Texas Boys XC Team Rankings Week 8

No. 1

El Paso Eastwood

No. 1 El Paso Eastwood (El Paso, TX) Prev. No. 2 - Up 1

Analysis: For weeks now, we've said Southlake Carroll would keep the top spot until somebody beat them head-to-head. That's exactly what El Paso Eastwood did on Monday in Lubbock, scoring 48 points to Carroll's 53. Noah Garcia (Jr.) finished second in 14:48.5, 1.7 seconds ahead of Carroll's Kai Gutierrez. Only Denton Guyer's Ruel Newberry, who won in 14:35.5, finished ahead of Garcia.

The rest of their lineup is the driving force for Eastwood's statement victory. Noah Loweree (Sr.) was sixth. Ayden Betancourt (So.) and Jacob Lara (Jr.) were ninth and 12th. Elias Alcocer (Sr.), who finished 47 seconds behind Lara at district, closed the scoring in 23rd and was only 18.6 seconds back this time. Eastwood had four runners in the top 12, and Carroll had four in the top 14, but Eastwood's were further forward. Eastwood's spread was 1:06.8, a bit wider than Carroll's, but the extra places up front made up the difference.

Eastwood has to now be considered the state title favorite. Their top two have typically finished close together, and the 18.9 seconds between Garcia and Loweree on Monday was wider than the 2.6 at district, but they still managed to win. The rematch with Carroll will take place next Friday in Round Rock to decide whether Carroll's dynasty continues or a new champion takes the crown.

No. 2

Carroll High School

No. 2 Carroll High School (Southlake, TX) Prev. No. 1 - Down 1

Analysis: Southlake Carroll lost the No. 1 spot by five points. Kai Gutierrez (Jr.) was third in 14:50.2. Claudio Auns (Sr.) was eighth, and Jaxon Glenn and Grant Norgart finished together in 13th and 14th. Evan O'Donnell closed the scoring in 20th. Carroll's spread from first to fifth was 63 seconds, slightly tighter than Eastwood's 66.8, in a 184-runner field.

Carroll is still the clearest threat to the state title for Eastwood, both based on history and the form they've shown at their best this year. Their second through fifth runners are as good as anyone's, and Gutierrez can finish near the front of any race in the state. Carroll needs Auns to run as he did at district. If he does, Carroll can win and keep the streak alive in Round Rock.

No. 3

Bridgeland

No. 3 Bridgeland (Cypress, TX) Prev. No. 5 - Up 2

Analysis: The question for Bridgeland all season was whether it had a frontrunner. Monday in Huntsville, Dean Rosales (Sr.) finished third in 15:13.9 and Patricio Navarro (Sr.) fourth, 1.3 seconds behind him. With their top three runners back in the lineup for the first time since Gans Creek, Bridgeland beat Austin Vandegrift by a healthy 31 points in their first direct clash of the season. These teams have been well-documented rivals in recent years, trading NXN auto-qualifications in 2024 and 2025.

The pack was still there behind Rosales and Navarro. Ilyes Benguedda (Jr.) was 13th, Braxton Ramirez (Jr.) 20th, and Luke Willows (Jr.) 31st, for a spread of 44.2 seconds. Bridgeland had four runners in the top 20, while Vandegrift had three. It's important to note that Bridgeland also won the Region III Preview on this course earlier in the season, with Monday's performance showing a noticeable improvement, as would be expected.

Bridgeland's ceiling appears to be higher than it looked a week ago. Dewagan still beat Rosales by 32 seconds. But two Bridgeland runners in the top four of a regional meet, plus one of the tightest packs among the top teams, makes the Bears a real podium team. Finishing ahead of Eastwood or Carroll looks like a tall task at the moment, but if Rosales and Navarro can close some of the gap to Garcia and Gutierrez, Friday's race becomes much more interesting than it already was shaping up to be.

No. 4

Austin Vandegrift

No. 4 Austin Vandegrift (Austin, TX) Prev. No. 3 - Down 1

Analysis: Avinash Dewagan (So.) won the Region III race in 14:42.0, 23.7 seconds ahead of Atascocita's Eli Mugambi. It was his third straight win. 

Ryan Lee (Jr.) ran well for seventhh. Anderson Mills (Jr.) was 18th. Then Atticus Reyes (Jr.) finished 37th and Ewan Henricksen (Jr.) 45th. Vandegrift's spread was 1:25.8, compared with Bridgeland's just 44.2. 

Vandegrift is still very much a podium team, as they've been considered all year, with Dewagan likely to contend for the individual title as well. To finish higher than fourth, Vandegrift needs a great collective day.

