STAY THE COURSE: State XC stars run for glory in Round Rock

Runners take your mark...

The 2026 UIL Cross Country State Championships are Friday and Saturday at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, as the state's top runners put it all on the line for state gold.

Here is the comprehensive breakdown for the two-day event.

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Class 6A Boys (Friday, 8:45 a.m.)

Southlake Carroll’s dynasty is on the line. Carroll won its sixth straight title in 2024 and won again in 2025 behind Caden Leonard’s 14:42.0, but for the first time in years, it isn’t the favorite.

El Paso Eastwood beat Carroll head-to-head at Region I, 48-53, and are the favorites coming out of West Texas.

The Teams to Watch...

1. El Paso Eastwood — Had four runners in the Top 12 at Regionals - Noah Garcia (Jr.) second in 14:48.5, Noah Loweree sixth, Ayden Betancourt ninth, Jacob Lara 12th, with Elias Alcocer closing in 23rd just 18.6 seconds back.
2. Southlake Carroll — Kai Gutierrez finished third in the Regional (14:50.2), Claudio Auns eighth, Jaxon Glenn and Grant Norgart 13th-14th, Evan O’Donnell 20th; a 63-second spread, tighter than Eastwood’s. If Auns runs like he did at district, Carroll can win and keep the streak alive.
3. Bridgeland — The Houston contender. Dean Rosales (15:13.9) and Patricio Navarro finished 3-4 at Region III, 1.3 seconds apart, and the Bears beat Vandegrift by 31 points in their first head-to-head of the year with a 44.2-second spread. Bridgeland was third at State in 2025 and traded NXN auto-qualifiers with Vandegrift in 2024 and 2025.
4. Austin Vandegrift — 2025 runner-up (98 points). Sophomore Avinash Dewagan won Region III in 14:42.0 by 23.7 seconds, his third straight win, but the spread was 1:25.8.
5. Keller — Boston Bowcutt was fifth (15:04.9) and Austin Boto was 10th at Region I; third as a team with 113 points.
6. The Woodlands — The Highlanders were the Region II champ (49). Elton Martin ran 14:25.0, the fastest winning time of the four regionals, and won by 32.5 seconds. Bo Breed was fifth, James Clary was 10th.
7. Round Rock — Region IV champ (107, 36 ahead of Clemens) on their home course, essentially. Andrew Esparza won in 15:05.8, his third straight win.
8. Flower Mound — Grabbed the last Region I spot by 16 points; their 27.8-second spread is the tightest of any ranked team and they can finish as high as fifth if the district-meet version shows up.
9. The Woodlands College Park — Second at Region II (82); Ryan Beken second in 14:57.5, Andrew Fry sixth.
10. Humble Atascocita — Third at Region III (131), 14 ahead of Strake Jesuit, which also qualified as the region’s fourth team. Eli Mugambi was second behind Dewagan.

Individual contenders: The man to beat is Ruel Newberry of Denton Guyer, who won Region I in 14:35.5 ahead of Garcia and Gutierrez; he was second at state last year in 14:49.0. Behind him, in rough order: Garcia (Eastwood), Martin (The Woodlands, 14:25 regional), Dewagan (Vandegrift), Gutierrez (Carroll), Esparza (Round Rock, 14:30.0 season best, fifth at state last year in 15:02.7), Beken (College Park) and Mugambi (Atascocita).

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Class 6A Girls (Friday, 8:15 a.m.)

Flower Mound vs. the defending champ. Bridgeland won its first state title last year wth 38 points, edging 2024 champion Flower Mound (41), with Katy third (90) and The Woodlands fourth (124). Flower Mound had won five straight before that. This is a rematch, and the individual title is wide open: three-time champion Macy Wingard of Braswell added a 3200 state title in May and has graduated.

The Prospectus

1. Flower Mound — Won Region I with 55 points. Adeline Bennett, the 6A 1600 champion, won in 17:31.3 with Liana Cluley-Garza second in 17:34.5; their top two have finished 1-2 again.

2. Bridgeland — Tied Katy Tompkins for the Region III title and had to be separated by sixth runners. Hope Smith (Sr.) is the frontrunner: 16:46.2 season best, sixth at state last year. The question all year has been the gap to her No. 2.
3. Katy Tompkins — The surprise. Tied Bridgeland at Region III; newly ranked.
4. The Woodlands — Region II champ with 35, five runners in the top eight: Naomi Weller second (17:58.9), Emma Harder fifth, Emily Kacher sixth, Marta Linde Gomez eighth. The top-two gap nearly closed at regionals.
5. Katy — Third at State last year with all seven back. Third at Region III behind the Bridgeland/Tompkins tie.
6. Keller / Southlake Carroll / Byron Nelson — Region I’s 2-3-4 (103, 127, 129).
7. Comal Canyon — Region IV champ (95) by three over Churchill.
8. Vandegrift — Fourth at Region III; dropped from the rankings but still a top-10-caliber team.

