We're starting the first week of August with more team rankings. With the season drawing ever closer in the coming weeks, teams will begin to get a read on where they sit in relation to their competition. This season we'll see a big shakeup in the midfield as many of last year's state qualifiers graduate most of their team, creating many opportunities for new teams to take their place and set themselves up well for the future.
Despite this entry of new teams hungry to make their mark at the state meet, some of last year's teams are still primed to return to Old Settlers Park again this year. One of these teams will only have to cross the street to compete on their home course in November. Coming in at the No. 6 spot in this year's preseason rankings, it's the hometown team Round Rock.
Since the mid to late 2010s, Round Rock has become a consistent qualifier at the state meet as they've been one of Region IV's strongest teams. They've routinely qualified with ease thanks to teams characterized by tight running and scoring crucial points in the 20th-40th place range where teams often struggle to back up their low sticks.
They may have finished a disappointing 12th last year after performing well at the regional meet, however, this year presents a great opportunity. Most of the teams ahead of them have lost high-performing seniors which will allow a team like Round Rock who maybe didn't reach their full potential to move up the field in November. They return several key contributors from last year's team, so let's dive into who they are and why they give Round Rock a great chance to move up the field this Fall.
While losing your top finisher from the previous year's state meet isn't ideal, Round Rock still has a host of talent to make up for that loss. Their top returner will be senior Judsen Massey who comes off easily the best season of his career where he showcased striking improvement when compared to previous seasons. Massey has always primarily been a cross-country guy as opposed to track, and that's gonna help this team out in a big way as he's continually evolved into a guy who can lead a team with this much potential.
Massey had a great year last year on all fronts, but the main factor that allowed him to succeed was his consistency. He consistently finished close to Kebede Kerlin, the team's #1 runner last year, and also regularly ran in the low 16:00s across some tough courses in the greater Austin area. Add onto this the fact that his best performance of the season came in the form of a 15:37.00 at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival, a course that's a true testament to what cross-country should look like, and Massey looks primed to lead this talented Round Rock team this fall.
Flanking Massey at the front of the Round Rock pack this year will be sophomore Andrew Esparza who comes off a phenomenal freshman cross-country campaign. Esparza had a very similar cross-country season to Massey last year in the way that they were both very consistent over some tough courses. They both ran in the mid to low 16:00s, the only difference is that Massey ran a faster personal best.
Although Esparza doesn't come in as the team's top returner, he's not far behind after breaking the 16:00 barrier and running 15:59.00 as only a freshman. This time places him as the 4th fastest returner in his class and the 3rd fastest in the 6A division, giving him a great starting point to resume his efforts in the fall. Add onto this that Esparza also had a nice freshman track season which saw him run 4:32.26 over 1600m and 9:54.46 over 3200m and I think we're looking at a guy who's poised to make a big jump in his sophomore season.
If he's able to build on these impressive performances from his freshman year, I think we could see him dip into the 15:20s or 15:30s. This would give Round Rock one of the better 1-2 punches that we'll see in the midfield this year, and it would put them in a great spot to capitalize on any errors that the teams in front of them may make.
While having a solid 1-2 punch is nice for any team, it's the guys in those 3, 4, and 5 spots that make the difference between finishing first and tenth in a state as tight as Texas. Luckily for Round Rock, this is an area where they're set to thrive this year as they have one of the closest packs of depth in the state this year.
Holding down the #3 spot on the team this year will be senior Ryan Chase. Chase is another guy on this team who showcased great consistency over some difficult courses last year. He regularly scored key points for Round Rock and was a key difference-maker for them in some very competitive races. His best performance of the season came at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival where he ran his current personal best of 16:05.10. Adding onto his solid performances in the fall, Chase also had a good track season which saw him dip under the 4:30 mark in the 1600m for the first time as he ran 4:29.53 at Texas Distance Festival.
Following closely behind Chase in the #4 spot will be senior Raffael Giesen Linssen who provides yet another crucial points-scoring position for Round Rock. Linssen had another consistent season for the team last year as he regularly scored key points and notched a personal best of 16:06.40 which also came at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival. Look for both him and Ryan Chase to build on their consistent seasons and solid personal bests to potentially give this Round Rock team four guys who can break the 16:00 barrier and push toward the front in most races.
Rounding out the top five for Round Rock this year will be sophomore Jackson Caleb Sanchez who marks the second injection of youth into this Round Rock top-five. Sanchez didn't have as consistent of a season as many of his counterparts last year, however, he still ran faster than most freshmen ever do and gives himself a great base for improvement heading into this year. He currently holds a personal best of 16:30.60, and if he can be more consistent along with his expected improvement then he can be vital in the team's success this year.
While Round Rock may not have the fastest times on paper of the teams that qualified for last year's state meet, they've put themselves in a great position to move up the field. All of their returners had very consistent seasons on tough courses last year and that's going to give them an advantage this fall. Not only this, but their crucial points scorers also have valuable experience at the championship level, and they've all proven they can run fast in highly competitive races.
Much of their success in November will depend upon how their runners have progressed from last season. However, if they can put everything together when it matters, something they lacked last year, then I think this team has a shot at finishing in the top five at the state meet. While they still need to prove that they can perform under pressure and that they can run fast when it matters, this team has all the qualities and potential needed to make a top-five run at the state meet this fall.
For now, they'll but just outside of that in the No. 6 spot, but watch their progression closely as the season goes on.