Texas' independent-school programs put on a show this weekend, with the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) athletes stacking high-end marks at three marquee stops: Nike South, the Hoka McNeil Invitational, and Louisville's Trinity/Valkyrie Invitational.
In Kentucky, St. John's (Houston) delivered one of the headline SPC performances: senior Andrew Wasserman hammered a 15:49.54 5K and teammate Samuel Caruso added 16:07.43, part of a deep Maverick pack that finished 10th in the loaded team standings with a razor-tight 0:53 1-5 split and a 16:19 team average. They were anything but a two-man show-Horatio Wilcox (16:26.09), Henry Caputo (16:31.92), Nico Laskaris (16:42.85), Bennett Thomas (16:58.13), and Brian Duffy (16:59.47) all kept the parade of crimson singlets flowing across the line and underscored St. John's trademark depth.
Back in Texas, SPC boys kept the momentum rolling at Nike South. Felipe Beltran (Awty International) mixed it with UIL elites and Louisiana's best, splitting 4:44.9/10:00.7 before closing in 16:07.20. Will Pacey (Houston Episcopal) clocked 16:18.60, and The John Cooper School's duo of Jacob Bailey (16:29.20) and Zach Jefferson (16:58.10) added more sub-17s to the conference haul.
SPC girls produced quality, too: Georgia Bass (Houston Episcopal) placed 16th in the elite race at Nike South with 18:22.80, while The John Cooper School's Raya Al Aghbar led her squad in 20:05.40, and Episcopal's pack-Meg Billipp (19:43.30), Ashley Conoscenti (20:00.60), Palmer Popov (20:17.10), and Ceci Bass (20:33.60)-demonstrated the kind of lineup balance that wins titles in November.
At McNeil, Taylor Synnott (St. John's) added a sparkling 18:27.6 in the Gold race, and St. Andrew's placed three boys in the 17-low range-Cyrus Shoghi (17:12.4), Alexander Sutton (17:17.6), Reed Robinson (17:30.5)-to round out an all-around sterling SPC weekend.
Across classifications and venues, the through-line was the same: independent-school athletes seized national-caliber opportunities and converted them into tangible progress. SPC's depth St. John's in Louisville, Episcopal and Cooper at Nike South, St. Andrew's at McNeil reveal the association is not only capable of running with Texas' UIL powers but of shaping the postseason narrative. With October sharpening into championship form, this weekend suggested that SPC is poised to make plenty of noise when the trophies come out.