At
last year's State meet, Southlake Carroll's Caden Leonard took home the title with
a time of 14:42.00 while leading his team to the championship with 71 points, which
gave them a comfortable margin over both Austin Vandegrift (98 points) and
Bridgeland (107 points). The 2025 race featured 12 underclassmen finishing in
the top 20 overall. Looking forward to this season shows that eight programs
return at least five runners from the State meet.
Top Teams
Austin Vandegrift - Finished
as the State runner-ups in 2025 and return five of their top seven runners.
Avinash Dewagan was the top freshman at last year's state meet, finishing 17th
overall. He is backed up by Collin Goodwin and Anderson Mills, who broke 16 minutes
on the State meet course. Atticus Reyes and Devin Celkis give the team a strong
pack.
El Paso Eastwood - After a
seventh-place finish in 2025, it would be surprising if they were not
contending for the medal stand this year. Noah Garcia and Noah Loweree may be
the best 1-2 punch in 6A this season. Small improvements from the rest of their
lineup could lead to big things.
Keller - They are led by senior
Boston Bowcutt, who likely has visions of an individual State title guiding him
this year. They have a strong top four with Heath Shiflett, Austin Boto and
Cade Swan all entering their senior seasons. One more top-notch runner could
push them over the top.
Round Rock - The first team
on the list to return six runners from the 2025 State meet. Andrew Esparza can
match up with anyone at the #1 spot and Leo Brasil is not far behind him.
Zachary Stevens gives them a third runner who went under 16 minutes on the
State meet course. Measured improvement from the other three returners could pay
big dividends.
Southlake Carroll - The Dragons
have been a power over the last 15 years and are the favorite heading into the
season. Kai Gutierrez finished fourth overall last year, but he is not just a
one-man show. Jaxon Glenn, Claudio Auns, Grant Norgart and Evan O'Donnell
provide a strong and deep scoring five.
Best of the Rest
Aledo - Tyler Connelly
provides and an excellent starting point to any team.
Bowie - The pieces are in
place for a strong season.
Clemens - Would be one of
the teams to beat if Jayce Love had not moved away.
The Woodlands College Park -
Enter the season with a strong top three runners.
Tompkins - They return five
runners from the State meet and should have a strong 1-5 split.
Top Returning Seniors
Aiden Adams, Clark, 2x State
qualifier, 14th in 2025
Rhett Austin, Lake Highlands, 13th
in 2025
Boston Bowcutt, Keller, 2x State
qualifier, 9th in 2025
Tyler Connelly, Aledo, 3x State
qualifier, 3rd in 2025, 14th in 2024
Diego Duran, Bryan, 2x State
qualifier, 18th in 2025
Andrew Esparza, Round Rock, 3x
State qualifier, 6th in 2025
Collin Goodwin, Austin Vandegrift,
3x State qualifier, 23rd in 2025, 13th in 2024
Noah Loweree, El Paso Eastwood, 2x
State qualifier, 11th in 2025
Nicolas Repper-Molina, San Antonio
Johnson, 2x State qualifier, 20th in 2025
Shepherd Steen, Fulshear, 2x State
qualifier, 22nd in 2025
Top Returning Juniors
Noah Garcia, El Paso Eastwood, 10th
in 2025
Kai Gutierrez, Southlake Carroll,
2x State Qualifier, 4th in 2025, 27th in 2024
Lucas Kranz, Lake Travis, 33rd
in 2025
Logan Martinez, San Antonio Reagan,
31st in 2025
Ruel Newberry, Denton Guyer, 2x
State qualifier, 2nd in 2025, 5th in 2024
Top Returning Sophomores
Devin Celkis, Austin Vandegrift, 72nd
in 2025
Avinash Dewagan, Austin Vandegrift,
17th in 2025
Emanuelle Sanabria, Kingwood, 96th
in 2025
Finnegan Pollard, Katy Seven Lakes,
75th in 2025
Michael Villa, El Paso Franklin, 73rd
in 2025