The Woodlands boys compete at the 2024 Lovejoy Fall XC Festival
As you know, we spent many weeks throughout the summer breaking down the top ten 6A boys teams and how they stacked up heading into this season. While this was a difficult task as there's a lot of inferring that goes on regarding progression trends, I pride myself on being generally accurate with my predictions and rankings regarding the teams in the 6A boys division.
It's such a tight and talented group that the rankings can shift dramatically from one week to the next.
That being said, we're roughly one month into the 2024 cross-country season and this feels like a good time to adjust my preseason rankings.
Some teams have lived up to the hype and exceeded expectations while others may need to recalibrate their focus to make a run at the state meet. This season has been super interesting so far as it's much closer on the team side than some would've expected it to be, much like the 2024 Formula One season.
My excuse to reference Formula One aside, this season is shaping up to be a good one. The talent up front and more importantly the depth has been outstanding, and it's only going to get better. While we may still have 37 days until the winner is decided in Round Rock, things are heating up so let's take a look at where the 6A boys division stands at the halfway point.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
1. Austin Vandegrift (Preseason Rank: No. 2)
This choice may be somewhat surprising to the casual cross-country follower, but those who have been paying attention this season know this Vandegrift team is the real deal. This squad came into this season with a plethora of returning talent, including 2023 UIL State Championship runner-up Hudson Haley. We knew what Haley was going to be coming into this season and he's been exactly that so far, elite. However, the thing that's put Vandegrift over the hump at the halfway point is the way their depth has closed the gap to their front-runner.
The most obvious example of this is junior Kai McCullough who has been outstanding for the team this year. He finished 26th at the state meet last year and was one of the guys I thought might have a breakout year. He finished within five seconds of Haley at the Marcus Coach T Invitational and has retained this strong form across his two other races. McCullough's season-best currently sits at 14:58.00 and he's quickly emerged as the guy to counteract Southlake Carroll's 1-2 punch.
Two additional guys who have been critical for Vandegrift are Collin Goodwin and Christian Cruz-Castro. Goodwin is still only a sophomore but he's run 15:15.00 this year and gives the team a leg up in a hypothetical matchup with Southlake Carroll. Cruz-Castro has also emerged as a key member of the team, finishing directly behind Goodwin at the Marcus Coach T Invitational and playing a critical role in minimizing the team's spread.
Vandegrift currently holds a team average of 15:09.40 and a 43-second spread. They have the best team score in the state and that's why they hold the top spot through Mid-September
Photo Credit: Jan Smits/MileSplit TX
2. Southlake Carroll (Preseason Rank: No. 1)
While they might not hold the top spot at the moment, the step down isn't far at all as Southlake Carroll has been great in their sparse appearances this year. We knew this team was going to contend this year, it was just a question of who was going to step up and fill the holes left by guys like Jude Alvarez and Zach Troutman. While these holes have largely been filled, I'd say at the moment that Vandegrift still has the edge when it comes to the production of their 3-5 runners and that's where the difference between 1st and 2nd lays at the moment.
We all expected Caden Leonard to be brilliant and that's what he's been so far this year. We've only seen him once but he showed us plenty as he dominated the Southlake #1 XC Invite and won the race in 14:37.10. He's the favorite for the state title and that hasn't changed since last November. Blake Bullard also looked solid for Carroll at their home meet as he returned from his long summer on the triathlon circuit to run a new personal best of 15:02.70. Leonard and Bullard are solid as expected and I don't see any reason why they won't be at the front the rest of the year.
Carroll's depth has also been solid, just not as solid as Vandegrift's which is why they're No. 2 on the list. Griffin Cords has stepped up this year and provided consistent production in that No. 3 spot for the Dragons. He's run 15:19.10 on the year and will continue to be key for their success. Alex Severson has held down the No. 4 spot in 15:26.10 while Grant Norgart comes in fifth in 15:39.80. These guys have all run brilliantly to start the year, they just need to knock off those few extra seconds to put themselves equal with Vandegrift. This team hasn't raced a ton, and with such a great coach at the helm, I wouldn't be surprised to see Carroll make a statement in the coming weeks.
Southlake Carroll currently holds a team average of 15:12.96 and a 63-second spread.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
3. Bridgeland (Preseason Rank: No. 3)
Bridgeland comes into the midway point of the season as the first team to hold steady from their original preseason ranking. I said this coming into the season, but Bridgeland is a team where you can't focus so much on time compared to other programs because of the courses they run. They're one of the only teams in the state that make a deliberate effort to make things difficult right out of the gate. While this way of thinking may not necessarily aid them in team score rankings, their performances on some of the state's more difficult courses paint a picture that just looking at times would miss.
