NXR South Girls Team Preview

Yesterday, we published the boys South Region team outlook based on team averages. Today, we are giving a look at the girls teams. The state who are in the South Region are Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.

In the history of the region, it has been all Texas teams to advance to Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) with the exception of the 2006 season when Tupelo (MS) advanced.

Even in Texas, very few teams have even been able to break through and qualify to NXN. This season is the 20th year of NXN and the number of times a team not named Southlake Carroll, Kingwood, Keller, Prosper, Flower Mound or The Woodlands can be counted on one hand. 

This year, the top team in the region is Flower Mound. They won their fifth UIL 6A state title in a row and are looking for a third straight trip to Portland. They have four girls who have run under 18-minutes and their five, six, and seven runners aren't separated by much. Adeline Bennett appears to have become their top runner of late, but she has Alexandra Fox and Ava Cole who both recently committed to Texas A&M and appear ready for the post season.

Rogers (Arkansas) is an interesting group. They are coming off their second Arkansas 6A state title in as many years.  They are led by Lilly Beshears who has a 2024 resume as good as anyone's including her 16:40 win at the Chile Pepper XC Festival. Samantha Schmersahl is another one of their leaders who has been good this year. They ran very well out of the gates this season at early meets with Kayla Eggers going 17:59; they haven't been as fast in the latter parts of 2024. If they regain their speed, they'll be able to compete with the best and if they can run tight, they should be a favorite.

Oklahoma 6A squads Owasso and Piedmont both have opportunities to qualify. Piedmont has run fast this year and they are a tight pack running team. Their spread will be under 50-seconds and if they drop a blazing race I think they'll qualify. 

However, Owasso has had their number a couple of times this year including finishing second behind Rogers at Chile Pepper and ahead of Piedmont. The also topped Piedmont at the state meet. From one through four, Owasso can race with anyone. It is the five spot that will be the make or breaker. 

It looks like the rest of the challenge should come from the Lone Star teams and there are plenty of suitors.

Bridgeland, Katy, and Northwest Nelson are the top team finishers behind Flower Mound at the UIL 6A race. Bridgeland was runner-up with an impressive 18:27 average. Katy only ran 19:01, but their 34 second gap kept their score low enough to make the podium. Northwest Nelson ran north of 19-minutes, but was tight for the most part. If they can get the five spot closer they will be dangerous.

The teams I advise to be on the lookout for are the two 5A top teams, Smithson Valley and Lucas Lovejoy.

Smithson Valley gets better with each and every race. They are a tight pack running team and I don't think we've see their best yet; they ran a 18:46 average at the state meet with a 53-second gap. Their number one runner Brady Solansky hasn't peaked yet and neither has senior Mia Perez who began the season late due to injury. Add Lilly Koenig who appears to be inching closer to sub 18-minutes herself.

Lovejoy is coming off of a runner-up finish at the 5A state meet and an atypical race where they ran over 19-minutes and with a spread beyond 60-seconds. If they find their groove, they can qualify for NXN as well.

See below for some of the top team averages in the region ahead of next weekend's NXR South.

***Some of the top Texas team averages with the top teams from other states