Region 3-1A Girls
Saint Jo is ranked No. 9 in the state of Texas. They won the regional team title last year and finished ninth at state.
Gorman graduated their No. 5 and No. 6 runners from their 2023 second place finish.
Third place team finishers Slidell is now in 2A and Throckmorton graduated three of their girls from last year's state meet qualifying team.
So, who wins or advances this year?
Woodson is coming in as the favorite but just by seven points, they're led by senior Ella Martines, who has a personal best of 13:34.10.
As stated before the team after Woodson is Sulphur Bluff they're led by junior Zaylee Peyton with the time of 13:26.30.
Saltillo is led by freshman Yisset Mereno who has a personal best time of 13:26.20.
What is a 1A championship meet without talking about Cumby Miller Grove? The program is led by Junior Kaylee Hargrove, who has a season best time of 13:26.30.
Top 1A Girls Individuals
None of the top 12 finishing girls in 2023 were seniors.
Now a senior, from Richland Springs Rylie Eckert is coming in with the top time with a 12:45.80 set last month at the McNeil invitational.
Oh yeah, in 2023, she won the region and finished 14th at state.
Junior from Ector Lydia Essary has a season best time of 13:08.00. Last year Essary finished 22nd at state.
Senior from Newcastle Mattie Dollar has a season best time of 13:12.61. Last year Dollar finished 33rd at state.
The top freshman seed is Joslyn Whitfill of Bryson. She's coming in with the time of 13:40.09 set at her district meet.
Don't overlook Abby Carter (Saint Jo) who was runner-up, Danielle Clark (Avery) who was third, and the list goes on.
Region 3-1A Boys
The Cumby Miller Grove program has been in fantastic form for the past few years. Senior Ryker Haivala leads the boys with his personal best time of 15:59.00. He was the runner-up finisher at last year's regional and state championships.
As a team, Miller Grove returns only saw their No. 7 runner graduate. The Hornets were third in a very close regional meet behind Slidell and Sulphur Bluff and were fourth at state.
Zephyr is another great program that consistently performs year after year. It is led by senior Eli Williams, who has a personal best time of 17:14.32.
The Bulldogs finished three points behind Miller Grove for fourth place at regionals and were seven points back at state in fifth. They only graduated their No. 3 runner from last year.
Slidell won the region and the state titles in 2023. They will be very good again as they only graduated one runner; but they are now in 2A and in Region 2.
Sulphur Bluff graduated about five guys, so there are openings at the top here in 2024.
There are three teams in the regional ranked in the CCCAT top ten, No. 3 Zephyr, No. 5 Miller Grove, and No. 8 Garner.
Bellevue comes in with a team average of 18:09 and is led by Mattie Broussard, who has a personal best time of 15:27.66.
Saint Jo is looking to make it to the state meet. They're led by junior Elijah Young, who has a personal best time of 17:59.33.
Top 1A Boys Individuals
Senior Ari Smith of Campbell comes in one of the heavy favorites to take home gold with his 15:30.80 personal best time.
Senior Landon Cobb of Graford is another guy who can contend with the other top dawgs in that front pack. Cobb has a personal best time of 16:58.72.
Senior Nicholas Romo of Woodson is looking to kick his way to the state meet with his 800m speed. Romo qualified for the state meet in track last year and is looking to keep it going in the XC season.
Top freshman Brett Macias of Neches has a personal best time of 17:36.05.