UIL 1A Boys Team Preview

Boys compete at the UIL 1A Boys State Cross Country State Championships

There are some teams that were hard to keep out of the top 10 for various reasons. Some of them were Dime Box, Adrian, Booker, and Saltillo.

By the numbers, Dime Box and Adrian look to have some solid numbers coming into the season. However, their inability to advance to the state meet in 2024 give pause to put them over some of the teams who did make our list.

When it comes to Booker, they graduated their entire top five runners from the state meet. Saltillo is in the same boat; they saw four runners graduate including three scorers. 

So, the teams below are the ten we can see having either a good start to the season or a good run through late September early October at the very least. We'll get a better idea prior to the district championship round on who could make serious pushes to the state meet, but this is what we figured out.

10. Cumby Miller Grove

Miller Grove is always one of the top UIL 1A distance running programs. They have been going through a couple of coaching changes over the past couple of years, but the foundations looks to still be pretty strong.

With that said, they just missed another podium finish in 2024 when a two point margin between them and Tilden McMullen County had them in fourth place instead of third. 

Three runners, two of them being scorers graduated from that squad including the outstanding Ryker Haivala. Haivala was third in cross and finished with a great track state meet. 

There is a lot to replace and we'll look to see how they do it.

9. Tilden McMullen

Tilden McMullen County as we mentioned above was a podium team in 2024. They had a good front running duo and their three, four, and five runners were pretty close in action.

Attrition saw two of their scoring runners graduate which were fifth place overall finisher Brandon Timms and their number three Nate Little. It will be an uphill battle as they only had six runners to begin with at the state meet.

This season, they need to find at the least one runner and more to feel safe just in case any unforeseen things happen. They do have the right coach in place to be able to address those issues in Coach Billingsley.

8. Rankin

Rankin placed 14th at last year's state meet, but they have one of the least amount of runners graduate from their scoring lineup. The number five spot is what they'll look to supplement, but from the one through the four spot are all coming back.

Their sixth runner was only three spots behind the fifth runner in Round Rock, so that means they may have nearly the same punch coming back.

What we'll look to see from Rankin is if they can improve from last year and if they can add solid six and seven runners.

6. Saint Jo

Saint Jo placed night at the state meet in 2024. It was actually a good team race, but with some advancement from the one and two spots where they ran pretty tight then this team could be equally as good at the least. 

The three and four runners graduated, which will be the big hit but their four and five runners were just as together and could fill in those spots.

5. O'Donnell

O'Donnell had a successful season in 2024 that saw them finish eighth at the state meet. They only graduated one runner, but that was number one runner and all-state performer Eduardo Cedillo.

Replacing Cedillo will not be an easy task, but having the rest of the lineup returning will soften the blow.

Junior Cameron Renteria and senior Draedon Barrera will be a force up front as they were able to finish within nine-seconds of each other, so this will be another talented Eagles squad.

With a solid finish at state, Garner returns with their top four finishers from the state meet.  Include bringing back their six and seven runners and this team is going to be cooking with grease.

A fourth place finish at the Region 3-1A meet, they were the final team to advance, but roles could be flipped this year.

The six and seven runners Brock Beavers and Juluis Crews from 2024 will be tasked with replacing Carter Austin at the five spot. The good thing is they finished less than a second apart at the state meet.

3. Zephyr

Zephyr place second overall at the UIL 1A state meet and they will be good once again. Attrition will see them have to replace their top runner and their number six.

Eli Williams was an all-state runner and will no longer suit up. The bright side is that Aaron Fagan will easily slide up. He finished eighth last year at state and as a senior should be just as strong.

Riley McCuller, Spencer Marwitz, Reese Hamm, and Slade Butler will get the Bulldogs off to a flying start in 2025.

2. Jayton

Jayton was one of the most dominating teams all season long in 2024. They lost some really crucial parts to the team in Griff Reel and Zech Mosely. 

However, Sean Stanaland will soften the blow up front for the Jays. He placed 13th last fall, just missing out on the all-state team.

If they are going to move up from their fifth place team finish, youngsters like Ben Baldridge, Tucker Scott, and Mark Guerrero who are all a year older now will have to get with Colt Gentry and help move the team into their true capabilities.

1. Comstock

The reigning and defending state champions Comstock Panthers had a pretty dominating win last year. Things look good for a title defense with defending state champ Sebastian Talamantez at the helm.

Graduation has them needing to replace their number two and three runners. That's a huge ask for any team, but Comstock's runners were both in the top 15.

Fortunately for them, Jordan Allen and Noah Bahena finished 23rd and 24th at 18:05 and 18:06. Junior Mauro Lopez was 51st at state and also under 19-minutes.

This squad will have to contend with Tilden McMullen County and Zephyr at Region 4-1A, but there is more at stake than just regionals for this team.