4. Potentially Program (And State) Altering Transfers
The state of Texas cross country got a whole lot more interesting with the transfer of Carter Cheeseman from Brentwood Academy (Tennessee) to Fort Worth Christian over the summer, but perhaps we won't really see the fruits of that sprint over the postseason months.
That's because Cheeseman's new team operates in Texas' private school system, TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools), and therefore it means he won't vie for a public league championship with some of the state's best in the UIL.
While that's a disappointment -- Cheeseman, a state winner in Tennessee a year ago in 15:54.04, is all but guaranteed to score a state championship in TAPPS 4A (last year's winner ran a winning time of 17:04.10) -- we could see Cheeseman race in some stellar fields within the state throughout the season.
And the news of his transfer only adds to the compelling swings of other programs in the country, including Loudoun Valley (Virginia) High's addition of Sam Affolder from Carlisle (Pennsylvania) and Tori Gaitan's addition to Great Oak (California).
Gaitan's switch from Yucaipa also bodes well for Great Oak, a top-10 program nationally who has the potentially to qualify for NXN and make a run for a podium finish. Gaitan was 35th in California's highest division a year ago and opened up her season with a win in the sophomore division at Seaside with a time of 16:52.60, a U.S. No. 5 time.