Crandall Runners Making Early Statement

The 2026 cross-country season is moving toward its most important month, and Crandall High School already has evidence that both of its varsity teams could become factors when the UIL postseason begins.

Seagoville High School presents a different picture.

The Dragons have a group of returning distance runners with varsity experience and several younger athletes who showed promise last season and during spring track, but complete 2026 meet results for Seagoville have not been consistently published in the major public results databases.

That makes Crandall easier to measure through early September. It does not make Seagoville’s next month any less important.

For both schools, the real test will come in October, when invitational results give way to district championship racing and a chance to qualify for the UIL regional meet.

Crandall Girls Already Look Dangerous

The clearest local result of the young season came Sept. 5 at the Crandall Pirate XC Invitational.

Crandall’s varsity girls finished second with 51 points, trailing only Garland Sachse’s 25 and finishing ahead of North Forney, which scored 55.

Senior Aliyah Sosa gave the Lady Pirates an established front-runner, finishing fourth overall in the 5K in 18 minutes, 55.32 seconds.

Then came perhaps the biggest development of the meet. Freshman Jordan Dawson finished fifth in 19:30.87.

Putting Sosa and Dawson fourth and fifth gave Crandall two low-number finishers before most teams had their second runner across the line. Junior Barbara Roel Martinez added an 11th-place finish in 20:46.35.

Junior Kali Mclver finished 20th in 23:20.51, and freshman Piper Stepp completed Crandall’s scoring five by placing 22nd in 23:46.74.

That is an intriguing lineup because it is not built entirely around seniors. Sosa gives Crandall experience at the front, while Dawson and Stepp are freshmen. Roel Martinez and Mclver are juniors.

For a team trying to advance through district competition, having multiple runners capable of staying relatively close together can matter almost as much as having one exceptional runner.

Besherse Leads Deep Crandall Boys Group

The Crandall boys were one point away from second place at their home meet. Garland Sachse won with 32 points, North Forney scored 64, and Crandall finished third with 65.

Senior Brayden Besherse led the Pirates with one of the strongest individual performances of the morning. Besherse finished seventh in 15:40.30.

Sophomore Santana Gurrola was only two places behind him, taking eighth in 15:59.30. Senior Leonardo Rivera gave Crandall a third runner near the front, finishing 11th in 16:29.68.

The final two scoring positions went to junior Diego Zapata, who finished 19th in 16:55.02, and freshman Abraham Colmenero, who was 20th in 16:56.85. Their finishes were separated by less than two seconds.

Senior Andres Barns-Baldaguez placed 23rd in 17:02.84, while freshman Alexander Roberts finished 31st in 17:46.67.

That means Crandall’s varsity seven at its home invitational included three seniors, one junior, one sophomore, and two freshmen. It also means the Pirates had six runners under 17:03.

That depth could become extremely valuable at the district meet.

Crandall’s Next Group Is Pushing

Parents looking beyond the varsity seven also have reason to pay attention. Crandall placed second in the junior varsity boys race with 58 points.

Freshman Matthew Lopez finished second individually in 17:12. Junior Landon McKeever was third in 17:22, and senior Arturo Roel Martinez finished fourth in 17:30. Three Crandall runners therefore occupied three of the first four positions.

Junior Iori Cardenas finished 21st in 19:03. Freshman Mattison Windham was 29th in 19:25, junior Javier Mendez finished 32nd in 20:08, and freshman Matthew Ochoa placed 60th in 22:32.

The significance goes beyond a JV trophy. Lopez’s 17:12 and McKeever’s 17:22 put two additional runners close enough to the varsity group to create competition for postseason spots.

That is exactly the kind of internal depth that can help a cross-country program late in a season.

The Crandall JV girls also produced several identifiable runners.

Junior Avery McEntire led that group in 25:35.21. Senior Vianette Corral finished in 27:14.25, sophomore Aubrey Epp ran 27:18.96, and freshman Kara Besherse finished in 28:19.27.

Crandall had four JV girls finish and therefore did not record a team score.

What We Know About Seagoville

Seagoville’s season is more difficult to evaluate statistically.

Dallas ISD lists cross country among its 2026-27 fall sports and maintains a live district schedule, and Seagoville was scheduled for early-season competition, including the Greenhill Luke’s Locker Six-Mile Relay.

Seagoville also appeared on the scheduled-team list for the Sept. 5 Crandall Pirate Invitational.

However, the official posted Crandall results do not show a Seagoville varsity scoring team or individual Seagoville finishers.

There are, however, several names worth watching based on previous cross-country results and spring distance performances.

Vazquez Gives Seagoville Young Distance Talent

Isabella Vazquez is one of the most interesting young runners in the Seagoville program.

Vazquez was a freshman during the 2025 cross-country season and competed again during the 2026 spring track season, making her a sophomore for the current school year.

She ran 6:25.47 to win the 1,600 meters at the Dallas Carter Eddie Payne Shootout during the spring and also recorded a 3,200-meter performance of 13:53.86 during the season.

As a freshman cross-country runner last fall, Vazquez posted a 26:50 5K at the Dallas Coaches Association Invitational.

Two other then-freshmen ran alongside her in that varsity race: Krystal Hernandez finished in 25:48, and Maria Montero ran 28:28.

That makes Hernandez, Vazquez, and Montero sophomores this fall based on their listed 2025 classifications.

For a Seagoville girls program trying to build toward district, having several second-year runners with varsity-distance experience gives coaches something to develop.

More Returning Seagoville Girls to Watch

Several athletes from Seagoville’s 2025 junior-varsity group also remain eligible in 2026.

Alexandra Coreas, now a sophomore based on her 2025 classification, won the JV girls race at the Dallas Coaches Association Invitational last season in 26:59. Genesis Romero, now a senior, finished in 30:49.

