up team podium finish.
Smits kicks home to the finish line and a 10th place finish at the 2023 UIL 6A XC State Championships
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
In past years, Smits has had the luxury of training and keying off of teammates. The previous two seasons, it was Alexandra Walsh and Sylvia Schwedler who both graduated in 2024. She also had 2023 grads Ava Bushaw and Audrey Dunn; all four of those ladies were sub 18-minute teammates.
The leadership and pacing duties in training as well as competition are all on Smits' shoulders as she is the only Carroll returner to have run in the 17s on grass. With that said, this season is still probably the best opportunity for a state title in three years for Carroll.
The track season can be an identifier of how a distance runner has improved for the upcoming cross country year. At the same time, it can also mean very little. The 5,000m distance isn't really long distance, so for those who excel at longer distances, you sometimes have to throw track out the window in terms of analyzing. That could be the situation for Smits.
Smits competes at the 2023 Region 1-6 Championships
Photo Credit: Gabriel Nieland/MileSplit TX
She wasn't in the top performers in any event this past the spring. Nevertheless, for the 3,200m distance she was the 19th best performer in the state in one of the best years in Texas girls history for the event.
She entered 2024 with a 11:07 best and ran sub 11-minutes in each of her four races at the distance.
Not only did Smits improve in the 3,200m, She also had marked improvement in the 1,600m.
Lowering her PRs to 5:02 and 10:44 meant she shaved off nine-seconds in the 1,600m and 23-seconds in the 3,200m.
Smits was already able to handle the rigors of the DFW cross country scene and the Region 1-6A competition relatively well. That was before she ran as fast as she did this past spring.
For a runner who seems to run better the longer the race gets, the track season improvement could make Smits even better than anticipated and solidify her as a legit low-stick runner for a top program.
We now expect the lead Dragon to be a top individual in Texas and have her team running for the state title once again in 2024.