This week's action provided one of the better intros to the state meet over the last few years. The racing was tight and confirmed our thoughts that the race for both titles would be one of the closest in recent memory. Region 1 remained the state's most competitive region, while Region 2 continued the trend from last year of producing several teams in contention for top-five finishes in Round Rock.
On the flip side, Region 3 took a step back in competitiveness from last year but still proved to be a tight race with an underrated Katy squad taking their first regional title. Lastly, Region 4 continued to be dominated by Austin Vandegrift who looks to be the top contender for the team title heading into Round Rock.
While there are some base-level observations to make from last weekend, we believe it's important to dive deeper into what the results mean for our race in Round Rock. So, let's dive in and take a deeper look at some big takeaways from the regional meets.
Three Clear-Cut Contenders
Over the last five years, the battle for the state title has felt solidified heading into the meet. Southlake Carroll has come in as the favorite and taken the title ahead of Austin Vandegrift, while every other spot was a toss-up. However, this season is much different as the three clear contenders from the preseason have remained at the top throughout the season. Southlake Carroll, Austin Vandegrift, and Bridgeland have been the state's top teams since June and they're on a collision course that should produce one of the decade's most exciting races.
Let's start with last year's defending champions Southlake Carroll. They came into the UIL 1A-6A Region 1 Championship having had yet another dominant season, which they would continue in the race. Defending individual champion Caden Leonard ran away from the field in a time of 14:53.40 and won the race for the second straight year. Griffin Cords finished sixth in a time of 15:24.20 while Blake Bullard finished tenth in 15:44.50. Carroll finished the race with 46 points and a team average of 15:39 with a 75-second spread.
Next, the team I would argue is the favorite for the state title, Austin Vandegrift, who came away with another dominant UIL 1A-6A Region 4 title. The Vipers had a dominant season as expected and have carried that form across a multitude of stacked races this year. Hudson Haley led the team with a second-place finish in a time of 15:29.56 while Kai McCullough finished third in 15:31.39 and Collin Goodwin finished fifth in 15:48.49. Vandegrift finished the race with 27 points and a team average of 15:46 with a 36-second spread.
Lastly, Bridgeland took home their second straight UIL Region 2 championship with another dominant performance. The Bears have made several difficult meets look easy this year and that trend continued last weekend. State 3200m champion Benjamin Montgomery won the race in a new personal best of 14:56.81 while Griffen Saacke finished second in a time of 15:16.57 with Kyle Pawlak finishing ninth in 15:45.73 and Tyler Weston tenth in 15:46.03. Bridgeland finished the race with 35 points and a team average of 15:30 with a 50-second spread.
The outcomes of these three races make for a particularly interesting landscape heading into Round Rock. Vandegrift has looked to be the strongest team of the three but had the slowest regional performance. Carroll looked fast but didn't run as close together as they'll need to for a state championship effort and Bridgeland looked great but has arguably been the least threatening of the three throughout the season.
As of right now, I'd say Vandegrift looks like the favorite because of their tight spread and consistent results throughout the year with Bridgeland and Southlake Carroll equal behind them. Any one of these three teams can take the state title next weekend and it looks like we're set up for an exciting battle.
Leonard vs. Montgomery
The battle for the individual and team titles largely mirrors each other this season with several contenders in the running for each of them. However, as has been the case since the spring, Caden Leonard and Benjamin Montgomery have been in a class of their own. They're the only two runners to win state titles since November of last year, and they've both had supremely impressive 2024 campaigns that set up another battle for the ages.
Starting with Leonard, the defending state champion needs no introduction. He has two state titles to his name and won last year's race with a gutsy run from the front. Since then, he's gone on to win the 1600m state championship and asset himself as one of the nation's best distance runners. He's continued that trajectory this season with a new personal best of 14:33.50 and another undefeated campaign within the state of Texas. As mentioned above, he recently won another Region 1 title in a time of 14:53.40 and comes into this race as the slight favorite.
