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State-ranked Mercedes claims team top spot in E-E CC meet
ELSA – For those who thought District 32-4A was tough in football, they should take a look at cross country.
Many of the 32-4A cross country teams and individual runners are either ranked in state or valley-wide. You won’t have to look much further than the Mercedes Tigers and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies.
The Mercedes boys team, ranked fifth in the state according to the Texas Cross Country Association (TCCA), won the team the 2011 Edcouch-Elsa Cross Country 5K Invitational Saturday morning with 41 points, while Juarez-Lincoln came in second with 74 points and Mission High in third (111).
The district also had a top-3 individual finish with Huskies’ state tenth-ranked Joel Gracia placing first 15 minutes, 21 seconds, followed by Valley View’s Jose Delgado (15:36) and Mercedes’ Juan Torres third (15:46).
On the girls side, Mercedes’ Marissa Mata (ranked 12th in state) led the way individually with an 11:31 time.
“Our district is one of the toughest right now in our region, and our region is one of the toughest in state,” Mercedes boys coach Pete Martinez said. “I think it says a lot for our district.”
The Huskies look to dethrone the two-time defending District 32-4A champion Tigers, who host the district meet on Oct. 29.
Huskies boys coach Gilbert Carreon said he was glad to come home after two weeks and that Saturday’s placing was indicative of the success the Huskies had at the UT-San Antonio meet two weeks ago where they placed 5th in state in the golden division.
“(Saturday) was one of the better showings (Gracia) had this season,” Carreon said. “We had been up-state in San Antonio and Corpus, so it was good to be back in the valley against our competition to prepare for district.”
Some of the teams though, held back several of their runners, as was the case for the Lady Huskies top-runner.
The Huskies’ coaching staff preferred that senior Emily Perez, the state’s third-ranked runner, skip the EE invitational to compete at Round Rock 5K up north where she placed fifth overall.
With Perez preparing for a collegiate career in running, she opted for the Round Rock 5K because college women CC runners compete in 5K’s, not the 2-mile run.
“(Juarez-Lincoln) is looking at Perez’s future,” Martinez said.
The absence of Perez gave way for Edinburg Economedes’ win in the girls’ 2-mile run with 78 points, followed by Mercedes in second (101) and Donna in third (131).
“We need experience heading into district (31-5A),” said Economedes girls coach Selena Brown, whose best runner was Emily Suarez’s 10th-place finish. “Coaches have their philosophy (on resting players), but we came to run.”
Gabby Guerrero from Rowe (11:55) finished second and Donna’s Leslie Bravo (12:08) placed third individually.
Edcouch-Elsa Invitational
Varsity Boys
Team Standings
1. Mercedes 41; 2. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 74; 3. Mission 111; 4. Valley View 112; 5. Progreso 128.
Top Individuals
1. J. Garcia, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 15:21; 2. J. Delgado, Valley View, 15:36; 3. J. Torres, Mercedes, 15:46; 4. C Padilla, Edcouch-Elsa 15;58.35; 5. M. Guerrero 15:58.85; 6. J. Martinez, Mission, 16:04.30; 7. P. Izaguirre, Mercedes, 16:04.30; 8. P. Ponce, Valley View 16:06.65.
Varsity Girls
Team Standings
1. Edinburg Economedes 78; 2. Mercedes 101; 3. Donna 131; 4. Sharyland 132; 5. McAllen Rowe 140; 6. La Feria 150.
Top Individuals
1. M. Mata, Mercedes, 11:31; 2. G. Guerrero, McAllen Rowe, 11:55; 3. L Bravo, Donna, 12:08; 4. D. Rodriguez, Lyford, 12:14; 5. K. Cantu, Mission Veterans Memorial, 12:15; 6. K. Silva, La Joya, 12:17; 7. T. Polaneo, Lyford, 12:18; 7. V. Villarreal, PSJA North, 12:22
