Top Boys Programs Early Side-By-Side Eval

Miles Nutt runs to a 15:51 time at the Vista Ridge XC Inv.

They say "there is nothing new under the sun" and we definitely aren't recreating the wheel here, but while we wait for the real running to begin we are looking at some things to tell us what could be coming down the road.

Three weeks into running, we now have data to evaluate the beginning of the season and gage how the meaningful 5,000m racing will go.

The teams we expect to be major players look like they are living up to their potential so far. There is probability that there are four Texas boys teams who will be ranked in the top 30 (Carroll, Bridgeland, Vandegrift, Lucas Lovejoy).

With the exception of Lovejoy, several of the top teams in the state have already run at least 3200m, 2 Miles, and 5,000m distances.

The Cypress Bridgeland Bears haven't raced on grass yet, but their team trial over 3200m shows they have a good overall fitness level. Led by UIL 6A 3200m state champ Benjamin Montgomery, they have eight runners who ran sub 10-minutes on the track. Seven of those guys ran 9:40 and under. Their No. 2 through six performers were within eleven-seconds.

This past weekend, the Southlake Carroll Dragons rolled out seven boys that notched sub 10-minute runs. That excludes UIL 6A cross country state champion Caden Leonard and fourth place finisher Blake Bullard. Their fourth through seventh fastest times are within eight-seconds.

Austin Vandegrift perhaps has given us the most data to extrapolate info from. They have 3,000m data points to look at with two sub nine-minute performers including last year's 6A state meet runner-up Hudson Haley and his 8:51. He also leads the squad with a 15:13 race on grass (along with dirt and rocks). Their fourth best 5,000m run is already 15:51.

Northwest Nelson hasn't shown the early depth that some of the other teams have, but they have the quality. Their times are from a two-mile grass course with leader Matthias Peterson being only ahead of their two and three runners by six seconds.

Two other teams with solid early performances are Flower Mound and Katy.

Flower Mound has three sub 10-minute guys from a two-mile grass race. Led by Austin Lyda and his 9:49 they also have a No. four guy who ran 10:01. Before the FloMo girls' most recent streak, Coach Andrew Cook enjoyed a lot of success with his boys immediately before the girls caught fire.

Coach Jim Pat Darcey has Katy as one of the most consistent teams in the Houston area for more than a decade. They are another team that has three guys with sub 10-minute performers on grass this year. Ryder Darcey leads with a 9:35 with a close 9:39 and a 9:43 for their top three runners.