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Analysis: Lucas Lovejoy had a breakthrough season in 2022. Can they repeat that success this fall?

Lucas Lovejoy will return six of its seven runners from last year's team. Even though the team graduated Amy Morefield, plenty of depth returns.

In recent seasons Lucas Lovejoy has earned back-to-back UIL Class 5A state titles. This squad was able to run away with a second-place finish at NXR South to book their tickets to NXN. In Oregon, Lucas Lovejoy finished 14th as a team with a 19:02 average and a 21-second split.

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Analysis: American Fork, a powerhouse program in Utah, has an opportunity to be one of the nation's best this fall.

Last season, the Cavewomen were the second-best team at the Utah 6A State Cross Country Championships. As this team toed the line at the NXR Southwest Regional Championship, they finished fifth and weren't able to be selected to compete at NXN.

Despite the minor bump towards the end of the season, American Fork can turn its luck around. What's their secret weapon? American Fork will return its top five runners from the state championships. As anyone should expect, as the season goes on, the team gets stronger. This year, American Fork can come back stronger this fall with the talents of Avalon Mecham and company.

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Analysis: In 2022, the Knoxville Webb School showcased its young talent.

At the TSSAA Division 2A Cross Country Championships, the Webb School's girls team, which featured all underclassmen and an eighth-grader, finished as the state runner-up with 66 points.

The program then competed at the NXR Southeast Regionals and was able to earn a spot to compete at NXN with its second-place finish. Collectively, the team came together and finished 20th overall.

Now that this team has returned its full squad, that experience and depth should help the team improve on its 18:21 best 5K team average.

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Analysis: One of California's top teams has five returners back and two transfers.

It's already made a difference. JSerra rolled through the Cool Breeze Invitational to open up its 2023 campaign, scoring just 43 points on a 17:53 average. Six of those runners were underclassmen. The team has just two seniors.

That's good news, considering this team is coming off a year where it finished 21st at NXN, won its CIF Division 4 title and finished second at the Clovis Invitational. Teams like JSerra don't start over. They reload.

The team's top returning runners are Brynn Garcia (junior), Kaylah Tasser (sophomore) and Summer Wilson (sophomore).

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Analysis: Jesuit was the class of Oregon's 6A division last year, cruising through the state championships with 40 points on an 18:30 average. The Crusader girls had the fastest average of any team in Oregon, with only Bend Summit (18:45) rivaling their performance.

In 2023, this team remains as strong as ever. Junior Maura O'Scannlain, who finished third at the state meet, returns as the team's No. 1. Liliana Hudnut (senior), Amalie Beil (senior) and Emma Bennett (junior) also return.

With an infusion of youth toward the back of the roster, Jesuit should continue to offer promising results. A year ago, finished second at NXR Northwest and was 12th at NXN.

Since 2018, home values in Collin County are up. As the season of buying and selling is upon us, a new study showed the biggest increases in the country.

Using data from Zillow, Stacker created a list of areas in Collin County that experienced the largest jump in home prices between Oct. 2021 and Oct. 2022. The list ranks these areas based on the dollar change in the Zillow Home Values Index (ZVHI), which provides a seasonally adjusted price for the middle market of all homes.

All 23 cities and towns with available data were included in the ranking, and for each area, with charts depicting the monthly typical home value since January 2018.

Here are the top 10 places where houses increased in value the most:

#10. Allen, Tx

- 1-year price change: +21.1% (+$93,876)- 5-year price change: +64.4%- Typical home value: $538,813

#9. Blue Ridge, TX

- 1-year price change: +24.9% (+$94,876)- 5-year price change: +96.0%- Typical home value: $476,347

#8. Saint Paul, TX

- 1-year price change: +19.8% (+$97,304)- 5-year price change: +69.4%- Typical home value: $588,547

#7. McKinney, TX

- 1-year price change: +22.4% (+$100,776)- 5-year price change: +68.0%- Typical home value: $549,841

#6. Fairview, TX

- 1-year price change: +18.7% (+$109,079)- 5-year price change: +60.6%- Typical home value: $692,334

#5. Celina, TX

- 1-year price change: +25.8% (+$128,636)- 5-year price change: +75.6%- Typical home value: $626,479

#4. Frisco, TX

- 1-year price change: +23.2% (+$131,147)- 5-year price change: +65.7%- Typical home value: $696,290

#3. Prosper, TX

- 1-year price change: +25.6% (+$169,513)- 5-year price change: +77.0%- Typical home value: $830,403

#2. Parker, TX

- 1-year price change: +20.3% (+$176,600)- 5-year price change: +66.2%- Typical home value: $1,048,252

#1. Lucas, TX

- 1-year price change: +22.3% (+$195,096)- 5-year price change: +69.8%- Typical home value: $1,069,282

To view the complete list of Collin County cities, visit the link here.

Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.

Cooper Lucas, the No. 2 recruit in the high school class of 2024, announced his verbal commitment to the University of Texas on Sunday.

“I’m super excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Texas!” Lucas wrote on Instagram. “I would like to thank everyone who has helped me along the way! I can’t wait to join the Longhorn tradition! Hook ‘em ”

Lucas is a versatile junior at Keller High School in Texas, where he’s a two-time defending 6A State champion in the 200-yard freestyle. Last season, he won that event by nearly two seconds with a time of 1:35.29 before cruising to another victory in the 500 free by more than three seconds.

His winning mark of 4:18.65 in the 500 free is one of three times that rank first in his recruiting class along with his 200 butterfly (1:44.51) and 400 IM (3:46.21). He earned the most All-American honors in Keller history last season with selections in the 100 free, 200 free, 500 free, 100 fly, 200 IM, and 400 free relay.

