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WACO — Several Dallas-area athletes took home individual and team titles at the 2026 TAPPS state cross country meet held at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course Monday.
Dallas Covenant dominated in sweeping 3A team titles, and Fort Worth Nolan had Georgia Giesinger repeat as the 6A girls individual champion.
In addition, Fort Worth Christian’s 5A boys produced the top two individual finishers en route to claiming the team top spot, with Arlington Pantego and McKinney Cornerstone Christian posting individual gold medalists.
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Dallas Covenant dynasty rolls on
The Dallas Covenant cross country boys ran away with 4A team gold, totaling 63 points, well ahead of second-place Lubbock Trinity Christian’s 124 tally, handily capturing its unprecedented 11th straight TAPPS state crown. Covenant’s top five finishers (those count in team scoring) were among the top 23. Even the team’s sixth and seventh entries ended 26th and 39th individually. Noah Verdin led Covenant’s contingent with a silver-medal finish.
Equally impressive was the Covenant girls squad, whose 46 first-place finish was far ahead of second-place San Antonio Christian School at Castle Hills, which posted a 119-point total. Chloe Thomas earned bronze to lead Covenant, as all five runners finished between third and 19th in the team scoring.
“I told our teams last night [Sunday] that they deserved to win Gold,” said head coach Michael Golden, who guides both programs. “I also let them know that does not mean other teams will just let you win. You have to go out an earn it.”
And Covenant went out and did so in a big way.
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The boys’ string of championships is impressive beyond just the 11 consecutive titles. The smallest differential in its 11-year streak is 20 points in 2018; it won by 27 in 2016, the year this run began. Nine of 11 team wins have been by at least 41 points over the second place team, including 61 this year.
“It is the standard we have created,” said coach Golden. “Great senior leadership, and that filters down to the underclassmen. They push each other to be their best.”
Senior Noah Verdin, who has earned silver each of the past two state meets after winning Gold in 2024, says Covenant adheres to that team-first philosophy. “It is all about the team,” said Verdin. “That goes for each and every runner throughout the program.”
It was the fourth overall TAPPS state title for the Covenant girls, having also won in 2024, 2018 and 2017.
Fort Worth Nolan 6A girls individual repeats
Syracuse pledge Georgia Giesinger went back-to-back in winning 6A girls gold, blistering the course in an 11:10.3 time, 0:1.7 seconds ahead of teammate Haley Fernandez.
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The dynamic duo, which have been first and second in almost every cross country event this season, enabled Nolan to secure Silver in the team standings with 97 points, 12 shy of San Antonio Antonian’s 85 points.
Giesinger bettered last year’s gold-winning time by over 37 seconds. She credits sensation Fernandez, who has burst onto the cross country scene this season as a freshman.
“It’s great running with Haley,” said Giesinger. “We really push each other and make each other better.”
The Fort Worth Nolan boys earned a bronze team medal with a score of 106 points, with five runners finishing in the 11-38 range.
Other area highlights
Sophomore Kollin Green ran a 16:30.1 gold-winning time, and freshman teammate Cade Lewis (16.52.5) took second to pace Fort Worth Christian to the 5A boys team title with 51 points, well ahead of San Antonio Christian’s 77 points.
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Elizabeth Hamblin, an Arlington Pantego senior, earned individual 5A girls gold with a 12:17.5 time.
Junior Nate Lugo of McKinney Cornerstone Christian earned his second consecutive individual gold, claiming the boys 3A top spot with a winning time of 15:54.7, just under 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
Grapevine Faith Christian’s Sophia Belcher was a 5A girls bronze finisher.
Buoyed by a trio of top nine individual finishers, Fort Worth Temple Christian 3A girls garnered bronze in the team standings.
Briefly: Tyler Grace Community senior and SMU pledge Emma Goetz, who also won both the 3200 and 1600 track events each of the past three years, won her second straight and third cross country gold in four years, in the 5A girls competition…Spring Providence Classical continued its dominance, sweeping the 3A team titles, marking the seventh consecutive boys and sixth straight girls crowns…Lubbock Southcrest owned 1A Boys with its runners finishing 1-2-3 while totaling 23 team points, the lowest score across all 12 classifications, in claiming its third straight team title, the last two in 2A.
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All-State
The top 10 finishers earn All-State recognition. DFW area honorees are included below.
Boys
Class
School
Athlete(s)
6A
Bishop Lynch
Herman Pope
6A
Plano John Paul II
Alex Mendoza
5A
Fort Worth Christian
Kollin Green, Cade Lewis, Braydon Brady
5A
Fort Worth SW Christian
Emerson Aiken
4A
Dallas Covenant
Noah Verdin, Henry Moore
4A
Dallas Christian
Roman Carney
3A
McKinney Cornerstone Christian
Nate Lugo
3A
Dallas First Baptist
Reiter Hellmuth, Zachary Hansen
3A
Lucas Christian
Lucas Rembold
3A
Fort Worth Temple Christian
Caleb Kitchens
2A
Fort Worth Bethesda Christian
Steven Goodman, Boden Curtis
1A
NONE
NONE
Girls
Class
School
Athlete(s)
6A
FW Nolan
Georgia Giesinger, Haley Fernandez
6A
Ursuline
Jenna Priest
6A
Prestonwood Christian Academy
Camille Glenn
6A
Bishop Lynch
Emme Driscoll
6A
Parish Episcopal
Blake Durham
6A
Argyle Liberty Christian
Camille Taylor
5A
Grapevine Faith Christian
Sophia Belcher
5A
Fort Worth All Saints
Micah Neal
5A
Fort Worth Southwest Christian
Grace Murchison
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4A
Arlington Pantego
Elizabeth Hamblin
4A
Dallas Covenant
Chloe Thomas, Lily Koerner
3A
Fort Worth Temple Christian
Courtney Clinkinbeard, Abigail Grounds, Aislinn Richie
3A
Dallas First Baptist
Marchesa Reil
2A
Dallas Cambridge
Penelope Pimentel
2A
Kennedale Fellowship Academy
Ava Froese
2A
Azle Christian
Hallie Collins
1A
Waxahachie Prep
Catalina Flores
1A
Sherman Texoma Christian
Hannah Murphy