Meet Preview: Region I Championships

William Grundy

UIL Region 1-6A Girls

The defending regional champ is back and she ain't playing around.

Macy Wingard (Denton Braswell) won this race last year with a 17:15 run. That was after going 17:25 at her district meet.

Well, she went 16:44 at district this year, so if that means anything it means she could run away with the region race if she wants to.

However, she won't be able to chill because her fellow district mate likely won't let here.

Maya Easterwood (Coppell). has been on Wingard's tail all season long. They've competed in four races and Easterwood runs side-by-side, or a stride behind for as much of the race as she can.

All of their races have been decided by less than 10 seconds. as Wingard has relied on her leg speed and endurance to break away.

Expect a replica again in Lubbock.

Emily Orr (El Paso Franklin) is another young lady who doesn't play around. She was fifth in this race last year and she won the first Southlake Inv. earlier this season.

Adelynn Rodriguez (El Paso Eastwood) hasn't failed to qualify for a state meet since she arrived on the scene. I don't expect her to start now.

Remember her ridiculous track season, well I am looking for that type of finish here for cross. She has the third best time in the region.

Clare Boneau (Keller) went 17:33 at her district meet and has the sixth best time in the region. She was seventh here last year.

Reyna Heisserer (Northwest Nelson) ran 17:36 and Presley Collins (Northwest Eaton) 17:37 at their district meet.

Southlake Carroll sophomore Abigail Perez ran a 17:41 PR at district.

Keller Timber Creek has a talented duo. Megan Calhoun went under 18-minutes this year and she'll be competing as will her teammate Abigail Stucker who has looked impressive throughout the year.

I have sleepers to look out for in Lubbock and they are Remington Boone (Weatherford), Meagan Meyers (Mansfield Lake Ridge), and Taryn Elmer (Marcus).

Boone has a 18:00 SB, Meyers has a 18:03 SB, and Elmer has a 18:11 SB.

There were several girls missing from the individual preview and that is because they were all from the same Flower Mound team.

Three different girls on this team has been their No. 1 runner Adeline Bennett, Alexandra Fox, and Ava Cole all leading the team to wins at high profile meets.

Liana Cluley-Garza's 27:43 at district makes four girls on the team to have run sub 18-minutes this season.

I apologize to Coach Cook for saying this as he might not want me to put any pressure on his team, and no disrespect to any other team in the state, but there is no way this team loses. Here. At State. Anywhere.

Is this the best Flower Mound team in these last five years of dominance? It might be.

Outside of Flower Mound, who is the No. 1 team in the state and the No. 2 team in the country, this region also has the CCCAT No. 2 ranked Carroll, No. 5 ranked Northwest Byron Nelson, No. 7 ranked El Paso Franklin, No. 9 ranked Marcus, and No. 10 ranked Prosper.

Six of the ten best teams in the state will see only four race at state.

- Northwest Nelson beat Carroll heads up 18:05 average 40- second gap; I expect MJ Novelli to help lead this team, she is really good and they are better when she is at her best

- Carroll 18:20 average 1:05 gap; I expect all-state Elizabeth Smits to step up now that it's the championship season, her team is at their best when she is crushes it

- Prosper ran 18:59 team average with a 58-second gap

- Marcus 19:11 at district with a 47-second gap

- Franklin only an a 20:32 average and a 2:24 gap; the average doesn't concern me because it was in El Paso and I know they'll be faster in Lubbock, but the spread is a little concerning.

I believe Flower Mound and Northwest Nelson get out for sure, but I don't feel confident in picking the next two spots

Region 1-6A Boys

This race might be as good as the state meet in itself.

Why?

Because individually, it has seven boys who have run under 15-minutes this season.

- Then it has a 15-flat guy

- Two 15:01s

- A 15:02

- And two more sub 15:10s.

It doesn't get any better than that.....except it does.

The reigning defending region, UIL 6A state champion Caden Leonard (Southlake Carroll), And the fastest guy in the state of Texas at 14:33. 

Regional runner-up, fifth place at state, and NXN qualifier last year, Oh and second fastest dude in the state Aidan Danny Torres (El Paso Eastwood).

Ruel Newberry (Denton Guyer) The kid is as nice and sweet as they come and has a prototypical distance running freshman frame. However, as a runner, this dude is the antithesis of reality.... He is almost criminal and he turns into Megatron or something based on the way he runs. He has the all-time fastest 5K on record for a freshman with his 14:44 and has yet to run slower than 14:54.


Matthias Peterson (Northwest Nelson) recently committed to Western Carolina has two sub 15-minute runs this year


Joaquin de la Cruz (McKinney Boyd), the Texas commit has a 14:52 PR and hasn't finished lower than third place all year.

Aleksandr Acuna (Denton Braswell) was third in this race last year and sixth at state. He ran several sub 15-minute runs early in the season last year, but didn't later on in the season. He might be flipping the script this season; he only just ran 14:59 at district and could continue as the season goes on.

Pranav Vegiraju (Coppell) ran 14:59 in his first race of the season and has a couple other near sub 15 races including a 15:05 at district.

Parker Noffz (Marcus) has a 15:00 run as he just narrowly missed joining the other guys. He has top finishes at some of the most competitive races across the state and that should continue on Monday.

While Elijah Rivera Campos (Hebron) hasn't gone under 15:00, he is a dangerous runner in this field. He has a 15:01 PR and his slowest time on the year is 15:17 on a legit 5K course at Chile Pepper.

It is ridiculous that you have to run almost sub 15-minutes to be factored as a favorite in this race. That is just how these days and times are and how good Region 1-6A is.

While the rankings show that only three Region 1 teams are ranked in the polls, I personally disagree with that.

In my opinion and having seen much of the state compete, there should be more.

We might see that produced this weekend, but it still might not be good enough to get some teams to the state meet.

Carroll is the No. 1 ranked team in the state and should win the region.

They have four boys under 15:10 with a 15:12, a 15:27, and a 15;31 to round out their top seven. They're good! 

I also think they have the freshest and liveliest legs in the state (along with Bridgeland and The Woodlands)

They had a 15:15 average in the race and a 46-second gap. That should advance them to Round Rock and could be podium worthy.

As usual El Paso Eastwood is going to come in as a somewhat unknown. We know they're good, but how good. They captured a state meet spot last year, but they didn't look like they'd be as strong as they are this year.

Torres has back up with No. 2,3,4,5 guys who can run within 25 second gap of one another and in the mid 15s.

Flower Mound is one team I definitely think should be ranked. In my opinion, they around the seventh best team in Texas. They looked like at their district race. They ran a 15:55 team average with several teams can do, but their 24 second spread is what makes them so good and a challenger for the top four.

Keller is another team I think is dangerous and should possibly be ranked. They ran a 15:50 average at district and a 49-second spread.


Marcus didn't have the best race at district, but they accomplished what needed to get done. They are dangerous.


Coppell is another team who can get to the state meet. They needed some prayers at district, but they were answered and if they can pull out a good one they can go back to Round Rock.


I'm also high on McKinney Boyd, Prosper, Rock Hill, and Mansfield Legacy, as they all run high 15 and low 16 averages, but they'll have to figure out a way to run especially tight on Monday to have a chance at getting out.