Individual contenders: Bennett (Flower Mound) and Hope Smith (Bridgeland) are the favorites; Smith’s 16:46 is the best time in the state. Then Cluley-Garza (Flower Mound), Wylie freshman Eliana Williams (won Region II in 17:49.3), Weller (The Woodlands), Kylie Vega (Eastwood, 17:44.6) and Churchill’s Kallie Van Prooyen (Region IV winner, 18:15.2). Houston’s medal threats: Smith, Weller, College Park’s Isabella Camiro (third at Region II in 18:01.6) and Katy’s Vienna Fish/Kinley Skaggs, who both broke 18:30 on this course last year.

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Class 5A Boys (Saturday, 8:45 a.m.)

Grapevine’s title defense got harder. The reigning champs moved regions and promptly lost Region II by five points to Dallas Woodrow Wilson, 70-75, without a top-10 finisher but with all five in the top 21. Grapevine returns four, with three who broke 16:15 on this course last year.

The Prospectus

1. Grapevine — Still the deepest team; their pack ran 21-and-in at a loaded regional.
2. Woodrow Wilson — Repeat Region II champs with junior State Slusher third (15:13.6) and freshman Tucker Mauck seventh (15:31.8); sixth at state last year, and the DISD pride story writes itself.
3. Boerne Champion — Second at Region IV (103) to Weslaco East (98), with Shawn Edwards winning the individual title in 16:30.1.
4. Lucas Lovejoy — Third at Region II (98); Tristan Arceneau won in 14:58.3 after being regional runner-up last year.
5. Weslaco East — Region IV champ (98).
6. Austin LASA — Region III champ (52); preseason note was that Joaquin Gonzalez could contend for a podium spot but the team needed more firepower — they found it.
7. Mansfield Legacy — Region I champ by 42 over Paschal in the school’s first-ever team trip to state after dropping from 6A; Gabriel Martinez-Sanchez third in 15:54.6.
8. College Station — Second at Region III (69) with five runners 9-19 and a 16:08 average.
9. Midlothian Heritage, McAllen, Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, Fort Worth Paschal, Burleson Centennial, A&M Consolidated — The rest of the field; Consol was fourth at Region III (193) behind a third-place individual.

Individual contenders: Arceneau (Lovejoy, 14:58.3) is the favorite based on regional times; Joshua Loera of North Mesquite was three seconds back. Then Slusher (Woodrow Wilson), Edwards (Champion), Martinez-Sanchez (Mansfield Legacy) and McKinney North’s Rhett Hulin (15th at state last year).

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Class 5A Girls (Saturday, 8:15 a.m.)

Highland Park finally beat Lovejoy. Lovejoy is the defending state champ and had won six straight regional titles, but Highland Park put four in the Top 11 and won Region II 43-52, with sophomore Adelaide Wortman second in 17:56.9 and senior Ryan Sontag third. Highland Park has 14 state titles, the last in 2012.

Team Prospectus

1. Highland Park — See above; Wortman and Sontag give them a front pair nobody else in 5A has.
2. Lucas Lovejoy — Defending champs; sophomore Emily Armstrong, last year’s regional winner, was fourth.
3. New Braunfels — Won Region IV by 46 (42 points) on a sloppy course behind senior Savanah Moya, who swept the team and individual titles.
4. Comal Smithson Valley — 2024 state champ; second at Region IV (88).
5. Boerne Champion — Third at Region IV (97).
6. A&M Consolidated — Region III champ (57) with runners 2-3-10-14-28; Rowen Skinner won district for the third straight year in 18:31.3.
7. Prosper Richland — Region I champ by five over Paschal.
8. Melissa / Grapevine — Region II’s 3-4.
9. College Station — Third at Region III (162), making this the first time both CSISD schools sent both teams to state.
10. Argyle, Kingwood Park, La Joya Palmview — K-Park took Region III’s fourth spot by a single point over Friendswood, its first trip since 2022.

Individual contenders: Wortman (Highland Park, 17:56.9), Moya (New Braunfels), Armstrong (Lovejoy), Sontag (Highland Park), Skinner (Consol), Argyle freshmen Annee Binning and Presley Skaggs (7th and 9th at Region I), and Magnolia West’s Valerie Haros, who was 41st at state as a sophomore in 2021 and is a regular top-10 regional finisher.