6A BOYS CROSS COUNTRY - FASTEST RETURNERS

After pulling off the biggest 'upset' of the season at last year's state meet, Alan Gallardo-Lopez is back for his senior season and will be another one of Arkansas' best looking to etch their name alongside the state's all-time greats. The Fayetteville standout is coming off a lighter workload this spring, having run just 13 races since his cross country title, suggesting he's as fresh and focused as anyone heading into 2025. Elsewhere, Asher Found stands to be the biggest threat to the defending champion following his breakout fall last year. The rising senior from Catholic won three races last season, including the 6A Central Championship, and finished 4th at the state meet - just 13 seconds behind Gallardo-Lopez. After spending his spring recovering from a sickness, Found is healthy again and will be looking to win his first state championship. I would argue Rhett Moss had the biggest regular-season win last fall, taking down a pair of state champions in the Springdale Schools Invitational, one of Arkansas' biggest events, and is one of Arkansas' most underrated distance runners. Following an 8th place finish at last year's state meet, the rising senior from Ft. Smith Southside is the 3rd fastest returner in 6A and will play a big role in his team's pursuit of a podium finish in November. Bentonville won a state-record 8th straight state championship last season, but the Tigers will be tasked with replacing their four fastest runners from last year's team in 2025. Dean Pickett, Logan Hurley, and Vini Pimentel enter the fall as three of 6A's nine fastest returners from 2024, and given their program's track record, it wouldn't be a shock if all three found themselves on the podium in Hot Springs. Speaking of teammates, Braden Palmer is back for his senior season and is the second half of 6A's best 1-2 punch. Palmer dipped underneath 16:00 for the first time last year and set impressive personal bests in every distance event this spring. He should be one of the state's best once again. Harper Huckabee and Hudson Copeland are two more names to keep an eye on. The Jonesboro duo enjoyed strong starts to their 2024 season, each running under 16 minutes in September, but fell short of expectations at the state meet, making me believe they could be two of the most dangerous runners in the state come October.

6A BOYS CROSS COUNTRY - FASTEST RETURNERS

Photo Credit: Jonathan Heath/MileSplit AR

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