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Last week, we published our UIL 1A TAPPS 1A team previews for the 2025 cross country season. This week, we are starting with the 2A girls.
The CCCAT (Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas) released its Pre-Season rankings. You can view their rankings along with ours to see how they compare and contrast with one another.
Either way, the season is fastly approaching; here are the teams we believe will be factors, at least to start the year.
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10. Centerville
Centerville enters the 2025 cross country season off a 10th-place finish in 2024. With six of seven girls back, they have a really good shot at replicating and even improving on that finish.
The team has the experience, and one member, Kaila Mast, has two years of state meet experience under her belt as she qualified individually in 2023. Mast will have Opal Keeling and Andy Fayle, who were the top two finishers from 2024's state meet.
Lillian Largent was the fourth-best runner in Round Rock last year, with Adaline Rivenbark and Bralyn O'Brien rounding out the team. This year will be a big step up for this team, which can really make some noise this year.
9. Hawkins
8. Douglass
7. Christoval
Christoval ran to an impressive fifth-place finish in 2024. This year, they'll have to reload, but it will be a heavy load to replace for the 2025 season.
They graduated Presley Polk and Kenadee Millican, who were both big players the past couple of years for the Cougars. Polk was all-state in 2023 and finished 17th last year. Millican was consistent in the past two years, dropping 29th-place finishes both years.
The team has experience replacing top runners. After a third-place finish in 2023, they had to replace their number-three runner and ran a tough fifth place in 2024. Juniors Kayleigh Pump and Sophia Nemec were the third and fourth runners at the state meet and will now take on leadership roles. Sophomores Essence Bogs and Brynlee Carson, and junior Jae Thompson will also be expected to reach the next level.
6. Douglass
5. Goldthwaite
The Eagles return after a distant fourth-place finish in 2024. Two graduated from that squad, and they were important pieces. The number two and four runners from the state meet all finished within 14 seconds of one another, will have to be replaced.
Payten McGee returns as a junior and will look to follow up on her all-state placement from last year. Her 10th-place finish in 12:07 was a PR on grass, and she followed that up with an 11:40 in the 3,200m at the state track meet.
Goldthwaite also returns Emily Bartek, who was an all-state runner in 2023. After placing eighth in 2023, she only managed a 45th-place finish last year. Expect her to return to form more so than not and team with McGee for a huge 1-2 push up front.
There could be a major fight for the podium, and Goldthwaite will be one of the teams.
4. Gruver
These Greyhounds return five of seven runners from last year's third-place finish, where they scored 96 points.
Juniors Halle McLain, Reese Grotegut, Jordan Schenk, and sophomore Mayren Lora, paired with the only senior from last year, Makenlei Vasquez, return as top runners from last year. Marlee Maupin and Kynzli Briones will be two possible fillers to replace the graduates.
A 13:25 team average to begin the season could be a good start to the year for Gruver, who finished with a 12:54 at the state meet.
3. Sundown
The Roughettes had a patch of time when they rattled off their fair share of podium finishes, including several state titles. Last season, they returned to Round Rock, but were a long were 84 points off the podium. This year, they could make their way back to their trophy-winning ways.
While a couple of the qualifying teams will be looking to replace scoring runners, Sundown isn't one of them. They had a youth movement the past couple of years, and it started paying off last year.
Junior Kaytlin Clausen was 24th last year with a finishing time of 12:44. It was their two through five runners (sophomore Avy McGlasson, junior Addilyn Hord, senior Sarah Posadas, and junior Kassady Rodgers) who all finished within 7 seconds of one another at the state meet. Maddy Medrano will be a sophomore and also brings back state meet experience.
Sundown will get back to being a major player in 2A this year.
2. Farwell
It took Farwell all four seasons of Isabella Jaime's all-state career to get on the podium as a team last year when they finished second last season. Now that she has graduated, don't tell this team their chances of getting back on the podium.
Jaime is the only casualty of attrition for this squad; even though it'll be tough to lose her contribution from second place, they still have Alexis Wade. Wade finished third last year with an 11:56 time. Despite Isabella graduating, Wade has another Jaime in her class with Ava Jaime back for her junior season; she was 33rd at state last season. Presley Miller returns for her senior year, Zaylie Everett will be a sophomore and Jacqueline Calvillo, and Averey Miller with both be juniors this year.
This group returns with a 13:13 team average.
1. Hamilton
This is one of the easiest predictions of the entire UIL previews. Hamilton has won back-to-back -to-back UIL 2A titles. You have to go way back to 2021 when they finished seventh at the state meet to find the last year the Bulldogs didn't win the title.
They return their entire lineup from last year's title, including a quartet of Presley Long, Anna Pearcy, Kaitlyn Walton, and Kate Lengefeld, who haven't lost in Round Rock since they arrived on the high school level.
Chaska Downs enters her junior year after finishing fourth last year with fellow classmates Milagros Moncada and sophomore Emma Ensor.
The question is what other teams have to overcome to take them down. Well, the answer is easy -- run fast and tight. The last three years, Hamilton has run impressively tight and has gotten faster each year. They went for a 13:32 avg and 0.35 gap in 2022, 12:26 avg and 0.45 gap in 2023, and dropped a 12:20 avg with a 0.37 gap last year.
It would be a crime not to rank Hamilton first to start the season, as they are going for a realistic four-peat.