Loaded District 4-5A means some talented teams will be left behind

By John English

Special to the Star-Telegram

In all likelihood, the District 4-5A cross country meet today will be a battle for second place on both the boys' and girls' sides.

The Southlake Carroll teams are nationally ranked, and again should compete for state titles.

In regard to the other two regional qualifying spots, however, there are at least three teams on each side that could advance to region, and at least one talented team will be left out.

The meet will be run at Oak Grove Park in Grapevine, starting at 9 a.m.

The Keller Timber Creek program might have the best shot of getting both teams to advance, and coach Dan Strong said, while he is confident in his teams' abilities, he does not want his runners to get ahead of themselves.

"I'm confident that our kids are going to do well, but it's one of those things that is very exciting going in," Strong said. "Keller's boys are running well, Keller Central's girls are doing very well, and then, of course, we are going against the nationally ranked Southlake Dragons."

Strong said he believes it is a fight for second and third places in the district, reasoning that it is understandable given the Dragons' track record.

"I do feel like our kids are improving on a weekly basis," Strong said. "One of our goals as a team and a school is to be the best in the state, and obviously, that goes through Southlake. But they put up such a strong performance at the state meet last year, and for anybody to say that they are going to beat Southlake at the district meet would be a little arrogant and out of line at this point.

"To say that we won't be there in the future -- not at all. That is definitely our goal."

Last season, the Carroll boys team broke a state record for lowest score with 20 points.

For Keller coach Brian Zaring, a trip to region for his team is a legitimate possibility, especially on the boys side, and he said District 4-5A is stacked.

"We're going to have to run well," Zaring said. "Our district is pretty deep, and there are going to be a couple of teams sitting at home when we go to regionals that probably shouldn't be.

"It is going to be tough, but I am pretty sure that we are going to at least get third on the boys side, and I think the girls have a real shot."

Zaring said he believes it will be a battle between Keller, Northwest and Timber Creek for second and third places in the boys meet.

Northwest coach George Lutkenhaus said he believes his girls and boys have a good shot of advancing to region, and he believes the Texans' chances come down to a couple of factors.

"The district we're in, we're going to have to run well and have a few things go our way to advance," Lutkenhaus said. "It's just going to come down to who runs the best. Running is kind of a fickle thing. It's like a roller coaster. You're up, you're down, and I think that if we got it right when it comes to training, we've got a good shot at advancing."

Briefly

Haltom City Bethesda Christian: The girls team won the Class 3A championship at the TAPPS state meet with 48 points, 19 ahead of the field. Abby Holloway finished second individually in 12:51.50, and teammate Noelle Davis was fourth in 13:18.20.

Southlake Carroll: Freshman Antigone Archer and senior Courtney Kriegshauser were honorable mentions in the USA girls individual national rankings. The boys team is ranked second nationally.

Fort Worth Nolan Catholic: Both teams finished third Saturday in the TAPPS Class 5A state meet. Michael Batson was the top boys runner on the boys side, finishing third in 16:47.90, and Elizabeth Havenhill finished ninth among the girls in 12:47.50.

Fort Worth Christian: The boys team was third in the TAPPS Class 4A state meet, with Riley Gage its top finisher in 16:50.00. The girls were fourth in the state, led by seventh-place finisher Ashley Bratton (12:43.70).

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