Aiden Fitzgerald competed in his second UIL 5A Cross Country State Championships last year as a sophomore
MileSplit TX Preseason Boys 5A Rankings
Aiden Fitzgerald was the youngest finisher in the top-20 at the 2023 UIL 5A Cross Country State Championships. The Friendswood distance star crossed in eleventh place, just missing out on all-state honors as a sophomore.
This season will be the junior's opportunity to not only get on the podium, but the top three podium is within his grasp. He is the top returner in the state from the race in Round Rock thanks to his 15:35 personal best performance that day.
Fitzgerald entered high school and quickly displayed his abilities in his freshman season. He ran 16:51 in his first 5K and that was his slowest time of the season. He would run a 16:22 SB at Region 3-5A and then finish 40th at the state meet.
Aiden Fitzgerald sprints to the finish line at the 2023 UIL 5A State Cross Country Championships
He also shined on the track. All season long, the young Friendswood Mustang ran under 10-minutes in the 3,200m and under 4:40 in the 1,600m with bests of 9:36 and 4:30.
The running on the track led to his cross country season last year and now it has intrigue surrounding this fall after Fitzgerald's sophomore track campaign.
He ran big meets like Viper Distance Festival, Texas Distance Festival, Texas Relays, Region 3-6A, and the UIL State Championships, which all led to times faster than he had previously ran earlier in the season.
By season's end, Fitzgerald's resume had a 4:21 PR a 9:12 PR, and a fourth place finish at the state track meet.