Despite graduating their top two runners from last year's NXN South Region champion squad which ultimately finished 13th at the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland, the Southlake Carroll boys of Texas could be an even stronger team than a year ago as they vie for another Texas state team championship and bring back 7 guys who have run under 10 minutes in the 3200 meter run. The Dragons of Southlake Carroll High School (just outside of Dallas) will be attempting to make a remarkable 8th trip to NXN this fall. Eli Canal (4:20 1600/9:15 3200/15:17 5K) and Johnny Kemp (4:19 1600/9:38 3200/15:34 5K) will be their team's front runners this fall, while head coach Justin Leonard enters his 11th season working with the Southlake Carroll program.
Their female counterparts at Southlake have been equally as successful over the years with Texas state championships and NXN berths. Last year's squad finished 17th at the Nike Cross Nationals and will be led by rising junior Antigone Archer, who broke 5 minutes in the 1600 last spring as well as posted an impressive 5K time of 17:41 on the track as well. There is a bit of a gap between Archer and the rest of the returnees (90 seconds between Archer and their #2 returnee) that will need to close up at some point this fall for their team to keep their string of NXN berths going as well as compete for another title in a very competitive Texas state meet.
Boys Top 7 Returnees Times: 5K XC - 3200m - 1600m
Girls Top 7 Returnees Times: 5K XC - 3200m - 1600m
Top 7 Boys Returnees from 2013 XC Season (5K Times)
| Southlake Carroll (TX) | ||
| 1) Eli Canal | 15:34.00 | |
| 2) Johnny Kemps | 16:02.90 | |
| 3) Luke Lanham | 16:26.00 | |
| 4) Eric Karl | 16:33.00 | |
| 5) Ansel Richards | 16:34.00 | |
| Average Time: 16:13.98 Total Time: 1:21:09.90 1-5 Split: 1:00.00 | ||
| 6) Timou Toure | 16:46.00 | |
| 7) Eric Vetere | 16:53.00 | |
Top 7 Girls Returnees from 2013 XC Season (5K Times)
| Southlake Carroll (TX) | ||
| 1) Antigone Archer | 18:08.42 | |
| 2) Kayli Jones | 19:38.10 | |
| 3) Arianna Lopez | 19:59.00 | |
| 4) Sophie Watson | 20:26.26 | |
| 5) Stacey Young | 20:27.65 | |
| Average Time: 19:43.89 Total Time: 1:38:39.43 1-5 Split: 2:19.23 | ||
| 6) Gillian Mortimer | 20:30.52 | |
| 7) Rianna Randolph | 20:38.00 | |
Top 7 Boys Returning 3200m Times from 2014 Outdoor Season
| Southlake Carroll (TX) | ||
| 1) Eli Canal | 9:15.79 | |
| 2) Timou Toure | 9:27.58 | |
| 3) Luke Lanham | 9:38.23 | |
| 4) Johnny Kemps | 9:38.93 | |
| 5) Ansel Richards | 9:39.83 | |
| Average Time: 9:32.07 Total Time: 47:40.36 1-5 Split: 24.04 | ||
| 6) Shea Whatley | 9:47.04 | |
| 7) Joseph Zapinski | 9:58.08 | |
Top 7 Girls Returning 3200m Times from 2014 Outdoor Season
| Southlake Carroll (TX) | ||
| 1) Antigone Archer | 10:39.25 | |
| 2) Sarah Odneal | 11:47.46 | |
| 3) Sophie Watson | 12:02.87 | |
| 4) Arianna Lopez | 12:04.82 | |
| 5) Julia Perry | 12:23.17 | |
| Average Time: 11:47.51 Total Time: 58:57.57 1-5 Split: 1:43.92 | ||
Top 7 Boys Returning 1600m Times from 2014 Outdoor Season
| Southlake Carroll (TX) | ||
| 1) Johnny Kemps | 4:19.20 | |
| 2) Eli Canal | 4:20.14 | |
| 3) Timou Toure | 4:29.11 | |
| 4) Shea Whatley | 4:29.93 | |
| 5) Reed Brown | 4:32.15 | |
| Average Time: 4:26.11 Total Time: 22:10.53 1-5 Split: 12.95 | ||
| 6) Luke Lanham | 4:33.09 | |
| 7) Ansel Richards | 4:35.67 | |
Top 7 Girls Returning 1600m Times from 2014 Outdoor Season
| Southlake Carroll (TX) | ||
| 1) Antigone Archer | 4:58.99 | |
| 2) Kayli Jones | 5:24.30 | |
| 3) Sarah Odneal | 5:25.10 | |
| 4) Arianna Lopez | 5:27.30 | |
| 5) Lexi Sorenson | 5:44.77 | |
| Average Time: 5:24.09 Total Time: 27:00.46 1-5 Split: 45.78 | ||
| 6) Julia Perry | 5:45.02 | |
| 7) Rianna Randolph |
5:46.47 |
|
Q&A with Southlake Carroll High School (TX) XC head coach Justin Leonard
How many years have you been coaching high school cross country (and at your current school)?
I have been coaching high school cross country for the past 10 years and all of them have been at Southlake. I have been the head coach for the past 6 years.
What do you attribute as the main reasons for the success of your program?
The first key to our success starts with the runners themselves and the commitment they put into the sport. The runners also trust themselves, their teammates and their training which leads to success. The team is consistent with their training and consistent with the "little things" in order to give themselves the best opportunity to maximize their own potential.
What would be the best way to describe your style and philosophy of coaching and working with high school runners?
Our number one goal in coaching is to teach our teams the value of hard work and self-discipline. We want to teach the kids our training system and give them the ownership in it. We want our kids to be able to take ownership in their training and not rely on others to hold their hand through the process which will ultimately make them better outside of running.
What are your core beliefs in your training plan and workouts for your cross country squads?
Once the season begins our goal is to make sure that we are doing enough to maximize the system not just to maintain it. Also, speed work for cross country season can be overrated.
How many runners do you return from your top 7 from a year ago?
The boys return 4 and the girls return 3.
Who is your projected top 7 heading into the cross country season?
Every year our top 7 is an open competition so as of now we are not sure.
Who are your team captains or leaders and what stands out about them as examples for the rest of their teammates?
We do not elect team captains or leaders. Leaders rise to the occasion and you have different types of leaders. We have training leaders, vocal leaders, varsity leaders and j.v. leaders. Our main goal is to make sure that our leaders are good and propelling others in the right direction.
Who have you been most impressed or surprised with their improvement and/or fitness from their summer training?
I’ve been impressed with both the boys and girls teams this summer.
Any impactful freshmen or transfers to join the team this season?
We hope to have some impactful new people but time will tell on that one. We will find out more once the gun goes off at some of the bigger meets.
What are the top invitational meets that your team will be attending this season?
Marcus I invite, Southlake Invite, Nike South & Clovis XC Invite.
What will be the biggest obstacle or challenge facing your team this season?
Complacency is always a concern heading into a season. Also, another concern with this years team is all they have known in their career is success. Therefore, the challenge is making them understand the amount of work that went into it and its not something that’s supposed to happen its something you make happen.
What will be the biggest reason why your team is successful this season?
Consistent hard work, patience & enjoying the process.
What is a favorite annual or common pre-season workout or run for your team?
My favorite preseason workout is the 2 mile time trial we did yesterday morning. It gives us a pretty good idea where we stand as a team heading into the season.
What is a favorite annual or common mid-season workout for your team?
Intervals
What is a favorite annual or common championship season or end-of-season workout for your team?
Intervals
What are your top 3 goals for this year's squad?
1. Maximize our own potential.
2. Be the best team we can be.
3. Enjoy the season