Chances To Win Individual Title

Noah Strohman (Holliday) won his third Region 1 title and he looks ollie-ollie-oxen-free on is way to win his third UIL 3A state title as well. His 15:17 run in Lubbock was pretty dominant.

Kenny Pritchard (Tuscola Jim Ned) was the runner-up in Region 1 with his 16:02 run. He is the second best returner from the 2023 state meet behind Strohman. Hatfield Cason (Alpine) was third at Region 1 with a time of 16:09.

Region 2 was filled with strong runners who will more than likely attempt to give Strohman a push than relegate for second. Miguel Cedillo (Winona) went 15:52 for the win in Arlington with Hunter Finney (Hughes Springs) second in 16:09, and Chase Gossett (Commerce) third in 16:11.

Grayson Williams (Troy) is another runner who can ensure it isn't a complete runaway for Strohman. he ran a 15:27 to win Region 3-3A by over a minute.

Three boys are heading to Round Rock from Region 4 who were closely bunched at the end of the race. Jose Barrera (San Diego) at 16:29 won the region edging out Gary Custer (Hebbronville) and his 16:30 at the line with Johnny Rey Alvarez (Lytle) closely following in 16:33.

In the end, this thing comes down to the strength, speed, and endurance of Strohman. He should be able to pull away from the field for his third cross country state title.

Pritchard, Williams, Cedillo, Gossett, and Finney should all be able to battle it out for the next two spots on the podium.

Each of the top three teams from last year's state meet (Great Hearts Northern Oaks, Lytle, and Eustace) will all be back in Round Rock to run for the podium again. However, they all graduated some very important pieces from last year.

They've clearly reloaded as they were at the top of their regional races last week. The defending champions GHNO is ranked NO. 5 in the state, Lytle is ranked No. 3 and got the win over GHNO last week. Eustace is ranked No. 2 and won Region 2 last week.

Can the No. 1 ranked and Region 1 champions Holliday top the others this year? They have Noah and Ryder Strohman leading their charge, which will put them in a good position.

East Bernard is ranked No. 4 and they are all up in the middle of the team picture. They won Region 3 with a 16:44 average. Not only was that the fastest race in the classification last week, but they only had a 35-second spread. 

This will be a very good race!