MileSplit TX Preseason 5A Boys Top Teams
So, we have gone through our first three UIL 5A boys teams in our preseason preview. Lovejoy enters as our No. 1 team with No. 2 Boerne Champion and No. 3 Frisco Wakeland following.
Not only should Lovejoy be a preseason favorite, but they should also be heavily favored to win the UIL 5A state title to being the season. Behind them, things are very close and the margins should gel slimmer as the season goes on.
Here are the teams we believe will be in the CCCAT rankings throughout the season and will be in the mix for state meet berths.
But wait, first let's go over the the teas who didn't make our preseason top-10.
Just On the Outside
The teams who could run their way into the top teams sooner than later are: Longview Pine Tree, Frisco Reedy, Leander, Grapevine, El Paso Burges.
First of all, all teams are very well coached and based on our stats have returning rankings that have them with at least two to three sub 17-minute runners and the rest of their top five in the mid to low 17:20s.
Pine Tree was a state meet qualifying team last year and return six of the seven runners from that line up.
Reedy has a legit No. 1 runner who can separate from the pack and be a low stick runner in Daniel Escribano. He can run sub 16-minutes and joined with Manuel Mercado and Parker Cathey who 16:30 guys, that makes them dangerous.
Leander has Gage Horejsi and Alexander Marquez who were low to mid 16-minute guys in 2023 leading the charge for the Lions. Their No. 3 to No. 6 runners have PRs from 17:04 - 17:13. Overall, they have a chance to average mid 16s and a sub 60-second split that will make them a solid team.
Grapevine, well, you know it's only a matter of time before they're back in contention. This year could be it. Kristopher Contreras and Sam Tjio were 16-high guys last year and their No. 3 - No. 7 runners all have PRs from 17:03 to 17:23. From last year, they return an average of 17:01 with a 1-7 split of 35 seconds.
Teams To Look Out For
Argyle, Colleyville Heritage, El Paso, College Station, and Kingwood Park were all state meet qualifiers last year. However, they graduated several runners from those teams, so we will be looking to see how they round out this season.
They are all very well coached and it would be more of a shock not to see them have things closely figured out by time October rolls around.
UIL 5A Boys Preseason No. 4 - No. 10
No. 4 Aledo
Aledo returns their entire squad who qualified for state last season. They finished 10th as a team when the ran fairly well going for a 16:48 team average with a 1:25 split.
Based on the numbers, that could be their floor type of performance in 2024. They are all a year older and have experience as they relied on a freshman and three sophomores last year.
That means they also have three seniors to guide their paths through the DFW area gauntlet and ever-so-tough Region of Doom (Region 1).
Jack Fink is a legit No. 1 runner and will be even more precisely that this season. He ran his 15:55 PR last November in Round Rock against the best in 5A. He is also the No. 7 returner from that meet this season.
Layton Ybarra and Luke Schabel are the other seniors who will help lead Aledo this year. Ybarra has a 16:10 PR from last year and is a legit No. 2 runner.
Dominick Barrera is a junior this season and his is the team's No. 3 runner. At the state meet last year, Barrera was the third scorer and the rest of their top seven came through within 13-seconds of him.
That is why Aledo is at No. 4.
No. 5 McAllen
Can a team who didn't lose anyone to attrition, but couldn't make it to the state meet make it on the podium the next year with the same crew?
Yes. It doesn't happen often, but it has and we could see it this year.
McAllen is that team and they have the potential to thwart all of this ranking stuff. We have them at No. 5, but they have the potential to podium, possibly finishing as high as second place come November.
They were talented last year and hoped to podium - - get this, they have their entire squad back.
However, it all comes down to how the Bulldogs fair in Corpus Christi at the Region 4-5A meet. They didn't have their best race when they needed it the most and found themselves in a tight battle and ended up in fifth place, missing state by just two points. They went for a 17:11 team average and a 1:16 split, one of their worst overall runs since week one.
If McAllen is the team who last year ran three meets with sub 16:50 averages and who ran under 49 second 1 - 5 splits for every meet (except regionals) then they can compete not only for a state meet qualification, but also for the podium.
They're returning stats from 2023 show a crew with a 16:20 team average (based on PRs) and a 24 second split.
Junior Jacksen Ahlman leads the way with his 16:04 PR. He also padded his resume with speed last spring. Impressive bests of 50.35 and 1:54 are good to have in his tool box. Sean Smith also worked on speed during the track season dropping several 2-flats.
McAllen checks in at our preseason No. 5 rank also because of their depth. That will be a weapon most 5A teams don't have; they also add a talented freshman who might be able to challenge the upperclassmen.
If they run motivated to redeem the end of last year, this could be a special season for the Bulldogs.
No. 6 Weslaco East
Thanks to their opening race last weekend at the Weslaco ISD Invitational, one team we don't have to prognosticate about is Weslaco East (WE).
Based on returning stats, the numbers show they would return a 16:51 team average based on PRs from last year with a 1:14 split.
They ran about as well as they could have wanted to open up with last week. Their average was 16:53 and they only had a 1:01 deviation from runners one through five.
