Top 20 distance runners in Texas high school boys track: Meet the state's best track & field athletes

With the 2022 Texas high school track and field state championships taking center stage next weekend in Austin (May 12-14), SBLive is highlighting the top boys and girls track and field athletes in the state.

Earlier we took a look at the top boys sprinters in the state. Now we turn our attention to the top boys distance runners.

There are hundreds of outstanding distance runners in Texas, and these lists are not intended to be comprehensive. Tag us on Twitter or Instagram @SBLiveTX and let us know about other distance runners worthy of fans’ attention.

TOP BOYS DISTANCE RUNNERS IN TEXAS HIGH SCHOOL TRACK

(The list is in alphabetical order)

Wyatt Athey, Jr., Denton

Personal bests: 1600, 4:16.06; 3200, 9:08.01

Athey narrowly missed out on a UIL 5A state berth in the 3,200 as a sophomore, finishing third at the regional meet. He placed sixth at the state cross country meet this fall and now joins a loaded field at the Region 1 meet again this spring following an Area 5/6 title in the 1,600 and a runner-up finish in the 3,200.

Sahil Dodda, Sr., St. Mark’s

Personal bests: 800, 1:58.31; 1600, 4:14.64; 3200, 9:06.39

Dodda won the Southwest Preparatory Conference title in the 800 last spring while playing second banana to St. John’s standout Emmanuel Sguoros at the longer distances. Dodda, a University of Pennsylvania commit, finished second to Sguoros in the 3,200 and third in the 1,600 at last spring’s SPC championships and runner-up to Sguoros at the SPC cross country championships in the fall.

Kyle Easton, Sr., Conroe The Woodlands

Personal bests: 800, 1:53.69; 1600, 4:14.04

The Texas A&M commit hopes to improve upon the finish to his junior season, when he finished ninth at the UIL 6A state meet in the 800 and failed to advance out of regionals in the 1,600. He advanced to regionals in both races from last week’s Area 13/14 meet.

Santos Flores, Sr., Converse Judson

Personal bests: 800, 1:53.16; 1600, 4:21.76

Flores has run sparingly for the Rockets this spring, but he won the UIL 6A Area 27/28 title in the 800 last week and finished third in the 1600.

Emanuel Galdino, Sr., Houston Stratford

Personal bests: 800, 1:52.67; 1600, 4:08.10; 3200, 9:14.54

The Iowa State commit qualified for the UIL 6A state meet in all three distance races as a junior, choosing to run the 1,600 (third) and 3,200 (fourth). After placing sixth at the state cross country meet in the fall, he’ll run at regionals this weekend in the 800 and 3,200 after winning the Area 17/18 title in the 800 and finishing second in the 3,200.

Ayden Granados, Jr., McAllen Memorial

Personal bests: 800, 1:56.71; 1600, 4:11.03; 3200, 9:16.96

Granados hasn’t lost in either the 1,600 or 3,200 since mid-February, cruising to titles at the UIL 5A District 31 and Area 31-32 championships in both races. He also won the 800 at district.

Josue Granados, Sr., Grapevine

Personal bests: 1600, 4:22.32; 3200, 9:07.44

Granados is part of a deep contingent of distance runners out of UIL 5A Area 5-6 who’ll contend for one of two automatic spots from the regional meet to the state championships. He finished second in the 1,600 and third in the 3,200 at the area meet.

Hudson Heikkinen, Sr., Plano West

Personal bests: 1600, 4:14.31; 3200, 9:09.61

Heikkinen advanced to the UIL 6A Region 1 meet last spring in the 1,600 and 3,200, posting sixth-place finishes in each. He made big strides in the fall, finishing the year with a runner-up finish at the 6A state cross country championships, and he has swept to titles at the District 6 and Area 5-6 meets so far this spring.

Aidan Killian, Sr., Humble Atascocita

Personal bests: 800, 1:52.0h; 1600, 4:19.0h

Killian hopes to take the final step and qualify for the UIL 6A state meet this spring after reaching the regional round a year ago. He ran his personal-bests at the Atascocita Invitational in early March and finished second in the 800 at the District 21 and Area 21/22 meets the past two weeks.

