The best of the South meet up Saturday at the Nike South Invitational, at the Woodlands in Texas. The top four 5A boys teams go head-to-head, as do Rogers (AR) and 4A #1 Seven Lakes. On the girls side, #1 in 4A, Hereford, enters as the favorite, while 5A #3-4, The Woodlands and Kingwood, challenge as well.
The Showdown in Texas: Nike South Invitational - Meet Preview
Nike South Invitational Start Lists (TXRunning.com)
Boys
The race of the day, the boys varsity race, is stacked with talent. The Woodlands enters the meet as the top ranked team in Texas, with amazing depth and the advantage of running on their home course. Georgetown (TX) seems to be the Woodlands best competition after taking second at the Texas A&M Invitational two weeks ago, and having a lot of momentum on their side. Meanwhile, Rogers (AR) heads over, being the top out of state team in the field. They should challenge the Woodlands as well, and are unproven up to this point in the season. They could surprise. Other top teams include: TX #3 Southlake Carroll, led by Foot Locker favorite Colby Lowe, TX #4 Cedar Park and TX #1 4A Seven Lakes.
Individually, Foot Locker contender Colby Lowe has some competition in the Woodlands star Reed Conner (Jr.). Lowe's teammate, CJ Brown (Jr.) also has a chance to finish very high up, as spectators will undoubtably see a great competition, with a lot of depth up front. Junior Evan Hibbs of Georgetown leads his star-studded team, as does Aaron Hamilton of Rogers.
Girls
The girls race, while not as competitive up top as the boys race, enters three top Texas teams. #1 4A Hereford competes with a lot of fire, wanting to prove they are tops in Texas. They are led by the duo of Ashley Mason and Abby Metcalf. Hereford's competition of TX #3 the Woodlands and TX #4 Kingwood both are looking to upset the favorites, but have a tall task ahead of them. The Woodlands needs to double back from their strong effort last weekend out at the Stanford Invitational in California. They are led by Sarah Andrews (So.)