WE ran a 17:04 average at Region 4-5A with only a 28 second split and then went 17:06 and 31 at state.
They did graduate their No. 2 runner Eric Davis and that might have affected their split so far, but it hasn't negatively affected their team average.
Senior Adrianno Gonzalez was back grass after not having his best race at state. His momentum from track season when he went for 1:57, 4:19, and 10:38 PRs is carrying with his 16:21 out of the gate.
What we also saw from their start that is promising is that junior Aaron Nava who had a best time of 17:04 last year opened with a 16:46 and his freshman brother Alexander Nava went 17:03 in his first high school 5K.
Another youngster who impressed last week was sophomore Aron Martinez. He ran 18:09 last year, but already improved to 17:23.
If that isn't enough to get you high on WE, consider this, we haven't mentioned their returning No. 2 and No. 3 runners from last year.
Octavian De La Serna had a best of 16:39 last year, opened up with a 16:54 and Eduardo Zuniga who ran his 16:54 PR at the state meet last year was the No. 7 runner last week.
Weslaco East has already shown they are more than their returning stats. They look like they mean business straight out of the gate and have our No. 6 preseason preview ranking.
No. 7 Boerne
Boerne Champion wasn't the only team in town to take home hardware last fall.
The Boerne boys did as well and they are crashing the UIL 5A boys party in 2024. Redistricting and alignment has moved them up from 4A to 5A.
On their way out of 4A, they surprised everyone at the state meet by grabbing third place. Not only did they podium, but they did it impressively and the way cross country was meant to be executed.
The Greyhounds ran a 16:45 team average, which will make them competitive in 5A, but they ran an unbelievable 0.9 second 1-5 split to earn the third place trophy.
The No. four and No. six runners graduated leaving some holes to fill, but there is plenty of punch returning to be aware of.
Jackson Temple returns with the fastest SB from last year. The senior brings a 16:09 into 2024 and will join a trio of juniors in Carsten Bain, Aaron Garcia, and Barrett Crofut who ran within three seconds of one another at state.
Overall, they return a 16:40 team average based on returning 2023 SBs and a 1:10 split.
There will be more on the line with cross-town and now district, and regional rivals Champion. Look for the Greyhounds to be a factor in 5A this season as they get our No. 7 spot in our preseason rankings.
No. 8 Georgetown
The phrase "they graduated some of the best in the state" is often used. It's polite and a way to pay some final honors to athletes. However, for Georgetown, they literally graduated two of the best the state of Texas had last year.
Joseph Wienen and Nolan House were outstanding and their attrition is almost impossible to replace in the span of one year. They led Georgetown to a runner-up team finish last fall and were all-state performers in cross country and on the track.
However, junior Zachary Mangum will help soften the blow and could even possibly reach the level Wienen and House left on.
Mangum was the No. 3 runner last year and his 15:48 PR was key to the team and he is the fourth best returner from the state meet.
Junior Xavier Richardson and sophomores Matthew Morales, and Roger Henson were on the young side in 2023, but they were state meet scorers. Now, their roles will be even bigger.
Richards returns with a 13:36 best in 2023, Morales is right behind him with a 16:37 best, and Henson had a SB of 16:54.
The five spot will be crucial for Georgetown to get to come down towards sub 17-minutes. There are three boys with 17-mid SBs from 2023 who will be good to round out the top seven and try to solidify the fifth scoring position.
Georgetown is No. 8 in our preseason preview, but they could easily podium this season.
No. 9 Alamo Heights
Alamo Heights is the fifth team in our rankings from Region 4-5A and get our No. 8 ranking in our 5A boys preseason preview.
Last year, they were fourth at the regional championships edging McAllen by two points. They ran a 17:09 team average in Corpus Christi and followed that up with another 17:09 average in Round Rock where they finished 14th.
That brings us to 2024 where they bring everybody back and try to do it again.
Their returning stats give them a 16:38 average and a 1:03 split from 1 - 5.
If they can run that average or better that could be a good season for them. However, it could also put them in a right race at regionals once again. They will want to lower their split with several teams who ran sub 60-seconds last year.
Joshua Sharp, Santiago Berenguer, and Caden Alvarado are the team's three returners who ran under 17-minutes in 2023. With five boys who didn't graduate last year and ran mid 17-minutes will give them a solid pack on the back end with chances of getting their times down.
Jackson Cummings ran a 17:00 PR and could be an additional 16-minute guy and putting them in the mix with most of the teams ranked ahead of them.
No. 10 Friendswood
The Mustangs had a good 2023 season that ended with a seventh place finish at state.
While they graduated three from that squad including No. 1 runner Zade Kayyali, the other two losses were the No. 6 and No. 7 runners from state.
Junior Aiden Fitzgerald finished 11th last year at the state meet and is the top returner from that race. His 15:35 from that races is the top time on the team and will be significant and impactful for Friendswood's team chances.
Juniors Aiden Lowery at 16:32 and Cooper Thompson with a 16:51 make three runners on the team returning with sub 17-minute marks on their resumes.
Friendswood checks in at No. 10 in our preseason rankings and if they close the gaps from the four and five spots they could be back in Round Rock.