FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 9, 2025

Dragon XC Dominates in the Fastest

District in the Nation

Records set by Leonard and Boys’ Team

SOUTHLAKE, Texas – The Southlake Carroll boys and girls cross country teams competed at District 4-6A cross country championships at Bob Jones Park on Thursday morning. Heralded as the fastest district in the country, the event did not disappoint. Star senior Caden Leonard set both the meet and course record in a blazing 14:29 while the boys team set the school record with a top 5 average of 14:52 placing them in the conversation for a national title. They won the district title and set themselves as one of the best teams in school history. Not to be outdone, the lady Dragons had a remarkable 18:07 team average for their top 5 narrowly missing the district title placing 2^nd overall. Luna Gutierrez set the tone early and finished in a blazing 17:29. The improvements over this season set them as a top contender moving into the championship meets in October.

Head Coach Justin Leonard stated that, “We are really proud of the way all four of our teams came out and competed today at District. We pride ourselves on being able to compete and perform when it matters most. I’m excited to see where this year takes us and really appreciate this year’s senior class for all of their leadership and guidance to the underclassmen.”

In the varsity boys’ race, All American senior Caden Leonard was back in action and led the team to a district title and one of the top performances of the year. The team had a 1-7 spread of just over a minute and a 1-5 time of 74:20 which is an all time school record on this course. Leonard set the tone yet sophomore star Kai Gutierrez’ 2^nd place (14:37) and senior Michale Fuller (14:48) closed hard passing 3 runners in the last 200 meters to give the Dragons a 1-3 finish. Caudio Auns (15:11), Grant Norgart(15:14), Jaxon Glenn (15:17), and Evan O’Donnell(15:35) rounded out the varsity competitors. Tradition means everything to Southlake Carroll as they won their 16^th straight district title in dramatic fashion.

In the girls’ competition, the team time of 90:38 was exceptional as breakout races by senior Luna Gutierrez (2^nd, 17:29) and junior Megan Bergman (7^th, 17:51) set the tone. Closely following their teammates were Abigail Perez (10^th, 18:00), Grace McIivain (11^th, 18:01), and Nora Fraden (25^th, 19:14). The lady Dragons came in 2^nd place to a solid Byron Nelson team and are set for a rematch at UIL Regionals in less than two weeks.

In the final JV race of the season, Dragon boys had a near perfect 19 points. A 1-2-4-5-7 finish is rare in the sport yet the depth of the team was on full display. Carroll was led to the district title by promising freshman Cameron Perez (15:59) and talented junior Jack Swadish (2^nd, 16:09). That 1-2 finish was followed by sophomore Adhavan Palanivelrajan (4^th, 16:19), senior Gavin Folkerts (5^th, 16:21) and senior Graysen Schick (7^th, 16:21).

In the girls JV race, the ladies placed 2^nd as well. Sophomore Kameron Dukes crossed the line first in 18:35 to take the title, the 3^rd of the day for the team. Junior Quinn Salstrand finished second in 18:56. The next three scoring Dragons ran as a tight pack made up of senior Sophie Garland (12^th, 19:53), junior Gwendolyn Asher (13^th, 19:56), and sophomore Megan Saban (14^th, 19:57).

The Dragons now advance to the Region 1-6A meet in Lubbock on October 21^st. As both varsity teams look to qualify for the state meet, the boys will be aiming for their 8^th consecutive regional championship. For more information on the 2025 XC UIL Regional Meet, link here: UIL 1A-6A Region 1 Championship 2025 - Meet Information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 6, 2025

Dragon Cross Country Hosts Top Talent at

Southlake 5K Invitational

Southlake, TX – A magnet for the top harriers in the region, the Southlake 5K Invitational at Bob Jones Park on Saturday September 6^th did not disappoint. On the boys’ side, the meet attracted 9-time Arkansas state champion Bentonville High and local powerhouse, CCCAT 9^th ranked Flower Mound High School. On the ladies’ side, DyeStat nationally ranked #13 Rogers (Arkansas) and defending Texas state champion Flower Mound High School came to town to take on the Dragons.

Though the Carroll boys rested many of their varsity team including nationally ranked Caden Leonard and Kia Gutierrez, breakout Senior Micheal Fuller (7^th, 15:21) lead the team to an impressive 23 second 1-5 spread for  2^nd place behind Bentonville High in the Elite Boys Race. Junior Jaxon Glenn (16^th, 15:28), Junior Grant Norgart (26^th,  15:39), Junior Adhaven Palanivelrajan (32^nd, 15:42), and Junior Claudio Auns (38^th, 15:44) rounded out the scoring five. The remaining top seven posted impressive marks with Junior Evan O’Donnell (16:02) and Senior Gavin Folkerts (16:13) making big moves to close out the race.

The Dragon ladies had a 3rd place finish just mere points away from 2024 state champion Flower Mound High School. Lead by Senior superstar Luna Gutierrez (7^th, 18:05), the women also delivered a stellar 1-5 time spread of 43 seconds which is key to team achievements in cross country. Senior Lilah Gornell (18^th, 18:36) had one of the standout performances of the day followed by teammates Junior Abigail Perez (21^st, 18:39), Junior Megan Bergman (23^rd, 18:42) and Junior Grace McIlivain (33^rd, 18:48).

Carroll Head Coach Justin Leonard noted, “We are very proud of the way our athletes competed today. For several of our varsity runners, this was their first 5K of the season, providing a valuable benchmark to gauge their progress. For some of our younger runners, it marked their second 5K, an important step in their development and in gaining race experience. We are encouraged by the direction of the program and confident that we will be prepared for championship season.

In the boys’ open 5k race, Senior Dylan Torres scorched the home course in 16:16 for 5^th place followed by standout Freshman Cameron Perez (7^th, 16:21). Sophomore Reed Dodson (9^th, 16:23) is showing good form leading the next pack including Sophomore Hasan Rauf (13^th, 16:27) and Sophomore Ryan Kovach (20^th, 16:34). The Dragons took 2^nd place overall.

In the girls’ varsity open race, Sophomore Eberle Goode (20^th, 20:27) led the way for the Dragons as they took 5^th overall. Junior Gwendolyn Asher (26^th, 20:37), Annalise Bell (28^th, 20:39), Freshman Sophie Mahendra (20:51), and Sophomore Megan Saban (20:57) rounded out the top 5.

While the varsity Dragons distance crews has next week off, they will be heading to compete against stiff competition at the Nike South Invitational (Nike South 2025 - Meet Information) at Texas A&M on Friday September 19^th. Others will compete in Denton at the Braswell Invitational (Braswell Little D Invitational FULL 2025 - Meet Information) on  Thursday September 18^th.

Boys Elite Varsity Results

1           Kai Gutierrez                           9:08

2           Michael Fuller                         9:20

4           Jaxon Glenn                              9:32

5           Adhaven Palanivelrajan     9:40

6           Claudio Auns                            9:42

8           Grant Norgart                            9:43

11         Gavin Folkerts                          9:48

15         Evan O’Donnell                         9:57

23         Grayson Schick                         10:12

53         Reed Dodson                            10:48

Girls Elite Varsity Results

8           Lilah Gornell                             11:33

16        Grace McIlvain                        11:48

17        Nora Farden                             12:02

18        Haley Badget                           12:14

26        Landry Lambert                     12:33

30         Eberle Goode                             12:48