The Texas A&M Invitational is this weekend and it will be one of the larger events in the meets history so far. The event is clearly opening and growing; that means it is getting better and faster.
There are teams entered all of the way from the DFW to the RGV. From the public schools to private and parochial, and homeschools.
This year, there are several top 10 UIL schools ranked by the CCCAT (Coaches Cross Country Association of Texas) as well as several teams that were on the podium at the state meet.
There is more than just quality UIL schools as the TAPPS, SPC, and homeschools will be well represented as well by teams that took home trophies last year.
Racing on Friday will be the top ranked 1A Tilden McMullen County that finished third on the podium in Round Rock last year. The No. 2 ranked 4A Salado girls also finished third and will race this weekend.
In 2023, the No. 2 ranked 5A Aledo squad and No. 3 ranked 4A Fredericksburg girls both finished runner-up on the podium at the UIL state meet.
Add current No. 4 ranked 6A squad Bridgeland, the No. 7 ranked 3A Randolph, No. 9 ranked 3A Poth, and No. 10. ranked 5A girls squad McAllen and this meet gets even better.
| Ranking | Team | | Finish At State | Team |
| No. 1 - 1A | Tilden McMullen County | | TAAPPS 6A - 1st | Dallas Ursuline |
| No. 2 - 4A | Salado | | TAPPS 6A - 2nd | San Antonio Antonian |
| No. 2 - 5A | Aledo | | Homeschool - 1 | San Antonio Homeschool Spartans |
| No. 3 - 4A | Fredericksburg | | Homeschool - 2 | Houston Homeschool |
| No. 4 - 6A | Bridgeland | | | |
| No. 7 - 3A | Randolph | | | |
| No. 9 - 3A | Poth | | | |
| No. 10 - 5A | McAllen | | | |
As we mentioned, top UIL ranked teams aren't the only ones who will get the weekend started early and with a bang.
The 2023 TAPPS 6A state champions Dallas Ursuline girls are also in the meet entries. Last year, their top five girls finished consecutively in third place through seventh place to only score a mere 25 points. They return three of those five girls (
Presley Andras,
Eloise Craine, and
Marit Beckman).
The runner-up team behind Ursuline last year was San Antonio Antonian and they will also be racing this weekend. Their top runner and back-to-back TAPPS 6A individual state champion Micaela Villarreal will be there to help bolster both the team race and she is expected to challenge individually.
The Homeschool teams and runners should also be impactful in this weekend's Texas A&M races. The league is already making their presence felt on the Texas 2024 XC season and some of those teams and runners will be in College Station.
The 2023 Home School Championship champion San Antonio Home School Spartans are registered. Traditionally, they have been one of the consistent homeschool teams in Texas. Last year's runner-up Houston Homeschool is working on consistency of their own. They were close to the championship last year, but will get to see the Spartans and other levels of competition on Friday.
The No. 2 ranked 6A Bridgeland boys opened their 2024 season last week with a run at the Brenham Hillacious Inv. This weekend will be their second race and it'll be on a more Texas sentric course.
Without the never ending hills on the Brenham course, we'll see if the Bears can improve on their already impressive 15:51 team average from last weekend.
The UIL 5A No. ranked Aledo boys will get to breakout of the DFW Metroplex to race. They have been challenged so far this season every weekend up north. Now, they'll get to compete against some teams they don't normally see, including some other 5A teams they hope to race later on in Round Rock.
The Woodlands College Park boys are the No. 4 ranked 6A team and are heading back to College Station. They were the second place team here last year to Bridgeland and we'll see them face off against their Region 2-6A foes.
The Georgetown boys were the 5A state meet runner-ups in 2023 and look to give it a push for another podium finish in 2024. They're ranked No. 5 in the latest CCCAT poll and this will be the most comp they face so far this year.
Speaking of top competition levels this year, so is the case for the No. 8 ranked 3A Randolph boys. Last year's 3A third place state meet team Boerne Greyhounds are now in 4A. They'll see good 3A teams and 5A teams to gage themselves against.
Finally, we get to the No. 10 ranked 5A boys team McAllen. This will be their first trip out of South Texas and we might see their best race thus far. All of their studs are entered to race, so for a team that continues to improve weekly, this will be a good test as they step up in competition.
They will also run head-to-head versus fellow 5A Georgetown.
| Ranking | Team | | Finish At State | Team |
| No. 2 - 6A | Bridgeland | | 2nd TAPPS 6A | SA Antonian |
| No. 4 - 5A | Aledo | | 2nd Homeschool | SA Spartans |
| No. 4 - 6A | College Park | | 3rd TAPPS 5A | |
| No. 5 - 5A | Georgetown | | 3rd Homeschool | |
| No. 8 - 3A | Randolph | | 3rd 4A | Boerne |
| No. 10 5A | McAllen | | | |
Outside of the public schools, there is even more legitimate talent expected.
Last year's TAPPS 6A boys runner-up squad San Antonio Antonian will race it out. They graduated several seniors off of last year's team, including state champion Todd Worth. Nevertheless, Coach Devlyn Lovell always has something up his sleeves.
Houston Lutheran South was third in the TAPPS 5A race last year. Even though they graduated a set of Gaitan twins they still have another set to keep them competitive. Jeremy Gaitan and teammate Reid Toner will keep them in the race.
Two 2023 Home School Championship boys teams are also competing this weekend. Last year's runner-up squad San Antonio Home School Spartans and third place Houston Homeschool are both talented enough to make their presence felt.
So, the four races will be loaded with talented teams and individuals from Dallas all of the way to the RGV. We'll stream the high school races live so you don't have to miss out.