Southlake Carroll junior Kai Gutierrez won the District 4-6A boys cross country title in 15:23.30 on Thursday, Oct. 15, at Bob Jones Park.
The Dragon boys claimed the team championship behind five top-10 finishers.
Senior Abigail Perez captured the girls individual crown in 18:02.21. Carroll's varsity girls finished second as a team, three points behind Keller, according to Southlake Style.
The boys' depth told the story. Senior Claudio Auns finished second in 15:27.40, followed by seniors Evan O'Donnell (sixth, 15:37.21), Jaxon Glenn (seventh, 15:39.30) and Grant Norgart (eighth, 15:45.40). Senior Adhavan Palanivelrajan rounded out the varsity scorers in 10th at 15:55.90.
On the girls' side, seniors Grace McIlvain and Megan Bergman placed eighth and ninth in 18:40.10 and 18:42.00.
Carroll's junior varsity teams swept their championships. The JV boys scored 17 points, led by junior Ryan Kovach (first, 16:30.80), sophomore Aadi Ghanchi (second, 16:42.70) and freshman Gia-Bao To (third, 16:42.90). The JV girls scored 21 points and took the first four places behind junior Megan Saban, sophomore Kiley Craven, freshman Karlie Cox and senior Gwendolyn Asher.
The district title extends a dominant season for Carroll's boys. The Dragons won the Sweepstakes title at the Woodbridge Invitational in Irvine, Calif., on Sept. 19, a meet that drew 652 teams, according to Carroll ISD. Carroll also won the Southlake Elite 5K Invitational on Sept. 5 with 36 points. The boys program has won seven consecutive UIL state championships.
After that Woodbridge win, Gutierrez called the victory a stepping stone, saying the meet was a box the team could check off on the way toward bigger goals at the end of the season.
Head coach Justin Leonard, in his 23rd year leading Carroll cross country, said after the season opener in September that both squads had championship potential.
Carroll advances to the UIL Region I Championships (UIL) at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock on Monday, Oct. 26. The girls race starts at 9 a.m., and the boys follow at 9:30 a.m. The top four teams from regionals qualify for the UIL 6A State Championships on Nov. 6 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
