Mercedes cruises at Harlingen cross country meet

HARLINGEN — The Mercedes boys cross country teams keep rolling through the 2011 season.

The Tigers, ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 4A, cruised at the Harlingen Cross Country meet held Saturday at the Harlingen Sports complex.

Mercedes scored 37 points to finish well ahead of second-place Edcouch-Elsa (124) and Weslaco High (132).

Senior Juan Torrez placed first individually, finishing in a time of 16 minutes, 19 seconds. Junior Francisco Tur-rubiates came in third in a time of 16.34.

Mercedes had two more runners place in the top 10.

Pedro Izaguirre was sixth (16:46) and Erick Gonzalez was 10th (17:02).

Tigers coach Pete Martinez III said the team is starting to come together, and it couldn’t come at a better time.

“I think they’re starting to click,” Martinez said. “I think we had been running a little tired, but we tapered off last week.

“This meet was great and the course was great. We got to see Edcouch-Elsa, and that was good. There were some really good teams in this meet.”

Mercedes competed at the Nike South Cross Country meet last week at The Woodlands and placed third. The Tigers ran against some of the top teams in the state and nation.

Mercedes now gets ready for the District 32-4A meet Oct. 29 at the stockshow grounds in Mercedes. The re-gional meet is one week following district.

On the girls side, Rivera took the team title with 51 points. San Benito was second with 83 points, and Mercedes was third with 102.

San Benito’s Brenda Lopez won the race in 11:52. Mercedes’ Marissa Mata was second in 11:57 and Rivera’s Keila Rodriguez was third in 12:11.

The Results

HARLINGEN — The following are the results from the Harlingen Cross Country Meet held on Saturday at the Harlingen Sports Complex

Girls

Team results

1, Rivera 51; 2, san Benito 83; 3, Mercedes 102; 4, Hanna 168; 5, Harlingen High 177; 6, Port Isabel 218

Individual Results

1, Brenda Lopez, San Benito, 11:52; 2, Marissa Mata, Mercedes, 11:57; 3, Keila Rodriguez, Rivera, 12:11; 4, Christina Rivera, Rivera, 12:12; 5, Elvia Valdez, Weslaco High, 12:15; 6, Jackie Valle, Rivera, 12:19; 7, Angela Galeano, Weslaco High, 12:32; 8, Jessica Reyna, Porter, 12:40; 9, Ashley Araiza, Harlingen South, 12:41; 10, Ashley Villarreal, Brownsville Veterans, 12:42; 11, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Hanna, 12:51; 12, Ashley Weaver, Raymondville, 12:55; 13, Katie Walther, Harlingen High, 12:56; 14, Selene Becerra, San Benito, 12:57; 15, Teresa Sova, Mercedes, 13:00; 16, Brandy Endsley, Rivera, 13:01; 17, Alyssa De Leon, Mercedes, 13:02; 18, Viviana Abrego, San Benito, 13:02; 19, Ione Rodriguez, Port Isabel, 13:10; 19, Vanessa Limon, Harlingen High, 13:15

Boys

Team Results

1, Mercedes 37; 2, Edcouch-Elsa 124; 3, Weslaco High 132; 4, Progreso 136; 5, Pace 145; 6, Edinburg High 164

Individual Results

1, Juan Torrez, Mercedes, 16:19; 2, Marcos Mejia, Brownsville Veterans, 16.31; 3, Francisco Turrubiates, Mercedes, 16.34; 4, Rafael Duenas, San Bento, 16:35; 5, Pedro Leos, E-E, 16:42; 6, Pedro Izaguirre, Mercedes, 16:46; 7, Esteban Garcia, Pace, 16:48; 8, Cody Martinez, Weslaco High, 16:50; 9, Charlie Gonzalez, Pace, 16:57; 10, Erick Gonzalez, Mercedes, 17:02; 11, Hector Arredondo, Progreso, 17:03; 12, Donald Almazan, Harlingen High, 17:09; 13, Andrew Leal, Weslaco High, 17:11; 14, Aaron Medina, Harlingen South, 17:13; 15, Eloy Marroquin, Progreso, 17:15; 16, Isaac Arevalo, Edinburg High, 17:20; 17, Inocento Gonzalez, Mercedes, 17:21; 18, Mark Trejo, Edinburg High, 17:21; 20, Jerel Cruz, E-E, 17:24