JESSIE MCCABE
Seniors Nate Lannen and Jenna Holland set the pace for the Dragons and Lady Dragons, respectively, throughout the season. But while both Carroll cross country teams finished in the loftiest of fashions at the state meet, Leonard says each team’s potential to reach such heights became apparent at very different times.
Last March, several members of the Lady Dragons cross country team competed in the 5K race at a track meet. Four of those girls broke the 18-minute mark, raising a flag in Leonard’s mind that the 2019 girls cross country team had a chance to do something special.
Though the boys looked solid in their early cross country meets, they hadn’t looked dominant or poised to go far until the district meet, Leonard says.
Both teams made the most of their trips to state. The Carroll boys had three runners finish in the top 25, led by Solomon Chavez (ninth place with a time of 15:07.13). Antonio Florcruz finished 22nd (15:20.74) and Dragon teammate Tim McElaney (15:20.96) immediately followed him.
The Lady Dragons saw six runners finish in the top 25 including three in the top 13. Holland took seventh (17:54.63), Katherine McElaney came in ninth (18:00.73), and Grace Williamson finished 13th (18:07.54).
While the Carroll teams lose a combined total of eight seniors, they return six runners next year with gold-medal experience.
SEASON RECAP
Dominance was the storyline for both the Dragon and Lady Dragon runners all season, as the Carroll girls logged their 23rd-straight trip to state and the boys advanced for the 10th-consecutive time.
The Dragons and Lady Dragons each won their state championship, in deciding fashion. The boys kept the point totals low (80 points) to build a sizeable lead over second-place Conroe The Woodlands (115 points). Local rival Flower Mound took bronze to round out the top three (133 points). The Carroll girls ran away with it, tallying just 45 points to best silver-medalists Humble Kingwood (91 points) and third-place Prosper (105 points).
The Dragons advanced through the season impressively. After the girls team won 4-of-6 regular season meets and the boys won 2-of-6, both teams captured the district meet with ease. The Lady Dragons compiled a perfect score of 15 points, as their runners were the first seven to finish the race. The boys’ gave their best performance up to that point, posting 24 points to lead second-place Northwest Eaton (76).
Post-state action saw the Dragon teams compete in the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland on Nov. 30. Reaching nationals for the 13th time in the meet’s 16-year existence, the Dragons finished 14th and the Lady Dragons came in 21st.
‘19, ‘20 Roster
Head Coach: Justin Leonard
Assistant Coaches: Niki Gilley, Wendy Starkey, Zach Sellers, Phillip O’Neal
Boys
Solomon Chavez, Junior
Antonio Florcruz, Junior
Joe Gardner, Sophomore
Brett Gilley, Senior
Nate Lannen, Senior
Michael McCade, Senior
Tim McElaney, Senior
Girls
Kaylie Cox, Sophomore
Tatum Foreman, Senior
Jenna Holland, Senior
Lydia Lo, Senior
Katherine McElaney, Senior
Abigail McIlvain, Junior
Grace Williamson, Junior