Nike Cross Regional South: By The Numbers

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Saturday, Nov. 19 at Bear Branch Park, Texas 

States in the Heartland Region:  Five

Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisana, Mississippi

The regional meet will serve to qualify teams to Nike Cross Nationals for the first time since 2019.

 

GIRLS

States represented at NXN/NTN:

Texas 33 times

Mississippi 1 time

Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma have never qualified a team for Nike.

 

States with the longest streak, current and all-time:

Texas 16 years. 2004-19

 

At-large bids: 3

2008 Humble Kingwood TX

2008 Vista Ridge TX

2013 Southlake Carroll TX

 

Current nationally ranked teams (as of 11/16/22): 3

No. 5 Flower Mound TX

No. 7 Southlake Carroll TX

No. 14 Lucas Lovejoy TX

 

Number of different teams to qualify for NTN/NXN: 12

Teams with the most NTN/NXN appearances:

Southlake Carroll TX 13 times

Kingwood TX 6 times

The Woodlands TX 4 times

Keller TX 3 times

Prosper TX 2 times

Tupelo MS, Flower Mound TX, Vista Ridge TX, Katy Cinco Ranch TX, Hebron TX, Marcus TX and New Braunfels TX have qualified once.

Longest team streak appearances:

5 - Southlake Carroll TX 2009-13.

Longest current team streak of appearances:

2 - Prosper TX 2018-19

 

Highest finish at nationals:

Southlake Carroll TX 2nd 2012

 

DyeStat preseason picks to qualify for NXN:

Flower Mound TX

Lucas Lovejoy TX

Current Prediction:

Flower Mound TX

Southlake Carroll TX

* Lucas Lovejoy TX (at-large)

Notes: Although Flower Mound has won three consecutive Texas Class 6A titles, Southlake Carroll is the most successful team in regional history, qualifying for the national meet 13 times.

Flower Mound needed a sweep of the top three spots Nov. 4 at the UIL 6A final from junior twins Nicole Humphries and Samantha Humphries, along with sophomore Alexandra Fox, to hold off Southlake Carroll by a 42-51 margin.

Flower Mound also edged Southlake Carroll with a 55-56 victory Oct. 24 at the regional qualifier and prevailed in their first matchup of the season by a 58-74 margin Sept. 3 at the Marcus Coach T Invitational.

Southlake Carroll placed second and Flower Mound finished fifth Sept. 16 at the 41st Woodbridge Cross Country Classic at Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

Natalie Spangher and Ava Cole have been instrumental in Flower Mound’s success, but Southlake Carroll has the potential to triumph if Alexandra Walsh can provide stronger support for Ava Bushaw, Sylvia Schwedler and Audrey Dunn.

Flower Mound is seeking its first regional title since 2018 and South Carroll is seeking back-to-back championships after emerging victorious last year against Prosper by a 95-96 margin.

The presence of Texas Class 5A champion Lucas Lovejoy in the championship race provides intrigue for multiple reasons.

Not only have the Leopards never qualified for the national meet, but since Texas expanded to six classifications in 2014, no Class 5A program has secured a berth to race at NXN.

Led by the sister pairings of Amy Morefield and Sara Morefield, along with Camryn Benson and Peyton Benson, Lovejoy already boasts a 67-75 victory this season Oct. 1 against Southlake Carroll – competing without Walsh – in the “El Caliente” Race at the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Arkansas.

The South hasn’t received an at-large berth since 2013, but this is definitely a year where the consistency and depth of elite performances from Flower Mound, Southlake Carroll and Lucas Lovejoy would merit that consideration.

Humble Kingwood, the third-place team in Texas 6A, along with 5A runner-up Boerne Champion are also entered, but it would take a significant effort from either lineup to earn an automatic berth.

Arkansas 5A champion Greenwood is also entered, along with Oklahoma 6A winner Owasso and seven-time Louisiana Division 1 champ St. Joseph’s Academy of Baton Rouge, led by junior Hannah Vaughan, the individual winner.

The Humphries sisters, Fox and Bushaw are expected to be joined up front by Texas 5A champion McKenzie Bailey of Georgetown, runner-up Isabel Conde de Frankenberg of Cedar Park and third-place competitor Allie Love of Colleyville Heritage.

San Juanita Leal of Edinburg North, Haley Harper of Plano West, Madison Peters of Pearland and Macy Wingard from Denton Braswell are also elite Texas 6A athletes scheduled to race.

Liesel Kehoe, the Oklahoma 6A winner from Edmond North, is also entered, as well as Arkansas 6A runner-up Lilly Beshears of Har-Ber High.

 

BOYS

States represented at NXN/NTN:

Texas 33 times

Arkansas 1 time

Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi have never qualified a team for Nike.

 

States with the longest streak, current and all time: 

Texas - 16 years. Texas has sent a team to Portland every year since the inception of NTN in 2004.  

 

At-large bids: 5

2007 Rogers AR

2009 Cedar Park TX

2010 The Woodlands TX

2016 The Woodlands TX

2019 Eastwood TX

 

Current nationally ranked teams (as of 11/16/22): 5 

No. 2 Jesuit LA

No. 14 Southlake Carroll TX

No. 26 Grapevine TX

No. 29 Bentonville AR 

No. 30 Vandergrift TX 

 

Number of different teams to qualify for NTN/NXN: 10

Teams with the most NTN/NXN appearances:

Southlake Carroll TX 13 times

The Woodlands TX 12 times

Cedar Park TX 2 times

Flower Mound TX 2 times 

El Paso Eastwood TX 2 times

Corpus Christi TX, Rogers AR, Boerne Champion TX, Marcus TX, Lewisville Hebron TX and Woodlands College Park TX  have all qualified once.   

Longest team streak appearances: 

10 Southlake Carroll TX, 2010-19 

 

Highest finish at nationals:

Boerne TX 1st place 2009

 

DyeStat preseason to qualify for NXN:

Southlake Carroll TX

Jesuit LA

Current Prediction:

Southlake Carroll TX

Grapevine TX 

Note: Let's get this detail out of the way off the top. The No. 2-ranked team in the country, Jesuit of New Orleans, scored 15 points at the Louisiana state meet on Monday and is not attending NXR South due to the short turnaround. 

Even without the prospect of a rare appearance by a team from outside Texas capable of advancing to NXN, there is a competitive boys field shaping up for Saturday. Southlake Carroll, which has been a fixture at the national meet and has 13 previous appearances in Portland, is poised once again to advance. 

Southlake Carroll boasts one of the deepest packs in the country and put five scorers between sixth and 28th at the Texas UIL state championships on Nov. 5. Freshman Caden Leonard, the son of coach Justin Leonard, led the team. 

Grapevine, which graduated four of its top five from last year's state championship team, including Walker St. John, has managed to reload and won it second consecutive Class 5A title behind Adam Burlison and Alberto Rayon Cardenas. 

Kevin Sanchez of Austin Vandergrift has proven himself as the top runner in the state again this year and is a clear favorite for the individual title. And a strong showing by his team could lift the Vipers to a first appearance at nationals. Vandergrift finished second in the 6A championships behind Carroll. 

Coppell, The Woodlands and Humble Atascocita also have strong lineups that could pick off an automatic qualifying spot. The Woodlands, much like Southlake Carroll, has been a routine participant at NXN over the years and has 12 national championship appearances. 

Zac Rutherford leads the Edmond North OK boys, who will try to build upon their first Oklahoma Class 6A title.