On the other hand, 3200m state champion and the only Texas runner to beat Leonard in the last year Benjamin Montgomery has had a phenomenal season of his own. In five races, Montgomery has had five dominant victories and taken five-course records against some of the state's best competition. He's continued his evolution into an elite distance talent and recently won his second Region 2 title in a new personal best of 14:56.81 in another dominant performance.
Despite not racing each other, these two have been neck and neck all season with great performances each week. While Leonard has been faster on paper, Montgomery has unquestionably run more difficult courses which makes for an interesting matchup in terms of philosophy. Their regional performances are probably the most comparable and they're within 3.5 seconds of each other which should make for a great finish.
Both of these guys like to get out hard and push from the front to break their competitors. On top of this, they both have great speed at the end of a race which makes this matchup even more exciting. Leonard is ahead in their historical head-to-head but Montgomery took the state title off of him in their most recent meeting. Picking a winner is nearly impossible at the moment and I'll save that for my predictions next week, but just know the continued battle between Caden Leonard and Benjamin Montgomery is going to be one of the most exciting storylines of the year.
Region 2 Remains Quietly Deep
Since the UIL realigned the regional landscape back in 2020, Region 1 has been viewed as the deepest and most competitive. This has largely remained true as the dominance of Southlake Carroll means an average of 6-8 teams scrap for the three remaining qualifying spots. However, while Region 1 may have the most competitive fight for qualification, Region 2 has arguably proven to be the deepest when it comes to performance at the state meet.
In 2023, College Park finished as the top Region 2 team in fifth while Bridgeland placed sixth. While these feel like average performances, the tide has slowly changed heading into 2024 with the resurgence of the region's reputation.
Bridgeland comes into Round Rock with a realistic shot at winning the state title and an almost certain chance to stand on the podium. The Woodlands has rebounded after an 11th-place finish last year and have arguably been the best of the rest outside of the top three teams listed above. College Park also showed their podium contending form at regionals as they finished just 15 points behind The Woodlands and have shown an ability to punch above their predicted weight at the state meet.
Given their performances throughout the season and at the regional meet, Region 2 may make up three of the top five teams at the state meet. All three of these teams have consistently competed on the state's hardest courses against one another and they all have state meet experience. While things are always tight at the highest level, I wouldn't be surprised if Region 2 once again impresses on the state's biggest stage.
Katy's Emergence as the Class of Region 3
For the better part of a decade, Katy Tompkins held its place as the class of Region 3. In many instances, Region 3 had a similar landscape to Region 1 in that the race was essentially a battle for the final three qualifying spots with the top spot predetermined. However, that's changed this year as Tompkins' district rival Katy has emerged as the class of Region 3 and a program to keep a serious eye on moving forward.
It started last year when the Tigers seemingly came from nowhere and built a state-caliber team that finished 11th at the state meet despite having little to no experience at that level. Despite losing several key contributors from that team, Katy has bounced back in a big way this season as they recently took their first Region 3 title.
Their success starts at the front with junior Ryder Darcey's emergence as one of the top runners in the Houston area. Darcey was a standout as a sophomore last season but rounded into a true front-runner in 2024 with three race wins and a new personal best of 15:00.26 which came at the UIL 6A-District 19 meet. Darcey recently finished second at the regional meet behind Benjamin Pearce and looks keen to build on his 35th-place finish from last year's state meet.
Outside of Darcey, Katy has several key contributors including senior Joshua Perez who holds a current personal best of 15:24.29. Evan Couture and Benjamin Robins have also been outstanding for the Tigers with personal bests of 15:41.80 and 15:49.50 respectively. Heading into Round Rock, Katy currently holds a team average of 15:37.48 with a 71-second spread making them one of the state's most intriguing teams to watch.
Katy's emergence as a top contender is the kind of thing we love to see as it adds yet another layer of competition to this deeply talented state. Look out for them to continue evolving into an elite program, especially considering they return Ryder Darcey and more key contributors for 2025.