Lucas also trains with Lakeside Aquatic Club (LAC) just outside of Dallas. LAC is a Gold Medal Club that was ranked 19th in the nation last year.

As a freshman, Lucas qualified for Olympic Trials in the 200-meter fly with a time of 2:01.05. At Junior Pan Pacs in August, he placed sixth in the 400 IM finals in 4:19.77 behind teammate Maximus Williamson (4:17.58). Lucas was also recently named to the U.S. National Junior Team.

Lucas is the top-ranked class of 2024 swimmer to commit so far as No. 1 recruit Daniel Diehl remains uncommitted. Lucas appears to be the Longhorns’ first commitment among the high school class of 2024.

With Texas slated to join the SEC in 2025, Lucas could spend one season competing in the Big 12 unless the Longhorns decide to jump ship sooner. With two years still left to develop as a high schooler, his best times would have already made in the A-final in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM, the B-final in the 500 free, and the C-final in the 200 free at last season’s SEC Championships.

Best Times:

SwimSwam’s Jared Anderson projected that Lucas will likely swim the 400 IM and 200 fly as his main collegiate events. The 500 free, 200 IM, and mile could all be options for a third event.

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Lucas Raley, director of planning and development at the city of Canyon, spoke of the current developments and also future developments for the city. The city is growing and is home to West Texas A&M University, which is an interesting part of the city’s landscape.

The City of Canyon has a comprehensive plan for the city. The purpose of the plan is defined as “a rational and reasonable basis for making development decisions about the community.”

“What that document does is basically set a 10 to 15-year plan for the city of Canyon,” Raley said. “Where are we now? Where are we trying to move to? [The document] is good for community members and business owners. It takes a year or two to produce that kind of document.”

In addition to the comprehensive plan, the city of Canyon also holds regular public meetings that are scheduled to discuss planning and zoning development as well as parks and recreation, amongst other things.

Future land use map hung on the office wall of Lucas Raley, Director of Planning and Development.

“The future land use map shows what our current zoning is,” Raley said. “Zoning is a regulatory tool that says, okay, you have a piece of property; here are the specific things you can build on that property.”

The future land use map is useful for the public advisory committee because they are able to see and ask questions about future and current developments in a visual format.

“[The map] splits it up into many categories, residential, medium density, downtown, retail and commercial industry,” Raley said. “We look at the community as a whole and say, where do we feel like it’s appropriate to have businesses? Where do we think schools should go?”

WT is an important part of the city of Canyon, but as a state college, it has its own zoning rules and regulations that it follows aside from the city. Despite this, the planning and development of the city of Canyon will affect WT students, staff and faculty, as well as community members.

“Around WT, there’s a lot of high-density residential zones,” Raley said. “Or medium density zones, because it makes sense to have higher density there for students or faculty. It’s our job to look at [our plan] or use the future land map to determine whether or not an amendment is needed.”

The development side of the city of Canyon involves talking with contractors who would like to build residential apartments or commercial developments for the city. While it goes hand in hand with planning, it has more to do with the contract agreements between the city of Canyon and the developer.

“We look at new developments, [developers] coming in and proposing houses and we have to go through the process with them,” Raley said. “We have our code officials and inspectors. There are a lot of rules and regulations [developers] need to follow to adhere to safety.”

It is important to note that housing development pricing is done by the contractors and not the city. Different developers have different aims for their commercial or residential buildings and it is all for the overall current and future development of the city.

“Right now, we have a lot of houses slated for development,” Raley said. “We’ve been building about 100 houses a year for the last several years. Wendy’s is about to take their building to the ground and rebuild; there’s a tea place across from Wendy’s that is getting ready to open soon.”

With building houses and incoming commercial development, the city is steadily growing and it highlights the importance of residential and commercial development for city growth.

“Just outside the city limits, there’s a developer working on what’s called a municipal utility district,” Raley said. “[There’ll be] a water system and sewage system out there. There’s a proposal for 1000 houses to go out there. That’ll have a significant impact on the city of Canyon; those [residents] will shop here and eat here.”

If you are interested in learning more about the planning and development of the city of Canyon, the comprehensive plan is available for access online, and you can also fill out the form to join the public advisory committee.

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Four-star linebacker Payton Pierce of Lucas (TX) Lovejoy High will announce his college decision today at 6 PM Central Time.

The 6-foot-2, 225 pounder will choose between Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Notre Dame.

He discussed his finalists.

Texas was one of the first schools that recruited me. Me and coach Choate have had a great relationship and I believe he is a great coach. Playing in my home state would be a pretty special opportunity as well.

Tennessee was awesome. I fell in love with the campus and the school right when I stepped on it. The atmosphere there is unmatched and I believe their coaching staff is top notch and their success this year proves that.

Notre Dame has been one of my top schools for a while now. They can offer a lot of things that most schools can’t with their degree and connections that Notre Dame has. I believe coach Freeman and Coach Golden are some of the best coaches I’ve seen in this recruiting process.

Growing up as a massive OU fan it is pretty unbelievable that I get recruited by them. I believe Coach Venables is one of the best linebacker coaches in the country and it is pretty unique to have that as a head coach. I believed they have completely flipped the culture there and I could see myself there.

Ohio State came into my recruitment a little later but they have recruited me just as hard has any other school. Their culture and the type of players on their team really stick out to me. I have close relationships with the coaches on the staff and I believe that they are some of the best of the best.

I’ve visited Texas A&M a lot and I think a lot of things stick out about them. They’re very close to home, the linebacker room is very thin and playing in the SEC and Kyle field is awesome. I have really good relationships with their coaches and I believe that they could make me better.

Pierce ranks as the No. 201 player in the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also tabs in as the No. 21 linebacker and the No. 37 player in the state of Texas.

He currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $70K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.