As the 2023 Arkansas High School cross country season creeps closer, the team at MileSplit Arkansas is preparing for the fall by providing preseason coverage across the state's six divisions.
This week, we will take a look at Division 4A, which returns a healthy group of runners that will all be chasing their first state championship.
Girls
If you are going to talk about the 4A girl's division, you have to start with Maddie Cabana.
Cabana is the second fastest returner in the entire state and enters her senior season looking to capture her second straight cross country championship and add to her four state titles.
The star from Clinton ran a personal best time of 17:40.80 at last season's Chile Pepper Festival, which placed her 6th at the state's most prestigious meet, and she has only gotten faster since.
Cabana finished with new personal bests in the 800m, 1,600m, and 3,200m distance events this spring, suggesting that the rising senior is due for more progression in the fall.
While Cabana seems to be the clear favorite in the 4A girl's division, a few individuals appear to be coming on strong this fall after strong spring track seasons who will look to play spoiler to the Clinton star's farewell season.
Macy Weathers is one of those individuals.
Weathers finished 3rd at last season's Arkansas State Cross Country Championships and came back this spring to finish 4th in the 800m on the track, while also running a personal best time of 5:50.98 in the 1,600m.
To beat Cabana this season, it will take a great equalizer. This spring, Weathers focused on her speed and could very well become the equalizer she needs to close the gap as it stands right now.
Be sure to keep an eye on Julia Whorton as well. The star from Gravette qualified for the state championship this spring in all three distance events following a 4th place finish at last year's cross country state meet.
Now, Whorton enters her senior season with a plethora of experience that will make her an even more dangerous runner on the grass.
Boys
While the 4A girls have a clear frontrunner at the top of the division, the path to a state championship in the 4A boys division will be a lot more crowded.
Tian Grant is the fastest returner in 4A by 31 seconds and won the 3,200m championship this spring following his 3rd place finish at last season's cross country state meet - the highest finish from an underclassman.
Grant ran a 16:23.99 at the 2022 Prairie Grove Tigers Invitational last cross country season after having started his season in the 17:40s and working down to running consistently in the 16:50s.
The rising senior ran three personal bests in all three distance events this spring, which signifies the budding superstar is ready to take the next step this fall and become the top runner in 4A.
Matthew Thurman finished 4th at last year's state meet and returns this season much improved since his freshman cross country season.
Thurman, the third-fastest returner in 4A, won the 800m state championship on the track this spring, even breaking the 2-minute barrier at the Arkansas Meet of Champions, and finished 5th in the 3,200m.
The rising sophomore from Shiloh Christian has an incredibly bright future ahead and would appear as a real threat to win another state title - this time on the grass.
Randy Rodriguez and Cayden Wortham are two more names worth mentioning as both runners competed well at last year's state meet and have gained significantly more experience since competing at this winter and spring's track championship meets and even USATF-sponsored events.