Much like his main competitor, we all expected Benjamin Montgomery to be one of the state's best and that's exactly what he's been to start the year. He's broken two-course records through two races by running 15:12.8 at the Brenham Hillacious Invitational and 15:18.00 at the Texas A&M Invitational. Montgomery looks scary for those who have to run against him and he's been impressive to start the year. Bridgeland's No. 2 man Griffen Saacke has also performed well to start the year as he's picked up a pair of second places behind Montgomery in 15:43.00 and 15:52.50 respectively.
This Bridgeland team is further evidence to the argument that depth is gonna be what wins this year's championship. Kyle Pawlak comes in as the third runner currently with a season's best of 15:58.00 which saw him finish third behind Saacke at Texas A&M. Maddox McCallister has held down the 4th spot in 16:05.60 while Layton Carlisle has been 5th in 16:08.90. I will beat this drum until your ears rings when I say that times don't tell the full story with this team. These times are coming from Brenham which is one of it not the hardest courses in the state. They would likely be 20 seconds faster if they ran at Southlake or Marcus but that's the beauty and the intrigue of cross-country, we'll simply never know.
Bridgeland currently holds a team average of 15:49.70 and a 56-second split.
Photo Credit: A1 Media
4. The Woodlands (Preseason Rank: No. 5)
This may seem like another team that comes in a little higher than expected, but The Woodlands have been far too good for far too long to stay out of the mix. They're another team that doesn't necessarily jump off the page in terms of time, but they've had some good performances against some of the state's best and that's why they come in so high. This was a team I struggled to rank in the preseason as you just never know what they have coming through the program. However, they've proven to be trending upwards and that's a good thing for the sport.
As was mentioned, The Woodlands are another team that doesn't necessarily jump off the page. However, one look at their head-to-head results shows that they're the real deal. One performance stands out in particular and that's their second-place finish at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival last weekend. They finished second behind Austin Vandegrift and beat teams like Lucas Lovejoy, Northwest Nelson, and Flower Mound to name a few. This performance catalyzed the argument that nothing is more telling than head-to-head racing, and this team has proven to be one of the best at it.
The Woodlands are currently led by Tyler Hedgepeth who had a monster race last weekend and set a new personal best of 15:31.10 to finish seventh. Elton Martin has also provided solid support in the second spot as he holds a current season's best of 15:43.50. This team also has outstanding depth with Sebastian Calderon-Espinosa, Grayer Bates, and William Bishop all running between 16:02 and 16:06 to close out this team's top-five. Again, while they may not jump off the page, The Woodlands impressed me at Lovejoy last weekend and I think they're a sleeper team heading into the championship season.
The Woodlands currently holds a team average of 15:53.84 and a 36-second split.
Photo Credit: A1 Media
5. Northwest Nelson (Preseason Rank: No. 7)
Moving up two spots from their preseason rank is Northwest Nelson who impressed to start the season. Although they have so much talent, this team did miss the state meet last year as Region I has a crazy level of competition. However, this year's team is different than last as they've gone toe to toe with some of the state's best through this point in the season and that's something that should boost their confidence. They were the best preseason team who missed the state meet in 2023 and they retain that honor while also moving up two spots in the process.
Northwest Nelson is led by outstanding senior Matthias Peterson who has proven to be one of the most well-rounded distance talents the state has to offer. He currently holds a season-best of 14:57.60 and has fought at the front of some of the state's fastest meets so far this year. Peterson is backed up by several talented runners including Jackson Bellm, Liam Bengtsson, Jason Wade, and Chase Hope who have all run between 15:35 and 15:45 so far this year.
This team is undoubtedly fast on paper, but their performance at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival was somewhat surprising. Going into the weekend I would've expected them to be a firm second place, but instead, they finished fourth and 57 points off of The Woodlands. On paper, they're a better team than The Woodlands but last weekend's performance raised some questions for me and that's why they're 5th instead of 4th. Everyone has tough races, and this team has still been outstanding and noticeably improved when compared to last year. They're a prime contender to make it out of Region I comfortably and I think we'll see them bounce back soon.
Northwest Nelson currently holds a team average of 15:31.44 and a 48-second split.