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Boys Preview:
The boys race will feature Bentonville, who won their 7th straight 6A Arkansas state cross country championship and became the second team from the Natural State to qualify for NXN Nationals last season.
The Tigers are led by Owen Kelley, who has picked up two monumental wins at the Olathe Twilight and Sugar Creek Showdown in the last two weeks. The senior from Bentonville has run a 14:50.00, a US #22 so far this season, and will be one of the favorites to take home the individual title.
Mountain Home and Fayetteville are currently ranked 2nd and 3rd in the Milesplit Arkansas XC Team Scores and will look to test themselves against some of the best teams in the region.
Mountain Home, who has won two straight 5A state championships in Arkansas, is led by a three-headed monster consisting of Connor King, Garrett Barr, and Jackson Free - who has run an AR #4 this season.
Alan Gallardo-Lopez is the low-stick for this Bulldog squad and he should be in the thick of the individual race on Saturday. The senior from Fayetteville ran 15:28.10 at the Southlake XC Invite in Texas earlier this season and is more than capable of popping another fast time against similar competition.
This will be the first time we see the full boys squad from Rogers in action this season. This group of upperclassmen feel as if they have something to prove this season and Saturday's Chile Pepper Festival will be the team's first chance to flex their muscles against some of the state's best.
READ HERE - THE ROAD TO OAKLAWN: Q&A WITH ROGERS XC BOYS
Luke Mbekenya from Bentonville West opened the season in Texas at the McKinney Boyd Bronco Stampede and finished 14th. With two more weeks of training under his belt, the sophomore who finished 12th at the 6A state meet last fall will be a name to keep an eye on this weekend.
Outside of the Natural State, several top teams from other states will be making the trip to Fayetteville including Oklahoma, who is sending seven of their top 10 teams.
Piedmont, Deer Creek, and Lincoln Christian are at the top of that list and are all capable of a high finish at Saturday's event.
Piedmont features a 30 second 1-5 split that averages 15:55.61 over 5,000m, while Deer Creek, who finished 4th at NXR South last season, won this meet a year ago and will hope to repeat in 2024. The Antlers boast an impressive 18 second 1-5 split that averages 16:21.36 and after Saturday, that time should come down even more.
Lincoln Christian is led by Ty Brooks who opened his season running a 15:39.83, which is the 9th fastest time in Oklahoma this season.
Zachary Williams, a senior, and Ethan Jones, a sophomore, are two of the top individuals in Oklahoma this season and should be in the mix to win Saturday's event. The pair of teammates from Cache have been impressive so far this season as Williams has run 15:30 or faster in four races, while Jones most recently went 15:36.80 last weekend at the Missouri Southern Stampede.
Broken Arrow, Tahlequah, Mustang, and Sapulpa are other teams from the Sooner State that will be worth keeping an eye on at Saturday's event.
Lewisville Hebron, Longview Pine Tree, and Wylie are just a few teams hailing from the Longhorn State that are making the trip to Arkansas this weekend.
Lewisville Hebron is ranked 15th in Texas and is led by Elijiah Rivera-Campos, who has run under 15:10 twice this season and should be right in the thick of the individual race.
The biggest threat to Owen Kelley on Saturday will come from Denton Guyer (TX). Freshman Ruel Newberry has been nothing short of fantastic this season, running sub 14:50 in both 5,000m races he has competed in this season. After collecting a win at the Marcus Coach T XC Invitational, Newberry set a US #12 en route to running the fastest time ever recorded (14:44.60) by a freshman in our Milesplit database at the Southlake XC Invite.
Zachary Brumfield has dipped under 16:00 twice this season and could be due to for a big day on Saturday. The junior from Wylie finished 20th at the Lovejoy XC Fall Festival against similar competition two weeks ago.
The 8th ranked team in Kansas will also be attendance this weekend to represent the Sunflower State. Shawnee Mission South is led by Max Larson, who has run a KS #7 this season, will also be in the mix for an individual win on Saturday. Shawnee Mission East, who finished