Southlake #1 XC Invite
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Caden Leonard (Southlake Carroll) was once the new kid on the block who as a young runner caught a lot of buzz. After winning the UIL 6A state title last fall and the 1,600m on the track, he is still a hot topic and a magnet in any race.
Getting the attention for his youth and quick start is current freshman Ruel Newberry (Denton Guyer).
Last week, Newberry ran 14:46 in his win at the Marcus Coach T XC Invitational. The time makes your eyeballs big and make your mind start to think. However, his win was legitimized by finishing ahead of last year's state meet runner-up, Hudson Haley.
This week, he was sharpening his skills against the best distance runner in the state.
It was the older toy in the toy box getting the win over the shiny new toy as Leonard controllably pulled away from Newberry over the final half-mile.
It was Leonard's first competition of the season as he crossed the finish line in 14:37 with Newberry finishing in 14:44.
They came through the first mile in 4:39 and 4:40 leading them to their 2-mile split of 9:28.
Elite Varsity Boys 5K
In their first 5,000, races of the season, Matthias Peterson (Northwest Nelson) and Owen Kelley (Bentonville) were lead pack runners through the first two miles and each of them had sub 15-minute runs. Peterson's final time was 14:57 and Kelley's was 14:58.
Team wise, it was Carroll getting the win having their top eight runners all under 16-minutes and their first four runners with a 51-second gap.
The No. 7 ranked Northwest Nelson boys were second with an average time of 15:31 with a 58-second spread. The No. 1 ranked 5A team Lucas Lovejoy was third with a 15:44 team average with only a 26-second gap.
Running without their No. 1 runner Matthew Shelly, Arkansas powerhouse and 2023 NXN team qualifiers Bentonville were fourth as a team. In their first race of the season they produced a 15:43 team average and a 58-second spread.
The depth of talented teams was so good that three other teams ran team averages of 16:00 or better.
Canyon, the No. 1 ranked UIL 4A team and back-to-back state champions finished fifth. They final stats were a 15:53 average with a 60-second split.
Waxahachie is ranked No. 8 in the 6A boy's poll and in their second race of the season they went 15:58 and 45.
Thanks to an another outstanding run from Elijah Rivera-Campos, it was Lewisville Hebron right at the 16-minute average. Campos finished sixth overall with a time of 15:06.