Region 4-5A Girls
Many of the regions have some of the top runners in the state or some of the top runners in the state.
Region 4-5A not only has the top runner in the state of Texas, they have the best runner in the country in Elizabeth Leachman (Boerne Champion).
We haven't discussed her much this year because this is the time a runner at her level is actually focused on.
The scary thing about her situation is that she hasn't raced very much this year.
Despite how few runs, her performances have still been extremely good. It is almost frightening how fast she might actually go in the coming weeks.
She enters the regional meet with a state leading 16:32.
Three other girls who enter with sub 18-minute runs on the year with Dana Rojas Vasquez (McAllen) having a 17:18 best, Kenzi Ramirez (McAllen) having a 17:51 best, and Dolores Ramirez (La Joya Palmview) entering with a 17:57 personal best.
Jadelynne Arellano (Leander Rouse) was third last year at the regional meet with her 18:41 run, Yazmin Guerra (PSJA Southwest) was fifth in 18:59, and Zaddie Santacruz (Laredo Nixon) was 10th in 19:25.
An interesting dynamic in Region 4-5A the last couple of years was the addition of Smithson Valley (SV). This year is the first major year they should have a major fingerprint since coming down from 6A.
The Rangers have several girls who can be front pack runners behind the Leachman one-pack.
Senior Mia Perez can run anything from 400m to the 5K. She is best at 800m, but her 18:23 5K PR shows how effective she is at the distance. She was seventh last year, but doesn't have many reps on her legs this year due to a late start. However, her fitness level is coming together and that can spell trouble for the opposition. She ran 18:26 in only her second 5K of the season.
A Ranger is a member of a group of armed (wo)men. This SV squad is armed with some talented runners. Freshmen Brady Solansky, Aubrey Pozzi, and Skyler Fonseca help lead the team with 18:13 19:02 runs, Lilly Koenig has run a 18:53.
Also heading to Corpus for Tuesday's race with sub-18:30 performances this year are Sofia Lauren Garza (Mission Sharyland) - 18:16, Alessa De La Garza (Laredo Nixon) - 18:20, Dana Rodriguez (Edinburg Vela) - 18:27, and Emerald Aguirre (San Antonio Southside).
There are three ranked teams in the region. SV has risen the No. 2 ranked position, McAllen is No. 4, and Boerne Champion is No. 5.
That is one reason why the challenge of grabbing one of the four state meet qualifying positions will be tough.
Additionally, from last year, Boerne Champion - graduated two from it's regional championship, Laredo Nixon only graduated their No. 7 runner, Comal Canyon didn't graduate anyone, and McAllen only graduated one.
We already talked about why SV will be a favorite. They have a 18:43 average and are executing a near 50-second spread.
McAllen has a 18:25 average with a 1:54 gap, Boerne Champion has a 18:45 average with a 2:54 gap, and Nixon has a 18:53 average with a 1:53 gap.
Every team who gets their four and five runners under 20:00 should be golden. All of the others will have to sweat it out.
Region 4-5A Boys
Most of the leaders of the region graduated last year. The top five finishers and seven of the top ten all got their diplomas in June.
The top returners are Juan Manuel Aguinaga Jr. (Edcouch Elsa) who finished sixth last year, Luis Tovar (Boerne Champion) ninth, and Roehl Rodriguez (McAllen Memorial) finished tenth.
They weren't flukes as the trio have some of the leading marks heading into this year's race.
Aguinaga Jr. has a 15:38 on the books this year, Tovar has gone 15:35, and Rodriguez has a 15:33 run this year.
It's Nathan Salinas' (Mission Sharyland) 15:17 as the top time in the region. Salinas has also gone 15:41 or faster in four of his five races this year.
Other runners who figure to be in the lead pack of the race are David Zuniga (Sharyland Pioneer), Charlie Houck (Boerne Champion), Solomon Lazo (McAllen), and Jacksen Ahlman (McAllen) just to name a few.
It will be tough to get out of the region as a team if you are not on your A-game. There are four teams that are ranked in the CCCAT top ten (No.2 Boerne Champion, No. 3 McAllen, No. 5 Weslaco East, and No. 6 Boerne).
Last year's champions Boerne Champion graduated four runners from their top seven. However, this year's edition look to be better than the third place state meet squad.
Lockhart was second last year and they also graduated four runners, Weslaco East was third and only graduated one runner, and Alamo Heights brings back all seven of their fourth place regional finishers.
Based on the stats, McAllen has broken out in the last couple of weeks to lead the region with a 15:51 team average.
They had a disappointing day at last year's regional meet and didn't advance to state. They have been motivated all year to avenge that performance and they look on track to do that. They have been a very tight pack running team and their ability to continue to execute it with the speed they're running at now is very impressive.
Boerne Champion has a 16:00 team average, which is almost 30-seconds faster than last year. They haven't been as tight as they were last year, but that is to be expected as development happens. They are still around 60-seconds in their spread.
Weslaco East has been very good and very consistent all year long. They are now running at a 16:10 average and they're staying tight with their spread in the 30-second range.
Boerne is one team throwing a wrench in the tradition of 4-5A. They moved up from the 4A classification for this year. It happens to be good timing for their XC program. They are fresh off their third place finish at state last year.
They are running faster than last year, which is necessary, but while they aren't as tight as their state meet 8-second gap, they are still executing around an 35-second spread.
This race will be so good and tough to get out because Laredo Nixon, Mission, and Leander are all running around 16:30 averages with 50-second spreads.
That is without factoring in last year's state meet qualifiers Lockhart and Alamo Heights.