Region 1-5A Girls
Eight of last year's top ten girls return for 2024, including the defending Region 1-5A champion Micah Neal (Aledo).
As a freshman, Neal ran 18:11 to win before going on to a seventh place finish at state.
Ella Magallan (Burleson Centennial) was runner-up in 2023; she also went on to have a good state meet race. She was sixty with a time of 18:25.
Reese Pena (Lubbock) only had to travel across town when she finished third overall last year with a time of 18:33. She followed that up at state with a 18:36.
This year, things might be even more challenging and possibly faster than the race in 2023.
The Abilene duo of Mason Murray and Zoe Vann ran in the 17s at their district meet.
While that might have been a short course, the two have been impressive up to that point of the season.
Both girls have 18-mid races from the Marcus Coach T Inv. where Murray ran 18:11 and Vann went 18:19. They both also beat last year's regional cham Neal in that race.
Speaking of Neal and tandems, she has a teammate in Molly Garrison. She ran a 18:07 PR at the Arkansas Chile Pepper, a legit 5K course.
Magallan has a regional leading 17:59 this year and Pena has a 18:13.
Natali Velasquez (Colleyville Heritage) was 11th in this race last year as a freshman and also went on to finish 11th at the state meet. She has a 18:41 SB from the Chile Pepper XC Festival.
We can't overlook Lubbock Coronado senior Zanashia Harris. She also only has to come across town to compete at Mae Simmons. Her 18:19 SB, which she use to win the McNeil 5A girls race by a landslide margin will have her competitive in this race.
The girls geam race will have a pair of top ranked teams with No. 3 Aledo and No. 9 Grapevine leading the way.
Aledo won the region last year en route to their runner-up state meet finish.
Colleyville Heritage was second in Lubbock and fourth at state, Grapevine was third and sixth at state, with El Paso Chapin fourth and going on to finish 14th in Round Rock.
Chapin graduated two runners, so they could still be in play for another trip to state.
Outside of Velasquez who will be a front pack runner, Colleyville Heritage has their No. 3-5 girls who run pretty close together.
UIL 1-5A boys
Unlike the girls race where only two of the girls from last years top ten don't return.... Only three in the boys race didn't graduate in 2024.
Jason Dodd (Fort Worth South Hills) was third last year and Abdirisak Saidgurhan (Amarillo Palo Duro) was fifth.
However, neither of those guys have run anywhere near how they did last year.
Both are enigmas, but Saidgurhan did recently run 15:53 at Canyon.
What I do know is that Miles Westbrook (El Paso) is not playing around. He was fourth last year and he has a sub 15-minute mark on the books.
Westbrook might be able to replicate Ethan Gonzalez' move from last year and win both Region 1 and state.
Wallace Bullock (Colleyville Heritage) only ran 16:33 to finish 20th in this race but I expect that to be the floor of what he can do on Tuesday.
He has a 15:27 SB this year along with two other 15-minute high runs throughout the rest of the season.
John Alcantar (Abilene) has been competitive all year long and he should be a front pack runner.
Diego Romero (El Paso Americas) was in the 6A race last year and qualified for state. I expect him to do the same in the 5A classification this year. He ran 15:53 last month at McNeil
Aledo has a strong duo that leads their team in Jack Fink and Tyler Connelly.
Fink has a 15:38 SB and is a front pack runner at all of the top DFW area meets, I expect the same out of him in Lubbock.
Malin Arnoldusen (El Paso Burges) ran 15:55 at the Desert Twilight, Thomas Tran (Colleyville Heritage) ran 16:00 this year, and Arturo Rodriguez (Lubbock) has gone 16:01 on this course earlier this year.
I figure them to have competitive runs.
Last year, a very good El Paso Boys team tore through the region for the win. Colleyville Heritage was the region runner-up, Argyle was third, and Aledo was fourth.
Heading into regionals, it is No. 8 Grapevine and No. 10 Colleyville Heritage who are the only teams in the region who are ranked by the CCCAT
Grapevine runs as a very tight pack. Andrew DeYoung is their No. 1 runner. The rest of the Mustang top seven boys can all run with 30-seconds of one another.
Bullock and Tran lead things for Colleyville Heritage, but their No. 3-5 runners are within 25-seconds of one another.
Aledo has been ranked throughout this season and they are still very good. Behind Fink and Connelly, the Bearcats' 3-5 guys are very tight like Grapevine and Heritage.
Grapevine has more room for error with their entire top 7 capable of running tight.
Heritage and Aledo have a little less wiggle room if the Region of Doom type days strike them.
The fourth spot should be up for grabs.