The Lovejoy XC FAll Festival is this weekend and it has become one of the top meets in the state of Texas.
Several of the top teams in the DFW have been attending for years. The event has also consistently drawn top talent from across Texas as well as bordering states.
Austin Vandegrift, The Woodlands, San Antonio Alamo Heights, and several other Texas programs are attending this years event. Some return and others for the first time.
Rogers (Ark) and Jenks (OK) are just a couple of the out of state teams who will be at Myers Park.
Below are some of our expected highlights for this weekend's meet.
Elite Girls Individual Race
The reigning and defending UIL 6A state champion Macy Wingard (Denton Braswell) will be back in action. We last saw her at the Marcus Coach T XC Invitational where she ran her Texas No. 2 ranked 17:06.
Coppell sophomore Maya Easterwood also ran in that race nearly stride for stride with Wingard until a couple of decisive meters were opened. A 17:10 was the finish result for Easterwood in that race, which is good enough for the TX No. 3 performance this season.
There are plenty of other talented Texas girls who will litter this race. However, some out of state girls who must be paid attention to are Rogers teammates Lilly Beshears and Kayla Eggers.
The young Rogers duo is lethal and should be visible in the front of this race. Beshears has a 17:45 SB this season and Eggers has a 17:59.
Elite Boys Individual Race
We just named a few girls to watch out for, but the boys race will be so loaded that we could name about 25 guys who should be fast.
We are going to narrow it down to six undeniable talents.
Aleksandr Acuna (Denton Braswell) is finally a senior and he is looking good. He's been on the scene since his freshman season and really blew up last fall. He won this meet last season with a 14:50 performance. He clearly runs well on this course and already ran 15:00 at the Marcus Coach T Inv, so watch out for him on Sunday
Pranav Vegiraju (Coppell) already has two meet wins under his belt this season. He ran 14:59 to win the Waxahachie Woodhouse Invitational and followed that up with a 15:00 at Marcus Coach T. The second win was last week in 16:00 and was more like a fun run in the park as he ran at least the last 1K with a plunger .... who does that?
Kai McCullough could win this race. He was the third or fourth man on his team last year, but he is a threat to win the individual state title this season. The Vandegrift junior ran 14:53 two weeks ago at the Marcus Coach T Inv.
Matthias Peterson (Northwest Nelson) ran his first 5,000m race last weekend and all he did was drop a 14:56. I'm intrigued to see what his follow up brings.
Anna senior Bryce Denton just missed out on a 4A state title last fall when he finished in third place. Last weekend, he ran a 15:08 SB at Wylie East's DUBEast XC Meet. This race isn't far from his house, so he could roll up feeling good.
Graham Hummel (Home School Athletics Association) is just a freshman, but he has already made his presence felt. He ran 15:10 at the Waxahachie Woodhouse Invitational, and then ran 15:59 on a long SA Patriots CC Invitational course. Even though Myers Park isn't a flat pancake, it should be spot on in terms of distance and competitive for Hummel to measure his abilities.
Speaking of the Patriots CC Inv., it was Gavin Chapa (San Antonio Reagan) getting the win in 15:25. That was his second run of the year and it resulted in his second win.
This weekend, he'll be challenged and will be able to have the pace dictated for him instead of him carrying the load. Chapa went 1:52 and 4:09 on the track, so if he is allowed to stick around, expect a monster kick from him.
Elite Girls Team Race
This should be good!
Back-to-back-to back UIL 5A champions Lovejoy girls host the event and they not only like to win, but they like to win their own meet.
Camryn Benson is their number one runner and she has been running like it. Look for her to lead another strong showing from the Leopards.
Flower Mound will be without a couple of girls like Ava Cole, Liana Cluley-Garza and Alexandra Fox, but they will line up with Adeline Bennett who ran 17:58 to lead the way this weekend.
The Austin Vandegrift girls ran very well at the Marcus Coach T Inv. They finished third behind Flower Mound and Lovejoy.
The Vipers have a 18:59 team average this season, so we'll see if they can improve on their standing this weekend.
Dallas Highland Park was only one point behind Vandegrift at the Marcus Coach T Inv. and they' also looked very good.
The Scots have the state's third best capable average with a 18:46. Highland Park is known for running tight as a pack and they have the ability to run under 30-seconds within one another.
The Northwest Nelson girls can run an average in the 18:54 range. They had a good showing last weekend at Southlake and we know they are motivated after missing the podium last year by one point.
The Woodlands girls ran their first race last weekend and they did it on a very difficult course. It was so tough, it'll make Myers Park almost seem flat. Their opening average was 19:10; look for them to run faster this weekend.
We previously mentioned Jenks was coming down from Oklahoma. They finished third last year at the OSSAA 6A state meet and they have the second best team average in Oklahoma with a 19:00 and only a 51-second gap.
We also already made a note of some Rogers (Arkansas) girls, but they have more than two studs. This team is for real and they could beat all of the Texas teams if they have a good day.
They are the reigning defending Arkansas 6A state champions and they already ran a 18:21 team average with a 1:14 spread.
Elite Boys Team Race
Austin Vandegrift finished runner-up in two straight 6A state meets and they're looking to accomplish more this year.
They ran lights out on two occasions this season including a decisive win at Marcus Coath T.
They will run without Hudson Haley this weekend, but trust me, they have plenty of power throughout their line up.
With runners like Kai McCullough, Cruz-Castro, Jack Ebeier, Collin Goodwin, Miles Nutt, and Jackson Stafford this team could still win big here this weekend.
The best part of this meet will be seeing what Northwest Nelson will look like against Vandegrift. They are seriously legit and they showed it last week at Southlake going for a 15:31 average and only a 48-second spread. This should be fun.
Lovejoy ran well the past two weekends and was third last week at Southlake with a 15:44 average and only a 26-second gap. This is all without their number one runner Caden Gary. When Coach Kelly inserts him, they'll be even scarier.
Now, onto the perennial Texas powerhouse,The Woodlands boys who just ran for the first time last weekend in Brenham.
The Highlanders ran a legitimate average on that course of 16:13. Trust me, that is something to write home about on that course.
They are well known for a close spread and their 44 second split shows they are out of the gates well.