No. 5

Keller

No. 5 Keller (Keller, TX) Prev. No. 4 - Down 1

Analysis: Last week we said Keller needed a runner who could finish with Gutierrez, Garcia, and Dewagan in a big field. Boston Bowcutt (Sr.) came close. He was fifth in Lubbock in 15:04.9, 14.7 seconds behind Gutierrez. Austin Boto (Sr.) was 10th, so Keller had two runners in the top 10 against Region I's best teams, a result that's reflective of the form we've seen throughout this season.

Keller making it to Round Rock was never in doubt; they've been a top-five team all season, and Bowcutt and Boto have proven they can compete near the front in just about any field.

No. 6

The Woodlands

No. 6 The Woodlands (The Woodlands, TX) Prev. No. 9 - Up 3

Analysis: Elton Martin (Sr.) ran 14:25.0 at the Rolling Hills Soccer Complex in Fort Worth and won by 32.5 seconds. It was the fastest winning time of the four 6A boys regional races, although the courses are all different. More important for The Woodlands, the rest of the team finished closer to him than usual. Bo Breed (Sr.) was fifth, 46.2 seconds behind Martin, after finishing 66.5 seconds back at the Nike South. James Clary (So.) was 10th. Santiago Gonzalez (Jr.) and William Bishop (Sr.) finished 17th and 19th, less than three seconds apart.

The Woodlands won Region II with 49 points, 33 ahead of Woodlands College Park. This is the most encouraging result The Woodlands have had all season, and they move up three spots. Martin will contend for the individual title. To compete for the team podium, they need Breed and Clary to run like they did Monday.

No. 7

Round Rock

No. 7 Round Rock (Round Rock, TX) Prev. No. 6 - Down 1

Analysis: Andrew Esparza (Sr.) won again. His 15:05.8 in Corpus Christi beat San Antonio Clark's Calvin Pomeroy by 13.3 seconds. He's now won his last three races, and he'll be one of the leading contenders for the individual title in Round Rock. Round Rock won Region IV with 107 points, 36 ahead of Schertz Clemens. Round Rock drops one spot only because The Woodlands moves past them. 

No. 8

Flower Mound

No. 8 Flower Mound (Flower Mound, TX) Prev. No. 7 - Down 1

Analysis: Flower Mound held their own after some ups and downs this year and qualified for state with the last spot in Region I, 16 points ahead of San Angelo Central, but not the way it wanted. At district, the Jaguars moved their pack up to the front. In Lubbock, the pack stayed tight but finished further back. Elliot Carrier (Sr.) led in 21st, and Owen Dunham (Jr.), Hayes Iacomini (Sr.), Carter Cole (Sr.), and Damien Hicks (Sr.) finished 27th through 48th.

The spread was only 27.8 seconds, still the tightest of any team in these rankings. Flower Mound got what they needed most: a trip to Round Rock. If the team that ran at district can show up, they can finish as high as fifth. 

No. 9

Conroe Woodlands College Park

No. 9 Conroe Woodlands College Park (Conroe, TX) New

Analysis: College Park has spent much of this season finishing behind teams in these rankings. They were second to Bridgeland at the Region III preview in September and sixth at Gans Creek. They lost District 13-6A to The Woodlands by 11 points, and were second to them again Monday in Region II. College Park has finished behind a ranked team in each of those races, and they've been close every time.

On Monday, Ryan Beken (Sr.) finished second in 14:57.5, and Andrew Fry (Sr.) was sixth in 15:13.9. Vasco Arredondo (Jr.), Lucas Collins (Sr.), and Praneel Ajjan (Sr.) placed 18th, 27th, and 32nd. College Park scored 82 points and finished 63 points ahead of third-place Conroe. Their spread of 67 seconds was tighter than The Woodlands who finished ahead of them.

College Park gets in the rankings by qualifying for state, and Beken and Fry are a strong front pair. If they can pick off one of the teams that's finished ahead of them throughout the year, then we can say College Park had a successful race in Round Rock.

No. 10

Humble Atascocita

No. 10 Humble Atascocita (Humble, TX) New

Analysis: Region III had three ranked teams, and Atascocita placed ahead of one of them. Atascocita scored 131 points for third in Huntsville, 14 ahead of Houston Strake Jesuit, which was ranked No. 10 last week. Eli Mugambi (Sr.) led them in second, 23.7 seconds behind Dewagan and 8.2 seconds ahead of Bridgeland's Rosales.

Caleb Meriwether (Jr.) was 17th, Caleb Williams (Sr.) 25th, and Roman Delgado (Jr.) 33rd. Freshman Liam Vance was 69th.

Strake Jesuit drops out of the top ten, but is still headed to state as Region III's fourth qualifier. Atascocita takes the last spot by finishing ahead of Strake head-to-head. Mugambi will be one of the top individuals in Round Rock. Atascocita's spot in these rankings depends on whether Vance or another fifth runner can move up from the 60s.