El Paso Eastwood ran at a tough Desert Twilight Inv.
Houston Episcopal Girls
Houston Episcopal lost their coach Julius Michaels to Katy Tompkins, but they are still rolling. Their girls showed how their train is still on the tracks.
They finished seventh as a team at this weekend's Nike South Invitational, but don't let the positioning fool you. The six teams that finished ahead of them are all top ten ranked squads in the CCCAT poll.
Sophomore Olivia Kiefer was the top finisher this weekend with her time of 18:42; she helped the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) powerhouse to a 19:39 team average. It's going to be difficult to knock them off the top of the SCP championship podium.
Canyon Boys
Canyon isn't the favorite to complete their UIL 4A three-peat for no reason. They have talent and they are continuing to develop and improve.
Seniors Lathan Lewter and Ryan Fernandez have put in hard work to do their part to bring this program together and bring back the Canyon glory days when they three-peated in 1993,1994, andn 1995. lewter ran 15:14 and Fernandez 15:35 to go 1-2 at their own invitational. Junior Noah Cooper also dipped under 16:00 to help solidify the team.
Flower Mound Girls
With the Jags success over the past five to six years, it is really difficult not to have acknowledged things already. Press release, they are good....and despite the many speaking engagements and awards for Coach Andrew Cook and his staff members, it must be said that they are good at developing talent.
This season, they have had three different girls who've team led the team at big events this year (Ava Cole, Alexandra Fox, Adeline Bennett).
Wins at Southlake, Marcus, Woodbridge, and Nike South sets this team apart from the previous squad, but they've also continued to add to the program's tradition by adding another season of sub 18-minute performers. Will they add another 6A state title is the only questions left.
| Season | sub 18-min runners |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 2 |
| 2024 | 3 |
Southlake Carroll Boys
Carroll went on a state meet winning streak when they won four consecutive from 2011 - 2014 and are currently on a five-year streak looking to win another. Six is within reach and they showed why this past weekend at Nike South.
Running without their top four runners, the Dragons were still able to get the meet win thanks to their 16:11 team average and minimal 28-second gap.
Those numbers are unbelievable and show the Dragons' depth with their No. 5-11 runners able to produce like that....and five of those guys will return next year.
Dallas Covenant Girls
The Dallas Covenant boys are going for their ninth consecutive TAPPS state title this year, however, the girls ran a gem of a race this weekend.
At the Jesuit XC Classic, Covenant competed in the varsity girls 2-mile race and they look primed and ready for the championship season.
They finished with a 13:46 team average and 30-second gap.
El Paso Eastwood Boys
While Eastwood only managed to finish sixth overall at Desert Twilight, they did it with a 15:44 team average with 1:18 spread. They took on some of the top teams in the Mountain West part of the country, they represented and their performance was telling.
Aidan Danny Torres was in a front pack battle with some superb runners, managed to drop his second sub 15-minute race of the season. He finished fifth overall in 14:47.
Despite the 1:18 overall spread, the gap from No. 2 through No. 5 runners was only 14-seconds.
Salado Girls
The No. 3 ranked 4A Salado girls were impressive and look to be sharpening things with district championships approaching.
Their 12:02 team average and 41-second split shows they are ready. Freshman McCall Boyd led the way with her 11:34 win and the No. 2 - No. 6 runners all finished within 12-seconds of one another.
Grapevine JV Boys
In a race with 528 boys in it at the Jesuit XC Classic, the Grapevine Mustangs were able to turn in an amazing team performance.
They ran a team average of 17:51 and only a 7-second spread. That is not a typo, their top five finished within 7-seconds. Their sixth runner was two-seconds back and the seventh runner in the race made it a 24-second gap.
Smithson Valley Girls
The Rangers won their second consecutive high profile meet. Following their McNeil win, they added the Jesuit XC Classic this past weekend.
They ran a 19:00 team average with a 1:04 gap. This is only the second race back for senior Mia Perez who turned in a 18:26 runner-up performance just ahead of freshman teammate Brady Solansky.
This team is starting to find the bridge as they have run upto a No. 2 UIL 5A ranking.
Salado Boys
We've already made notice of the Salado girls weekend performance, but we can't overlook their boys.
They dropped a meet winning 16:43 team average and 1:08 split to win the 5A/6A race at the Leo Manzano / Rick Edwards Memorial Invitational.
Senior Luke Anderson and junior Coulson Boyd finished right behind one another and a second apart. Daniel Anderson and Seth Anderson 20-second back, but also within one second of each other.
Canyon Randall Girls
Harlingen Boys
Harlingen won the prestigious RGVCCCA Meet of Champions Invitational. It was a showdown of the best in the Valley before turning toward the championships season.
The Cardinals won with a 16:10 team average and a 1:13 gap. Senior Zachary Lama led the team by capturing the win with a 15:28 PR.
After his time and disparity, it was the No. 2 - N. 5 runners who ran with a 20-second gap.
It will be difficult, but they have a shot at cracking the top four in Region 4-6A.
Northwest Nelson Girls
Weslaco East Boys
The No. 7 ranked Weslaco East boys turned in another impressive run this weekend.
They were the runner-ups at the RGVCCCA Meet of Champions Invitational behind 6A Harlingen, but not by much. The difference was only three points.
A 16:15 team average with a 45-second gap is a good sign going into the championship season. Freshman Alexander Nava led the way with his 15:55 run.
Canyon Girls
Humble Summer Creek Boys
Summer Creek had an epic day at the Aldine ISD Larry Gnatzig Invitational on Friday.
They dropped a 16:13 team average and a 1:09 split without one of their top three runners and senior captain.
Ja'Juan Allison and Da'Juan Allison finished first and second with 15:41 and 15:42 runs. They got 16:16, 16:38, and 16:50 runs from their three, four, and five scorers to help them to the win.
Dalhart Girls
The UIL 3A No. 5 ranked Dalhart girls had a good day at the Canyon. They finished in second place behind No. 2 ranked 4A Canyon.
A 12:41 team average was sweet, but their 49-second gap was even more impressive. Lylianah Flores - 12:20 and Circe Johnson - 12:21 gave a big 1-2 punch up front and Danna Arriaga - 12:34 was a good spit in the middle of the lineup.
Katy Boys
At the Nike South Invitational, the No. 10 Tigers got a great performance from their No. 1 runner Ryder Darcey. The junior finished fifth overall in the Elite Boys race with his 15:34 run.
Their 16:18 team average and third place finish was a punch up against teams ranked higher than they are.
Farwell
The No. 4 ranked UIL 2A Farwell girls were third behind No.5 ranked UIL 3A Dalhart and No. 2 ranked 4A Canyon at the Canyon Invitational.
They ran a faster split than Dalhart (12:36)overall, but their 1:56 gap was the difference maker. Isabella Jaime and Alexis Wade are bonafide all-state runners and led the team with fifth and sixth place finishes in 11:45 and 11:49.
McAllen Boys
The No. 4 ranked 5A boys team got a timely big run from senior Solomon Lazo. He turned in a 15:45 PR to lead the Bulldog squad.
Without a couple of top seven guys, they still managed to run a tight race against Harlingen and Weslaco East at the RGVCCCA Meet of Champions Invitational.
In the end, they finished in third place with a 16:19 team average and a 53-second spread.