Watson Classic Preview: Breaking Down the Boys Gold Race

There are plenty of meets on Mississippi's cross country calendar that give us a good look at the state's best runners. But Watson is where we finally get to see them all together. Different classifications, private schools, and homeschool programs all line up at Choctaw Trails, giving athletes who will race in separate state championships an opportunity to settle things against the best competition in the state.

This year, Mississippi's best will have plenty of company. The Watson High School XC Classic, presented by RunningLane, returns Saturday, October 17, with a field featuring strong programs from Mississippi, as well as Louisiana and Alabama. Catholic - B. R, Brother Martin, Dutchtown, and Hoover will join the Mississippi contingent, bringing enough talent to make this much more than a battle for in-state bragging rights.

Add a significant change in the weather, and we could be looking at one of the most exciting mornings of the season. For this preview, we are focusing on the boys Gold race, how the field could develop, and the Mississippi athletes I think are ready to make a statement.

Why This Watson Classic Could Be Special

For Mississippi athletes, Watson serves as something close to an unofficial all-classification championship. State titles will eventually be decided in separate races, but this is one of the last major opportunities for these runners to compete directly against one another. A 5A athlete does not have to wonder how he would stack up against the best in 7A. A homeschool runner does not have to compare his time from another meet. They can line up together and find out.

That matters when we start discussing the best runners in Mississippi. Times from different courses give us part of the picture, but a race like Watson gives us something much more useful: direct competition. Everyone gets the same conditions and the same opportunity to prove where he belongs. With the out-of-state talent joining this year's field, proving yourself here could also mean competing well against some excellent runners from across the region.

The weather could make that opportunity even better. We've spent much of this season discussing heat and how difficult it has been for athletes to show their full fitness. As of Thursday, Clinton's forecast points toward a Saturday low in the mid-40s and a high around 70 degrees, following Thursday temperatures in the low 90s. The temperature at the start will depend on race time, but the overall change could give these runners a considerable break from what they have experienced for much of the fall. 

That immediately brings Watson 2024 to mind. Aiden Monistere ran approximately 14:33, while Mississippi athletes had an excellent day behind him. Jaquavion Bryant ran 15:34, Bailey Kosko finished in 15:36, Grayson Taylor ran 15:48, and Joseph Ross crossed in 15:50. It was the kind of morning that showed what can happen when strong competition and favorable racing conditions come together.

I think this year gives us a reason to be excited about that possibility again. Cooler weather does not automatically produce personal bests, and the athletes still have to manage their races well. But this field should provide plenty of people to compete with, and if the forecast holds, the conditions could give them a chance to take advantage of that depth.

Brown and Juneau Lead a Field That Could Produce Several Fast Packs

At the front, Tupelo's Andrew Brown and Catholic Baton Rouge's Augustin Juneau immediately stand out. Brown enters with a seed of 14:49.40, followed by Juneau at 14:54.90. Both have recently shown that their sub-15 performances reflect where they are right now, making this an especially interesting matchup. 

Brown has put together an outstanding stretch of racing. He won On Twilight in Huntsville with that 14:49, then followed it with an eighth-place finish in the Race of Champions at Great American, running 14:53.5 against a national field. Those are two strong performances on different stages, and they give him an excellent case as the favorite entering Watson. He has already shown he can compete outside Mississippi; now, he gets an opportunity to bring that level of racing back to Choctaw Trails. 

Juneau gives him a serious challenger. The Catholic Baton Rouge runner posted his 14:54.90 just last weekend, finishing second over 5K at the Pete Boudreaux '59 Catholic High Invitational. He is arriving with recent evidence that he is ready to compete at this level, and five seconds between entry marks on different courses is hardly enough to settle a matchup. I would not be surprised to see these two spend a considerable portion of Saturday's race together

The interesting part will be how they respond to each other. If Brown commits to a fast opening pace, does Juneau immediately follow? If they reach the later stages together, who has another move left? Both have a reason to pursue the win, and that competition could help produce a quick time without either athlete having to carry the entire race alone.

