The Carroll boys and girls cross country teams lost a total of eight seniors from the previous year's teams, but returning varsity runners and newcomers were ready to step in and keep the program performing at an elite level.
The Dragons and Lady Dragons first and second place finish at state, respectively, was fueled by hard work and strong performances on both sides. Seniors Antonio Florcruz and Solomon Chavez, as well as Bennett Woolsey and Bryan Fernando led the way for the Carroll boys. Junior Kaylie Cox and seniors Abigail McIlvain and Grace Williamson paced the girls team.
"The biggest thing was how the seniors stepped up and took on a leadership position," says Justin Leonard. "They really took ownership, and that made a big difference."
Florcruz (an Oklahoma commit), finished fifth overall at state with a time of 15 minutes, 31.30 seconds. Chavez came in 11th at the meet (15:41.58). For the Lady Dragons, Cox finished sixth overall (18:00.50), while McIlvain, a West Point commit, took 17th (18:33.86) and Williamson, an OU commit, came in 19th (18:42.19).
"We've got to fill some holes for next year, but it's just an opportunity for some other kids to step up," Leonard says.
SEASON RECAP
Qualifying for state has become the norm for Carroll Cross Country. Not making the trip or finishing at least near the top at the UIL championships would be surprising. That mentality is a product of the impressive machine coach Justin Leonard and his Dragon runners.
So forgive the Carroll girls cross country runners for having a momentary flash of disappointment when finishing second at the state race in Round Rock this past November, one year after both the Lady Dragons and their Carroll boys counterparts swept with gold medals. However, Leonard says that feeling didn't last long once they put their achievements in perspective.
"That's the great part about our team is that we expect to win the state championship every year, and that's what we shoot for," Leonard says. "But you have to step back and realize how much you accomplished. If we had the chance to run it again, it might've been a different outcome. But coming in second at state is pretty impressive."
Meanwhile, the Carroll boys took the title, tallying a low of 78 points to edge out second place El Paso Eastwood (84 points) to register back-to-back championships. It was also the 11th year in a row the boys finished either first or second at state. The Carroll girls totaled 96 points as a team in Round Rock, second only to Flower Mound (75 points).
The Carroll boys went 9-0 at meets for the season, including wins at the District 4-6A and regional meet before state. The Carroll girls went 7-2, finishing second only to Flower Mound at both regionals and state.
"We had a younger team, and it was just a matter of them getting more and more comfortable competing at the varsity level against faster kids," Leonard says.