Other returning-eligible runners from that race include junior Isabella Lopez, sophomore Angelina Salazar, sophomore Brieosha Owens, and sophomore Celeste Garcia-Soto.

Whether all of those runners are competing on the current 2026 cross-country roster has not been confirmed in a complete published Seagoville roster, so they should be viewed as returning-eligible names rather than an official current varsity lineup.

But the number of younger runners in last year’s program is important.

Cross country programs can improve quickly when freshmen and sophomores accumulate another year of training.

Seagoville Boys Have Returning Experience

The same is true on the boys side. Senior Alexis Oviedo Otero is one of the strongest returning-eligible names from Seagoville’s 2025 results. As a junior last season, Oviedo Otero ran 20:06 at the Dallas Coaches Association Invitational.

Senior Jabari Singleton recorded 24:34 in that race. Junior George Macias ran 25:13, and senior Jacob Reyna finished in 25:29.

Seagoville also had a group of younger runners competing in the JV race. Junior Aaron Hernandez ran 26:03 last season.

Sophomore Josue Pina recorded 28:07, junior Aguston Rollins finished in 28:26, and sophomore Aidan Rollins ran 29:32.

Again, those classifications are based on advancing each runner one grade from the classifications published with their 2025 results. A complete current Seagoville 2026 roster has not yet been published in the results sources reviewed.

Crandall’s District Race Comes Home

Crandall competes in UIL Class 5A District 15 for cross country. The district includes Cedar Hill, Corsicana, Crandall, DeSoto, Ennis, Lancaster, Midlothian, and Midlothian Heritage.

Even better for Pirate families, Crandall will not have to travel for the championship. The UIL 5A District 15 cross-country meet is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 12, at Crandall High School.

That gives the Pirates roughly another month to improve before racing for postseason qualification on their own course. Crandall already knows that course well.

Besherse, Gurrola, Rivera, Zapata, Colmenero, Barns-Baldaguez, and Roberts just raced it Sept. 5. So did Sosa, Dawson, Roel Martinez, Mclver, and Stepp.

Familiarity does not guarantee advancement, but knowing the turns, footing, hills, and pacing points can eliminate some uncertainty on championship morning.

Seagoville Faces a Dallas ISD District Field

Seagoville is aligned in UIL Class 5A District 13 for sports using the standard 5A alignment. The group includes Adamson, Hillcrest, Jefferson, Molina, Seagoville, South Oak Cliff, Sunset, W.T. White, and Wilson.

There are several established distance runners elsewhere in that Dallas ISD grouping. Spring track provides one useful indication of the competition.

W.T. White’s Kyler Purpura won the District 13 girls 3,200-meter championship in April in 12:50.44 and later won the district 1,600 in 6:02.94. Teammate Gracyn Kowalewski was second in both races.

On the boys side, Hillcrest’s Connor Luce won the district 3,200 during spring track in 10:37.22 and won the 1,600 in 4:42.59.

Track results do not automatically predict cross-country finishes, but they identify the caliber of distance runners Seagoville can expect to encounter in championship competition.

Crandall Boys’ Playoff Outlook

Crandall’s boys have already shown enough depth to make postseason advancement a legitimate goal.

Besherse is the established No. 1. Gurrola running 15:59 as a sophomore is especially encouraging because it gives Crandall a second runner capable of staying near Besherse.

Rivera provides another experienced senior, while Zapata and Colmenero were separated by fewer than two seconds at the home invitational. The key may be the battle behind them.

Barns-Baldaguez, Roberts, Lopez, McKeever, and Roel Martinez give Crandall considerably more than five usable runners.

Cross country is scored through five finishers, so moving a fourth or fifth runner ahead of an opponent’s fourth or fifth scorer can swing an entire district championship.

Crandall lost second place to North Forney by one point on Sept. 5. That is a useful lesson before October: every position matters.

Crandall Girls Have Similar Potential

The Lady Pirates’ front end may be even more interesting. Sosa’s 18:55 gives Crandall a proven senior leader. Dawson’s 19:30 as a freshman immediately changes the ceiling of the team.

Roel Martinez gives Crandall a solid third scorer, and the development of Mclver and Stepp over the next month could determine how competitive the Lady Pirates become at district.

Their 51-point runner-up performance at the Pirate Invitational was not built on one runner. Five runners contributed to the score. That is the formula a team needs in championship cross country.

Seagoville’s Outlook Depends on Building Five

For Seagoville, the biggest postseason question may be numbers. A school can have an excellent individual runner without having a competitive team score. Five finishers are needed to produce the basic team score, and depth beyond five provides insurance.

The girls have a potentially interesting young group if runners such as Hernandez, Vazquez, Montero, Coreas, Lopez, Salazar, Owens, and Garcia-Soto are all participating this fall.

The boys likewise have several returning-eligible runners from last season, including Oviedo Otero, Singleton, Macias, Reyna, Hernandez, Pina, Aguston Rollins, and Aidan Rollins.

The next step is turning those eligible names into a consistent five-to-seven-runner championship lineup.

For individual athletes, the path is simpler: run well enough at district to earn advancement regardless of the full team’s finish.

The Postseason Calendar

The UIL has established the major statewide dates. Districts must certify their qualifiers by Oct. 17.

Regional cross-country meets are scheduled for Oct. 26-27. The UIL state championships are scheduled for Nov. 6-7. That makes the next four to five weeks the heart of the season.

For Crandall, the evidence already suggests legitimate team aspirations. For Seagoville, the story is still developing because public 2026 results have not caught up with the roster. But the objective is the same.

By October, early invitational times will no longer matter nearly as much as five runners crossing the line in the right order on championship day.