Courtesy Carroll XC
The Southlake 5K Invitational brought some of the nation’s top cross country talent to Bob Jones Park last Saturday, with Arkansas power Bentonville and Texas rival Flower Mound setting the pace on the boys’ side, and nationally ranked Rogers (Ark.) and defending state champion Flower Mound leading the girls’ field.
Despite resting several varsity runners including Nike Elite runner Caden Leonard, the Carroll boys finished runner-up to Bentonville in the Elite race. Senior Micheal Fuller led the Dragons with a seventh-place finish of 15:21. Juniors Jaxon Glenn (16th, 15:28), Grant Norgart (26th, 15:39), Adhaven Palanivelrajan (32nd, 15:42) and Claudio Auns (38th, 15:44) closed the gap with just a 23-second spread from first to fifth.
On the girls’ side, Carroll placed third. Senior Luna Gutierrez finished seventh in 18:05, while senior Lilah Gornell (18th, 18:36) delivered a standout run. Juniors Abigail Perez (21st, 18:39), Megan Bergman (23rd, 18:42), and Grace McIlivain (33rd, 18:48) gave the Dragons a tight 43-second split across their scoring five.
In the boys’ Open 5K, senior Dylan Torres ran 16:16 for fifth, with freshman Cameron Perez (7th, 16:21) and sophomore Reed Dodson (9th, 16:23) close behind. Carroll finished second overall.
The girls’ open squad took fifth, led by sophomore Eberle Goode (20th, 20:27).
Head coach Justin Leonard said the meet provided “a valuable benchmark” early in the season, especially for athletes making their first 5K of the fall.
The Dragons will return to action Sept. 18 at the Braswell Invitational in Denton and Sept. 19 at the Nike South Invitational at Texas A&M.