Jared Laverty, Sr., El Paso Americas

Personal bests: 800 meters, 1 minutes, 52.24 seconds; 1600, 4:17.40

Laverty repeated as UIL 6A District 1 and Area 1/2 champion in the 800 this spring after finishing second at the Nike Chandler Rotary T&F Classic in late March. He signed with the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

Isaac McGill, Sr., Amarillo

Personal bests: 1600, 4:24.53; 3200, 9:00.85

The University of Portland commit has come close to winning a title the past two seasons. He finished ninth at the UIL 5A state cross country meet as a junior and second this fall, and he placed third in the 3,200 at the state track meet last May. He heads to regionals this weekend fresh off sweeping the 1,600 and 3,200 titles at the District 3 and Area 3-4 meets.

David Mora, Jr., Lubbock Monterrey

Personal bests: 800, 1:55.57; 1600, 4:10.02; 3200, 9:38.15

Mora, who finished third at the UIL 5A state cross country championships in November, followed up District 4 titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 by comfortably advancing to regionals with a runner-up finish at the Area 3-4 meet in the 1,600 and a third-place showing in the 3,200.

Darius Rainey, Sr., Humble Summer Creek

Personal bests: 400, 47.56; 800, 1:52.48

The University of Southern California signee ran his personal-best in the 800 last spring when he finished second at the UIL 6A state championships. He came close to that mark in winning the District 21 title on April 14, and he swept the 400 and 800 Area 21-22 titles a week ago.

Chris Riley, Sr., Austin McCallum

Personal bests: 800, 1:55.20; 1600, 4:05.78; 3200, 9:19.10

Riley placed second at the UIL 5A state championships in the 1,600 last spring, narrowly missing out on a double after placing third in the 3,200 at regionals. He’ll go for the double this spring after sweeping the Area 17/18 titles in both events last weekend.

Ruben Rojas Betanzos, Sr., Katy Seven Lakes

Personal bests: 800, 1:53.56; 1600, 4:16.44; 3200, 9:15.30

Rojas Betanzos placed at the UIL 6A state championships last spring in both the 800 (fifth) and 3,200 (seventh), and he then improved 12 spots at the state cross country meet in the fall, moving up to a third-place finish. The Syracuse commit now looks to finish his career on a high note — and will have his pick of events, having won Area 19-20 titles in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 last weekend.

Walker St. John, Sr., Grapevine

Personal bests: 800, 1:53.32; 1600, 4:09.24; 3200, 8:57.77

The North Carolina signee might be the most versatile distance runner, equally excelling at the middle and longer distances. A back-to-back UIL 5A state cross country champion who finished third at the NXR South Regional in November, he gave up a chance to repeat as state champion in the 1,600 to focus on winning titles in the 800 and 3,200 — he swept both at the Area 5/6 championships last week.

Angel Sanchez, So., Fort Worth Diamond Hill-Jarvis

Personal bests: 1600, 4:12.59; 3200, 9:22.81

Sanchez has shown great improvement this spring, following up a fourth-place finish at the UIL 4A state cross country championships by sweeping District 8 and Area 7-8 titles in the 1,600 and 3,200.

Kevin Sanchez, Jr., Austin Vandegrift

Personal bests: 1600, 4:15.60; 3200, 8:59.88

This fall’s UIL 6A state cross country champion now hopes to add titles in the 1,600 and 3,200 in the spring. He’s well on his way after cruising to District 25 and Area 25-26 titles in both races the past two weeks.

Emmanuel Sgouros, Sr., St. John’s

Personal bests: 1600, 4:15.77; 3200, 8:47.19

Sguoros finished eighth as a freshman in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the Southwest Preparatory Conference championship meet. Last spring, the University of Texas commit swept the SPC titles in both races, and he became the first St. John’s runner to win Gatorade Texas Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year honors this fall and was an Eastbay All-American with his 10th-place finish at nationals.

Hector Solis, Sr., PSJA North

Personal bests: 800, 1:57.45; 1600, 4:16.40; 3200, 9:10.29

Solis has had a star-crossed career with the Raiders on the track, but the University of Texas signee hopes to end his career on a high note after finishing a career-best fourth at the UIL 6A state cross country championships. He swept all three distance races at the District 31 meet, then dropped the 800 for the Area 31-32 championships and won the 1,600 title and qualified for regionals with a third-place finish.

Reese Vannerson, Jr., Houston Strake Jesuit

Personal bests: 800, 1:56.82; 1600, 4:12.76; 3200, 9:13.19

Vannerson is rounding into form just in time to match his fourth-place finish in the 1,600 at last spring’s UIL 6A state meet. He won the District 23 and Area 23-24 titles in the 1,600 and advanced to regionals in the 3,200 with a second-place finish at the area meet.