* The 9/19 - 9/21 weekend results are omitted
Last week we covered how our preseason top-ten teams have done so far this year and this week we're going to do the same on the team side.
While these are two separate lists, they share many of the same characteristics in that head-to-head comparisons can be difficult to make at this point in the year. This is largely because many of these guys run on such different courses but also because we generally don't see the top individuals race each other until later in the year.
Despite these factors, seeing how these individuals have performed to start the year gives us a good insight into what they can do as the year progresses.
While new talent has emerged that didn't make the preseason rankings, for the sake of this article, we're going to examine the ten guys who were ranked preseason and see how they've fared. So, let's jump right in and see how the top ten boys in the 6A division have performed so far.
Photo Credit: Jessie McCabe/Milesplit
1. Caden Leonard
Caden Leonard came into the season as the top-ranked runner in Texas and arguably one of the top runners nationally. He won the UIL State Championship last fall in a time of 15:00.10 and went on to finish 21st at Nike Cross Nationals as a sophomore. This success also carried over into the spring as Leonard won the 1600m state title in 4:09.39, and took home a silver medal in the 3200m where he ran 8:51.57.
Leonard came into the 2024 season with an obvious goal in mind, that being to win the state championship. His performances last fall coupled with further improvement in the spring made him the favorite to do so. While we've only seen him race once so far this year, that race did plenty in demonstrating why Leonard is still the favorite to defend his state title.
Leonard's only race saw him debut at the Southlake #1 XC Invite where he ran 14:37.10 to take home the victory over a stacked field. He was pushed for some of the race by freshman phenom Ruel Newberry, but Leonard's poise and pace allowed him to control the race and pull away from the fast freshman. So far he's not only run fast but he's run smart, and that's why Caden Leonard remains the favorite to win the 2024 state championship.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
2. Benjamin Montgomery
Bridgeland star Benjamin Montgomery came into the 2024 season ranked in the No. 2 spot and for good reason. He was Leonard's most consistent challenger throughout both seasons last year, and he even beat him for the 3200m state title. He had an excellent campaign last year as he finished third at the UIL State Championship in 15:06.70, while also setting personal bests of 4:13.02 and 8:51.50 in the 1600m and 3200m respectively.
Montgomery has proven to be a gutsy runner who puts himself in a position to win no matter how the race unfolds. He's always up front when it matters and he's looked like he has the potential to take the top spot in Round Rock this year. We've only seen him race twice, but both performances have been historic and Montgomery appears to be a man on a mission to start the season.
His debut came at the Brenham Hillacious Invitational where Montgomery took home the victory in a new course record of 15:13.00. He won the race easily and looked as smooth as one could hope to look on such a difficult course. His most recent performance came at the Texas A&M Invitational where he again won the race in a course-record time of 15:18.00. Both Montgomery and his team have looked legit to start the year and be on the lookout for Montgomery to continue to be at the front of some big meets.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit
3. Hudson Haley
Last year's UIL State Championship runner-up Hudson Haley came into the 2024 season ranked at the No. 3 spot after his first year leading Austin Vandegrift. Haley has been one of the top guys in the state over the last year, but it's the way he runs his races that makes him so impressive. He's not a front runner in the traditional sense, he pushes hard over the back half of the race which allows him to pick off many runners and achieve great results. It's a brilliant way to race and it's just one of many reasons he came into the season ranked so high.
Haley also came into this season with a solid slate of personal bests, including a 4:16.63 1600m, 9:08.77 3200m, and a 15:04.20 5000m. He's raced the most out of the top three on this list and he's already had great success, both in terms of placement and time.
Haley started his season at Vandegrift's annual Silver vs. Black where he clocked 8:51.23 over 3000m and won the race. He followed this up by winning the Vista Ridge Cross Country Invitational in 15:13.80 to go along with a great team performance for Vandegrift. Most recently, he competed at the Marcus Coach T Invitational where he finished second in a new personal best of 14:48.00. Haley's had a great start to the 2024 season with two victories and a sixteen-second personal best. He looks to be in great shape and we should see him in contention again this November.
