Region 2-5A Girls
Camryn Benson and Bridget Bernal are the current guardians of the Lovejoy girls legacy. Benson has a 18:02 region leading performance and Bernal checks in a 18:30. Benson was last year's runner-up and Bernal finished fourth.
Midlothian junior Lincoln Husbands comes over from Region 1 where she finished ninth before going for 14th place at the state meet. She has the second fastest regional performance behind Benson.
Mia Oliver (Dallas White) was the 10th place finisher in 2023 and went on to finish 40th at state. She currently has the third best performance in the region.
Olivia Brillhart (Belton) is the sixth fastest performer with a 18:38, Presley Robertson (Frisco Wakeland) has the eighth fastest mark with a 18:39, and Galilea De La Garza (McKinney North) at 18:45 makes yet another year she has been a top runner in the region.
Also re-entering region 2-5A is Dallas Highland Park. Their presence will be felt as they have several top regional runners like Ryan Sontag (18:36), Madeline Heckler (18:39), and Finley Heckler (18:41).
The Leopards have dominated the region the past four years and are looking to add another regional and state title.
They'll have to fend off Frisco Wakeland, Frisco Liberty, and McKinney North who all joined them in Round Rock last year.
Lovejoy is ranked No. 1 in the state, Highland Park is No. 7, Frisco Wakeland is No. 8, and Frisco Reedy is No. 10.
Liberty is the fifth best team in the region and can run a solid team average. Where they can crash the party is their ability to run tight. They can drop a near 60-second spread.
This could be a nail biter type race with Lovejoy's 18:37 team average and near 60-second gap, Highland Park has a 18:45 team average and the potential to drop a 30-second gap, Wakeland around 19:16 and a sub 60- gap, Reedy around 19:38 and just over a minute gap.
Kaufman steps up from 4A where they won the region last year McKinney North and Midlothian both have a shot if any teams have bad days on Tuesday.
In the end, it is Lovejoy who looks to be in a good position for their fourth state title will be hard to beat. Highland Park is not playing around and they are one of the top contenders to Lovejoy.
It is going to be tough to knock either one of these two teams off.
Region 2-5A Boys
Josh McCartney is the top runner heading into the regional championships. The Frisco Heritage senior was fifth last year and has a 15:08 season best run from the Marcus Coach T Inv.
However, he has company at the 15:08 mark with Bryce Denton (Anna) who moved up from the 4A classification where he finished third place at the state meet.
Ethan Carranza (Killeen Ellison) had a great junior season in 2023 and finished 36th at state. He has a 15:21 PR this year and four other races under 16-minutes.
Daniel Escribano (Frisco Reedy) ran a PR at Marcus Coach T as well at 15:28. He also ran 15:40 at McKinney Boyd.
Joseph Reid (Lucas Lovejoy) is right at 15:30 on the dot this year and teammates Aaron Wimbish and Tyler Morefield have been huge for the Leopards this year with their 15:36 and 15:38 abilities.
Dax Ritchie (Frisco Wakeland) at 15:31, Parker Cathey (Frisco Reedy) at 15:37, Rhett Hulin (McKinney North) at 15:38, will help create a strong lead pack in the race.
While we haven't seen the Lovejoy lineup we thought we would, the squad is still ranked No. 1 in the state and are my favorites to repeat their state title.
Their culture and depth has them in a good position that would typically be detrimental to most teams. They can almost run 15:30 as a team, but they're surely one of the tightest teams in the state.
As with the girls race, there are multiple ranked teams in this region. Frisco Wakeland is No. 3 in the state, McKinney North is No. 6, and Frisco Reedy is No. 9.
With Kingwood Park moving to Region 3 and Longview Pine Tree to class 4A, that removes two teams that qualified for state.
Ritchie leads Wakeland, but the No. 2 through five runners are within 40-seconds and the six and seven runners aren't far behind.
Hulin is to McKinney North what Ritchie is to Wakeland. However, their No. 2 - 6 runners can run even tighter.
Reedy has two big hitters in Escribano and Cathey and a good three and four, but the five will need to be dependable on Tuesday.
Highland Park and Prosper Walnut Grove will be dangerous teams with potential to grab a qualifying spot.