The 2024 cross country season continues to take it's path towards the end and although it feels like it just started, the end is closer than one might think.
UIL district championships are next week and some seasons will come to and end and the state championship pictures start to form.
We have some girls and boys runs and performances from this weekend that need to be acknowledged.
Adeline Bennett (Flower Mound)
What did Adeline Bennett just do?
Yes, she ran another sub 18-minute 5,000m race additionally she won the Nike South Invitational.
In my opinion, her win just made Flower Mound, who is already ranked No. 1 in the country in the COROS MileSplit50 Rankings even more solidified at the top spot.
Not only is she the third girl on the Flower Mound team to run sub 18-minutes (third time for her this season) with Ava Cole ran ran 17:43 earlier this year and Alexandra Fox having done so in each of her previous three seasons and a 18:03 in her only 5K run so far this season.
Bennett adds her 17:57 PR to her 2:10 and 4:56 freshman year track exploits.
This is the eighth consecutive season for Flower Mound to have at least one sub 18-minute runner.
2024 - 3, 2023 - 2, 2022 - 3, 2021- 4, 2020 - 1, 2019 - 3, 2018 - 2, 2017 -1
Lathan Lewter (Canyon)
Canyon senior just ran another personal best with his 15:14 time to win the Canyon Invitational. That was a two-second improvement from his previous 15:15 best.
Last season, Lewter ran 15:34 at the Canyon Invitational, making this a 20-second improvement. This weekend was the second time this season Canyon ran a sub 15-minute team average. They ran 15:53 and a 59-second gap at the Southlake #1 XC Invite and now a 15:50 average this weekend to go with a 1:07 gap.
Lewter looks to lead Canyon to a third consecutive UIL 4A state title and that defense will being at next week's district championships.
Aidan Danny Torres (El Paso Eastwood)
Aidan Danny Torres took another trip under the 15-minute barrier this season. He previously ran 14:40 at the Canutillo XC Invitational, which was earlier this season.
At the Desert Twilight, which was in Arizona, he went 14:47 and a fifth place finish. He was only six seconds back from the winner.
Torres is one of the fastest to ever come out of El Paso and for the state of Texas for that matter. According to our records, only Michael Abeyta (El Paso Hanks) in 2019 have run faster with his 14:34 from the UIL State Cross Country Championship. He has surpassed Daniel Bernal (El Paso Eastwood) and his 14:45 run at the 2016 Desert Twilight XC Festival.
Don't overlook the greatness currently being exhibited.
Addyson Bristow (Canyon)
Bristow is the reigning and defending UIL 4A individual state champion and she continues to collect win this season leading upto the 2024 UIL Cross Country State Championships.
Bristow ran a 10:53 to win at the Canyon Inv. That ties her previous personal best, but it's impressive because that was on the track and this was on grass.
Bristow's sophomore track credentials of 2:10, 4:56, and 10:53 were superb and it looks like adding another state title on grass has a high percentage.
She also helped lead Canyon to a 11:41 team average to get tuned up for the upcoming district championship round.
Ruel Newberry (Denton Guyer)
As with the aforementioned Torres, Newberry also added another sub 15-minute run this past weekend when he dropped a 14:54. That helped him to win the Chile Pepper XC Festival.
Only a freshman, Newberry has now only run in the 14-minutes for the 5,000m distance. He previously opened up at 14:46 and ran 14:44 to follow that up. The Denton Guyer frosh owns the top time all-time for the freshman class and continues to blaze his path towards the Texas championship season and possibly national post season running.
Only five boys in Texas have faster Personal bests that are faster than Newberry's that didn't come in their senior seasons.
Benjamin Montgomery (Bridgeland)
Last year's third place finisher from the UIL 6A state meet and the track 3,200m state champion Montgomery has yet to run under 15-minutes this season.
He ran 15:23 this past weekend to win the Cowboy Jamboree at the tough Oklahoma State University course.
Even though the 14-minute times have eluded Montgomery so far this year, that doesn't mean he isn't getting down to brask task.
His performances of 15:13, 15:18, and 15:23 are accelerating, which is the opposite direction you want to go in this sport. But, that isn't telling the true storyline.
The three courses that he has raced on happen to be conversely illustrated to many of his fellow Texas competitors. Bridgeland has raced on difficult courses all season long and he has produced all-time course records on them all.
The times will come, but the wins already are and may payoff in a bigger and faster way later on.