Dragon and Lady Dragon Cross Country got their season started with a meet that felt more like a state title meet or an olympic qualifying event than the first meet of the year.

The night time start at the Friday Night Lights meet at Bear Branch Sports Park in The Woodlands provided a unique setting and allowed for much larger crowds than your typical 6am meet start. Throw in the high level of competition, which is the most elite in the state for the opening weekend, and you have an electric atmosphere.

Dragon CXC took full advantage as both Elite Varsity A and B teams took 1st place overall in the fast 4000 meter race. This was the first time that Carroll Cross Country has ran in The Woodlands at the Friday Night Lights meet. They were scheduled to do so last year before Hurricane Harvey wiped away the event. This will serve as valuable cross country experience as this course will host the Nike South meet later in the year. Nate Lannen was the top overall finisher for the A team finishing 4th at 12:44. Steven Torres took 6th at 12:49, Drew Bliss in 10th at 12:58, Hayden Coleman in 12th at 13:02, Jack Myers in 18th at 13:09, Kieran Beirne in 20th at 13:13 and Antonio Florcruz in 22nd at 13:17.

The Elite Varsity Boys B Team also captured top honors as Matthew Sims won the meet at 13:20. Grant Anderson took 3rd at 13:30, Lucas Levant took 14th at 13:50, Bradley Heidebrecht took 19th at 13:56 and Nick Arriaza took 20th at 13:58.

The Lady Dragons also had a strong weekend in The Woodlands as the A team finished in 3rd position, lead by Lydia Lo finishing in 9th place, while the B team finished just off the podium in 4th.

Head Cross Country Coach Justin Leonard said of the season opening meet "We are very proud of the way our kids competed in our opening meets. It's always nice to finally get to race some of the teams and individuals after a long summer of running against teammates. We are pleased with the results but we realize there is still a lot of work to be done in order to achieve our goals for the end of the season. It's a long season but the ability to come to practice each day with a desire to improve is going to be the key to our success this season."

Up next is the Marcus 1 Invitational held at North Lakes Park Saturday, September 1 in Denton.