Caden Leonard crosses the finish line at the UIL 6A state championships in first place, again

The most anticipated race of the weekend, the race for the 6A Boys state title, kicked off around 10:10 this morning to more ideal racing weather than we've been fortunate to have this weekend. 

The main story heading into this race was the battle for the team title, as Bridgeland and Southlake Carroll have been neck and neck all year. Keller and Austin Vandegrift also stood out as great podium contenders with outside chances to take the title. 

The individual race appeared to be safer heading into the weekend, as Caden Leonard won the previous two state titles and hadn't lost a race in the state heading into the weekend. 

Through the first mile, the lead pack was extremely tight, coming through at 4:36. Ryder Darcey of Katy held the lead while Griffen Saacke and the Southlake Carroll duo followed closely behind. 

On the team side, Carroll held a convincing lead with just 49 points while Bridgeland trailed further back in second with 95. El Paso Eastwood got out to a good start in third with 129, while College Park looked to be in great form in fourth with 163. 

The lead pack saw no separation over the course of the second mile, with Saacke taking the pace at the front, closely followed by Leonard and about six other runners. Notably, several guys, including Kai McCullough, closed from a chasing position to join the pack, making this race even more competitive than it already was. 

Carroll retained their lead through the second mile with 65 while Bridgeland still trailed in second, with a relatively distant 110 points. College Park closed the gap considerably with just 125 points through the 3200m split, while Austin Vandegrift moved into fourth with 165 points after a strong charge over the second mile. 

As they rounded into the last mile, what we all thought would happen did as Caden Leonard took the race over the final stretch and pulled away to win the race by seven seconds in 14:42.10, ahead of Ruel Newberry, who moved up from a fifth-place finish last year to second place this year. 

Griffen Saacke held on to take third for Bridgeland, marking the third consecutive season the Bears have placed a runner on the podium. Gutierrez finished fourth in 14:56.60 to make it 1-4 for Carroll, while McCullough moved up from a slow start to finish fifth. 

Southlake Carroll did as predicted and took the team title for the seventh consecutive year. The Dragons scored 72 points on their way to victory, backed by a great performance from Leonard and Gutierrez and a depth group that stepped up. 

Vandegrift leaped up for second with 98 points after a rough race at regionals, while Bridgeland had a less-than-ideal race, finishing third with 107 points off the back of a podium finish from Saacke. 

Keller claimed fourth with 140 points, while College Park had a great performance after a rough start to the year to finish fifth with 144 points. 

Carroll's dominance continues for another year, and Caden Leonard rounds out his UIL cross country career with three consecutive state titles. The Dragons remain imperious in the 6A division and return their entire squad next year outside of Leonard, meaning the race for number eight will be a convincing one. 

2025 UIL 6A Boys Championship race