21. Southlake Carroll (TX)
Regional: South/1st/86 pts/20:50 avg/0:24 spread
Coach: Justin Leonard
NXN podiums: 3rd (2005), 3rd (2006), 2nd (2012)
Southlake has the field's second tightest spread from its regional meet, behind only Centerville. That belies their razor-thin margin for error, though: if any one of Southlake's top five is off, they're in serious trouble. A full minute separated their #5 and #6 runners at regionals, and another forty-eight seconds separated #6 and #7. Like Kingwood, though, SLC has the infrastructure advantage. As a near-perennial NXN qualifier, they shouldn't be susceptible to any of the pitfalls that trouble first-timers. The free gear is cool and all, but they've seen a backpack before.