The UIL state high school cross-country meet will be held Friday and Saturday at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock. Central Texas will be well represented over the two-day event.
For information on times for specific races, visit the UIL website. All races will be streamed on the NFHS website.
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Here are five Austin-area boys and girls runners to keep an eye on as the top runners in the state take the course:
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Esparza enters his in-town course after winning the Region IV-6A race with a time of 15 minutes, 5.8 seconds, almost 14 seconds ahead of second place. Round Rock also won the team regional title. Esparza finished sixth at last year’s 6A state meet.
Dewagan enters the state meet after cruising to the Region III-6A title in 14:42. The Vipers arguably have been Central Texas’ top program in recent years and finished second as a team last year.
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Kranz finished third at the Region IV-6A meet. His time of 15:19.5 was only 0.4 seconds from the No. 2 overall finisher and paced the Cavaliers, who took third as a team.
Morales took the top spot at the Region III-5A meet in 15:12.6, which bested runner-up Liam Brandyberry of LASA by 2.6 seconds.
Llanas took second at the Region IV-2A meet, finishing in 16:46.7, which was nearly eight seconds behind Agua Dulce’s Ethan Cadena for the top spot, but there also was a nearly 10-second gap between Llanas and the next person to cross the finish line.
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Nelsen comfortably won the Region III-5A meet with a time of 17:59, a mark that was 14 seconds ahead of second place. Nelson took 10th at last year’s Class 5A state race.
Laudicina was fifth at the Region IV-6A meet with a time of 18:32.4.
Strong crossed the finish line seconds after Laudicina at the regional, finishing in 18:36.0.
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Joyce finished within striking distance of the top spot at the Region IV-4A meet, coming in only .2 seconds away from the No. 2 runner and less than four seconds from first place. She finished with a time of 10:57.4. Class 2A and Class 4A girls run the two-mile course rather than the 5,000 meters that Class 5A and Class 6A girls, as well as all the boys classifications, run.
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Peterson will conclude her high school cross-country career at state after an eighth-place finish in Region IV-6A race. Her time was 18:40.4.
This article originally published at 10 Austin-area runners to know for Texas state cross-country meet.
