Southlake Carroll, The Woodlands and Kingwood won 32 of the 33 boys state titles in Texas's largest classification from 1993 through 2025.
On a windy Friday morning at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, El Paso Eastwood became the first team outside that group to win it in 21 years.
Eastwood scored 56 points to win the UIL 6A boys championship. Southlake Carroll, the seven-time defending champion, was second with 68. Keller was third with 109, followed by Bridgeland with 142 and Austin Vandegrift with 153.
How Eastwood Won It
Eastwood put four runners in the top 17. Junior Noah Garcia led the team in third place in 14:40.4. Senior Noah Loweree was eighth in 15:06.1, junior Jacob Lara was 12th in 15:15.8 and sophomore Ayden Betancourt was 17th in 15:30.9. Senior Elias Alcocer was the fifth scorer, finishing 36th in 15:46.5.
In the team standings, Eastwood's five scorers placed second, sixth, 10th, 13th and 25th.
How Eastwood Scored 56
Top five score; sixth and seventh runners in gray
RunnerYrPlaceTimePoints
Team score56
Carroll was led by junior Kai Gutierrez, who was fifth in 14:43.1. Seniors Jaxon Glenn (15:19.4) and Claudio Auns (15:22.2) finished 13th and 14th. Seniors Grant Norgart (24th, 15:38.3) and Evan O'Donnell (30th, 15:42.9) rounded out the scoring.
Three of Eastwood's five scorers, Garcia, Lara and Betancourt, are underclassmen.
Only the Second Since 1993
Eastwood's win ends Carroll's streak of seven straight state titles, which began in 2019.
From 1993 through 2025, The Woodlands won 13 titles in the state's largest classification, Southlake Carroll won 11 and Kingwood won eight.
Texas Largest-Class Boys Champions, 1993-2026
'99, '00, '03, '04, '06, '07, '08, '09, '10, '15, '16, '17, '18
'11, '12, '13, '14, '19, '20, '21, '22, '23, '24, '25
'93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '01, '02
The only other break in that run came in 2005, when Corpus Christi King won on a sixth-runner tiebreaker after it and Flower Mound both scored 71 points. MileSplit's Paul Snyder told that story earlier this fall in How Corpus Christi King Toppled a Sport of Dynasties, which opens with a line that fits Friday just as well: "High school cross country is a sport of dynasties."
In that story, Ari Perez, a senior on the 2005 King team, had a message for runners at schools outside the traditional powers:
"There is always a puncher's chance, but even the chance has to be earned."
- Ari Perez, Corpus Christi King, 2005
Eastwood and Corpus Christi King are now the only two programs outside that group to win the title since 1993.
By Paul Snyder
The 2005 5A title came down to a 71-71 tie with Flower Mound and was decided by King's sixth runner. Paul talked to the team about how it happened and what it still means 21 years later.
Newberry Takes the Individual Title
Denton Guyer junior Ruel Newberry won the individual title in 14:36.3. Newberry is a Brooks XC Nationals Golden Ticket winner, earning his spot with a third-place finish in the Brooks PR 2 Mile. (See every 2026 Golden Ticket winner)
Austin Vandegrift sophomore Avinash Dewagan was second in 14:39.8, and Eastwood's Garcia was third in 14:40.4. The Woodlands senior Elton Martin was fourth in 14:40.8 and Carroll's Gutierrez was fifth in 14:43.1. Round Rock senior Andrew Esparza was sixth in 14:52.2.
Keller's third-place team was led by seniors Austin Boto (ninth, 15:08.7) and Boston Bowcutt (10th, 15:12.2). Bridgeland's top two, seniors Patricio Navarro (15:31.0) and Dean Rosales (15:31.8), finished 18th and 20th.
Results
View the full 6A boys and girls results on MileSplit
6A Boys Team Scores
2026 UIL State Championship - Old Settlers Park, Round Rock
PlaceTeamScore12345(6)(7)
6A Boys 5K - Top 25
2026 UIL State Championship - Old Settlers Park, Round Rock
Full 6A results on MileSplit