Dutchtown's Shrey Shah also deserves attention. He carries a 15:16 seed and returns as the defending Watson Gold champion, giving him course-specific experience that should keep him firmly in this conversation. David Thibodaux's Emerson Cullen and Brother Martin's Daniel Bonilla follow with seeds of 15:20 and 15:21, while Brother Martin's Carson Mills enters at 15:34. Louisiana has enough strength here to influence much more than the battle between Brown and Juneau.

My expectation is that Brown and Juneau will help establish the pace, with Shah, Cullen, and Bonilla among the athletes capable of forming the first chase group. That group could be working toward the low-15-minute range, with an opportunity to challenge 15 minutes if someone is ready for a breakthrough. Mills could go with them or become an important connection to the larger pack behind. These are projections, though, and I would not expect everyone to follow the order on the entry list.

That larger pack might be the most exciting part of the race. Sixteen athletes have entry marks between 15:30 and 16 minutes, bringing several of Mississippi's best into the same range as talented runners from Louisiana and Alabama. Preston Mundy, Eli Seaton, Autry Foster, Trace Thornhill, and David Lee should give Mississippi a strong presence, while Hoover's Sawyer Burgess and Henry Bowden add another competitive element.

Then there are Kiplin Loprinzi and Perry Hearst. Their seeds sit in the mid-15:50s, but I do not expect either runner to treat that as his assigned position. Both belong in the conversation with athletes seeded ahead of them, and both could help make this a much more competitive group than the entry marks alone suggest.

I think several runners in this pack have the opportunity to break 15:30, with some capable of going considerably faster. The challenge will be finding the right effort early and staying competitive when the race begins to separate. Some athletes may go out with this group and lose contact late but still finish with substantial personal bests. Others could discover that they are capable of staying there all the way to the finish.

Mississippi's Contenders Have More Than Times to Chase

For athletes such as Eli Seaton, Preston Mundy, Kiplin Loprinzi, and Gage Bezoski, Watson carries significance beyond a fast time. These runners will not all share the 7A championship race with many of the athletes they want to beat Saturday. This is their opportunity to compete directly against those runners before classifications separate the field.

When the season ends, we will inevitably compare performances from different state races. Those comparisons will come with questions about weather, competition, and how each race developed. Watson gives these athletes a result they can point to without having to explain those differences. If you want to show that you are one of Mississippi's best, this is an excellent place to do it.

Mundy's storyline is particularly interesting. His 15:37 victory at DeSoto County was a major personal best and an even bigger season best, but beating Foster was just as meaningful as the time. Regardless of how that course compares to Choctaw Trails, finishing ahead of an athlete who has consistently competed with Mississippi's best deserves attention.

Now comes the opportunity to carry that form into Watson. Mundy has run quickly at DeSoto before without matching those marks here, but his steady progression this season gives him a chance to change that pattern. He has moved forward from his third-place finish at Saltillo, competed well among the Mississippi finishers at the Gatorade Classic, and now added a county title against a strong field. A big performance Saturday would connect those results and strengthen his case near the top of the state.

Seaton brings confidence from having already raced well at Watson. He finished fourth in 15:38 last year, so he knows he can compete successfully on this course. With Mundy arriving off a breakthrough and Seaton bringing that experience, their matchup should also give us another look at two leading 6A contenders before they chase a state title.

Foster, Thornhill, and Lee make the Mississippi battle even more difficult to predict. All three have the ability to influence this race, and none should be treated as someone simply filling a place in the chase pack. If they are together late, the competition for the next Mississippi position behind Brown could become one of the best races of the morning.

That is what makes Watson valuable. A runner from 5A or 6A can line up against the leading 7A athletes and make his case directly. For some of these guys, Saturday is the opportunity to leave their competition thinking, "I am glad he will not be in my state race."