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4. Aidan Torres
El Paso Eastwood star Aidan Torres came into the season ranked at the No. 4 spot after one of the biggest improvements I've ever seen. He burst onto the season in 2023 and quickly established himself as the best runner out west and one of the state's best. He was routinely running fast times on a diverse array of courses and came away with a fifth-place finish at the UIL State Championship and an NXN qualification to go along with it.
Torres ran a seasonal best of 14:57.30 at the NXR South Regional Championships in 2023, and this momentum carried over onto the track. He set new personal bests of 4:11.55 and 8:57.50 over 1600m and 3200m respectively while also finishing fourth at the state meet in the 3200m. Torres asserted himself as one of the state's best last season, so he came into this season with similar expectations.
Torres opened up his season over 5000m at the Canutillo XC Invitational where he ran a personal best of 14:40.61 to start his 2024 campaign off with a bang. He followed this up by running 14:59.71 at the Twilight Invitational the following week to add yet another sub-15 performance to his resume. His most recent race came two weeks ago at the San Elizario Invitational where he took home his second victory of the year. Torres was expected to be one of the state's best this year and he's done that to start the season.
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5. Aleksandr Acuna
Aleksandr Acuna came into the 2024 season as the top-ranked individual whose team didn't qualify for the state meet last year. He had a great 2023 season which saw him run some incredibly fast times along with a sixth-place finish at the state meet. Parlay this with a solid track season that saw him set new personal bests over 1600m and 3200m, and Acuna rightfully earned his place in the upper echelon of the 6A division.
Acuna came into this season with personal bests of 4:22.41 over 1600m, 9:12.30 over 3200m, and 14:50.60 over 5000m. These gave Acuna one of the better all-around resumes in the state, and it's part of the reason why he was ranked so high. Another reason I was so high on Acuna was his ability to always be at the front of big meets no matter how the race played out. He finished in the top-three 57% of the time in 2023 while running for himself and that only helped his case.
Like most of this list, Acuna hasn't raced a ton so far but he's raced well in the action he's seen. He opened up his season at the stacked Marcus Coach T Invitational where he ran 15:00.00 to finish sixth. He then followed this up by running 15:11.10 at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival for third to give himself another good result to start the year. While he hasn't won yet, he's run fast and been up against the state's best which will only serve him well as the season goes on. We know Acuna is legit, so look for the good results to keep coming in.
Photo Credit: Jessie McCabe/MileSplit
6. Blake Bullard
Blake Bullard came into the season ranked at No. 6 and as the second Southlake Carroll runner to be featured. Bullard produced elite results when it mattered the most in 2023, and this made him stand out amongst a long list of talented runners. He finished fourth at the state meet in a time of 15:09.40 after a gutsy run at the front and proved to be one of the most important runners in the state title picture last year.
Bullard is unique when it comes to the other runners on this list as he's primarily a triathlete as opposed to solely being a distance runner. A good comparison would be Houston Strake Jesuit's Reese Vannerson, and much like Vannerson, Bullard has proven to be elite across both disciplines.
Like his teammate on this list, Bullard has only raced once this year but he had a good performance in this limited action. He placed fifth at the Southlake #1 XC Invite in a time of 15:02.70 which is also a personal best. Bullard's 2023 season was characterized by results that got better as the season went on, and if that's the case again this year then this is a brilliant start. He's set to play a huge role for Southlake Carroll this year and look for him to be at the front with his star teammate throughout the year.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
7. Camden Gibson
College Park star Camden Gibson came into this season in the No. 7 spot and the second Houston-based talent on this list. Gibson is one of those rare guys that comes in as a freshman and immediately is one of the state's best, and he's only continued that form as his experience has grown. While he's more track-centric, he still finished ninth at the state meet last year in 15:19.00 and led his team to a surprise fifth place finish.
As mentioned, Gibson has proven to be an elite athlete on the track. He holds personal bests of 1:53.07 over 800m, 4:11.55 over 1600m, and 9:37.32 over 3200m. He's got elite speed and great endurance and that combination has only gotten stronger over the last year. He's one of the top guys in Region II this year and has all the potential in the world to continue his ascent.
