Cross country is around the corner with next week being the official start of the season.

Last year, Lexington County sent 14 teams to the state championship meets, and though none won, a few teams placed high.

Lexington High School will look to return to the 5A championship meet after sending both its boys and girls teams last year. The girls were runner-up, finishing behind Fort Mill. The boys came in fourth.

The girls team had four players finish in the top 20 in last year’s title race. Ava Kanitkar, Sophie Potts, Kendra Miles and Elanorah Patangan can all return this year.

Chapin also sent teams to both the boys and girls 5A championship event. The Eagles finished a few spots behind Lexington, placing sixth in girls and eighth in boys.

The Eagles are losing one of their three top-20 finishers from the girls and boys teams. Abigail White graduated and moved on to run collegiately at the University of South Carolina. Koa Erickson on the boys side and Georgia Babcock are set to return.

River Bluff and Dutch Fork also sent both of their teams to the championships. River Bluff’s boys and girls placed in the top 10, with the boys finishing ninth behind Chapin and the girls placed 10th. Dutch Fork finished 11th in boys and 15th in girls. Both teams will look to build on a solid year and improve on last year’s placement.

Neither of the county’s two 4A teams qualified for the state championship meets in 2023. Irmo and Airport both fell short, but after statewide realignment, the county has more opportunities than ever to make it this year.

Irmo is out after moving to 5A. They will compete in a tough region against Lexington, Chapin, Dutch Fork and River Bluff. Airport is staying at 4A and will be joined by Gilbert, Brookland-Cayce and Gray Collegiate. Both Gilbert and Gray sent teams to a championship meet in their classifications last year.

The Indians sent both of their teams to the 3A championships but placed near the bottom of both races. Fortunately for Gilbert, all but one of their athletes from those meets are eligible to run again this year.

Gray Collegiate sent just its girls team to the 2A championship after going through a rebuilding year on the boys side. The War Eagles will look to stay competitive, despite jumping two classifications this school year.

Pelion did send both of their teams to the 2A meets last year. They are staying in 2A after realignment, but it will look much different from what they were in before.

The girls team finished fourth behind Bishop England, Greer Middle College and Academic Magnet. All but one of those teams moved classifications. The boys team placed ninth, and many of the teams above them are also out of 2A.

Batesburg-Leesville will look to improve on last year throughout the season. The boys team had a strong year last season, qualifying for the championship meet, but the girls missed out. The boys placed 10th behind Pelion and will look to benefit from the absence of many teams that placed above them.

In SCISA, Northside Christian will attempt to defend its girls state championship. The Crusaders had three girls place in the top five. The team was very young in 2023 and will return many of its best performers, including Madison and Jennifer Gause, who finished fourth and fifth in the state.