We've only seen Gibson race once so far this season over 4000m at the College Park XC Invitational where he ran 12:19.00 for the win. It's disappointing that we've only gotten to see him once this year but he's proven that he's in great shape with his sole performance. We should see more of him soon, and when we do, I'd expect him to be pushing at the front of races with some of the state's best if he wants to continue building on the strong start to his career.
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8. Gavin Chapa
San Antonio Reagan senior Gavin Chapa came in at the No. 8 spot in this year's preseason ranking and marked the city's first and only athlete to make the list. Chapa has quietly grown into one of the state's best distance talents, and for one reason or another, it feels like he deserves more credit than he gets sometimes. He finished tenth at last year's state meet and added an impressive track season to round out his junior campaign, making him one of the state's most exciting talents heading into this season.
Chapa finished the 2023 season with a personal best of 15:20.10 which came at the UIL State Championship. This performance was impressive, but the results that followed in the spring rocketed him up my list. He had an outstanding track season which saw him run 1:52.63 over 800m, 4:09.11 over 1600m, and 9:06.94 over 3200m. He finished second at the state meet in the 1600m and this performance set him up perfectly to have success in the fall.
Luckily, we've gotten to see Chapa race three times so far this fall and he's impressed in each outing. He opened up his season at the Antler Rust Buster where he ran 15:39.00 for an easy victory. He then followed this up with another easy victory at the SA Patriots Invitational in an improved time of 15:22.62. While these were impressive, he had the best performance of his career last weekend at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival where he ran 14:57.00 to win one of the best meets in Texas with a huge personal best. Chapa is one of the best runners in the state and don't be surprised if he's higher up some lists as the season goes on.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/Milesplit TX
9. Joaquin De La Cruz
McKinney Boyd's top returner Joaquin De La Cruz came in at the No. 9 spot to start the 2024 season. De La Cruz was instrumental in his team's success last year but he also proved to be an elite individual talent with some impressive results. He finished sixteenth at the state meet last year, but his consistently impressive results coupled with an outstanding track season rightfully earned him a spot in the top ten to start the year.
De La Cruz finished the 2023 season with a personal best of 15:08.30 which came at the McKinney Boyd Bronco Stampede, his home race. One thing that stood out about his 2023 campaign was how consistent he was, and this quality also carried over into the spring. He was remarkably consistent while also being fast, finishing the season with personal bests of 4:09.72 over 1600m and 9:02.53 over 3200m, the first earning him a bronze medal at the state meet.
We've gotten to see De La Cruz compete twice so far this fall and he's picked up where he left off in both outings. He opened his season at the stacked Marcus Coach T Invitational where he ran a new personal best of 14:52.00 to take home third place. He most recently won his home race for the second straight year in a time of 15:12.00. De La Cruz has been consistently impressive over the last calendar year and I think he should end up as one of the best runners in the state if this current trajectory continues.
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10. Griffen Saacke
Bridgeland junior Griffen Saacke rounded out our preseason top ten after being one of the state's more impressive sophomores across the track and the grass. He was consistently an elite performer for Katy Tompkins on their way to finishing fourth at the state meet, a race where he finished 25th, and proved to make remarkable improvements in the spring. He qualified for the state meet in the 3200m and looked to be an important piece for an elite Bridgeland team this year.
Saacke finished his 2023 cross-country season with a personal best of 15:32.80 which came at the Strake Jesuit Invitational. He was remarkably consistent throughout that season and made noticeable improvements heading into the spring. Saacke finished his sophomore track season with personal bests of 4:16.51 over 1600m and 9:05.91 over 3200m. He also finished eighth at the state meet in the 3200m and set himself up for success in the fall.
So far, success is what Saacke has found at his new school as he's finished second behind teammate Benjamin Montgomery in his two outings. The first of these outings came at the Brenham Hillacious Invitational where he ran 15:43.00 on an incredibly difficult course while the second came at the Texas A&M Invitational where he ran 15:52.50 to help Bridgeland finish 1, 2, 3 in a talented field. Saacke has run near his personal best on two incredibly difficult courses, and I think we'll see him continue to improve as the season goes on.