Valley teams, individuals fall short of quest for state title

ROUND ROCK — For the second consecutive year, the Rio Grande Valley’s cross country scene will say goodbye to another prominent girls figure in PSJA Memorial’s Gabriela Salazar.

Salazar’s cross country career came to an end during Saturday’s state meet at Old Setters Park in Round Rock, where the senior standout finished in ninth place with a time of 11.29.83. Salazar had realistic goals of winning the entire meet in the Class 5A division but she came up a few spot shorts of attaining that state glory.

“I didn’t really meet my goals but it’s better than my previous times that I’ve been up to state,” she said. “So I was a little content with what I got.”

Saturday’s outcome was the best finish Salazar has ever experienced during her previous three runs at the state meet. Though it wasn’t the result she wanted, Salazar says giving it all she had in everything she ever competed in is a much more gratifying feeling.

“I’m disappointed but too disappointed because I know that I worked hard for what I got to,” she said. “So it was worth everything that I worked hard.”

Salazar was one of four individual qualifiers in Class 5A. Los Fresnos’ Samantha Fish’s high school cross country career also came to end after placing 21st. McAllen Rowe’s freshman Maria Segundo finished 60th and Edinburg North’s Jenyse Vasquez placed 82nd.

The Sharyland girls team placed 11th one week after capturing the Class 5A girls regional championship, a first for its program. The Lady Rattlers will graduate two seniors this year which the experience is something coach Sandra Guerrero hopes will help the rest of her team next season.

“We have everybody coming back except for two seniors,” she said. “We have a good group of kids coming in that are freshman. We’re going to be more experienced next year and I think we’ll get a better result.”

On the boys side, La Joya Palmview placed eighth and Edinburg North finished in 9th. Palmview’s Ivan Villanueva led the 5A boys qualifiers with an 11th-place finish. He was just one piece to the success the Lobos’ program experienced in just their second year after they upended state-ranked opponents Corpus Christi Carroll and Edinburg North at the regional meet last week.

Sharyland’s Michael Medrano placed 25th and in the Class 4A division Valley View’s Ricardo Reynoso finished 26th.

La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Angel Banda was the highest local finisher of all of the Valley’s representatives in each class after the junior placed seventh. Banda and the Huskies, who were making their first state appearance in school history, placed 12th.

Juarez-Lincoln’s Emily Perez finished one place shy of the top 10 after recording a time of 11:40.07. Perez, a sophomore, returns next season and looks to be the Valley’s next best girls prospect with Salazar’s departure.

Progreso, Mercedes boys teams place seventh

ROUND ROCK — Judging from the tone of his voice, Progreso boys coach Margarito Jimenez sounded extremely disappointed with his team’s result during Saturday’s state meet at Old Setters Park in Round Rock. The Red Ants placed seventh of 12 teams, which left Jimenez with an unsatisfying feeling at the end of it all.

“We did not do well,” he said. “The thing is that we usually come two days before the race but this time we only came one day. I think I had a lot do with the performance today.”

Jimenez took some of the blame for his team’s performance Saturday, admitting arriving a day earlier would have given the Red Ants more adequate rest. But because of benchmark testing, the team had to hold back one day. Jimenez, whose team was making its third consecutive state appearance for the first time in school history, wanted this year to be a medal year for the Red Ants.

“Honestly, we wanted to a medal team,” he said. “But no we did not perform today.”

Despite the result, Jimenez says it is an honor to be a three-time consecutive state representative. The Red Ants were led by Eduardo Cortes, who placed 19th with a time of 16.43.79.

Rio Hondo’s Hugo Flores came in one place better than Cortes and Tony Jaramillo finished 31st as the Bobcats’ only representatives.

On the girls side, a week after La Feria claimed the regional championship the Lady Lions ended its season in 11th place. La Feria was led by Clarissa Hernandez, who finished 15th. Lady Lions coach Sonia White said although the team was hoping for a better result Saturday, she was still satisfied with her its effort. 

“I had my No. 3 who didn’t run the race so that made all the difference,” she said. “Overall they did well.”

District 32-3A foe Zapata finished in seventh.

In Class 4A, the Mercedes boys team, who was making its second straight state appearance, finished in seventh. Francisco Turrubiartes placed 32nd to lead the Tigers. Mercedes advanced to the state meet for the second straight year despite not having its best runner in Alex De La Garza.

Geore Villasana of Santa Maria placed 34th in the Class 1A boys divions. Villasana was sole qualifier in 1A as he advanced to his second consecutive state meet.

Chapter closes on Fish’s career

ROUND ROCK — When Los Frenos’ Samantha Fish crossed the finish during Saturday’s state meet at Old Setters Park in Round Rock, the senior runner thought to herself, “This is it.”

After four long, grueling years in one of the most demanding sports, Fish ended her four-year illustrious cross country career in 21st with an overall time of 11.49.46.

“It was a good meet,” Fish said. “Of course it was a little different than your usual meet. There’s different competition. There’s more competition so it’s a lot more competitive, which makes it a little bit harder. In usual races, you’re not used to having a whole bunch of girls pushing you so you got to get in the game.”

Fish finished her career as three-time District 32-5A champion, four-time regional qualifier and a three-time state qualifier. After Saturday’s race, Fish attributed much of her success to her coaches and teammates and says she leaves the sport without any regrets.

“Of course I had my ups and downs throughout my all my years but I don’t have any regrets. I think everything happens for a reason,” she said.

But while one career comes to an end, another one is just beginning for Los Fresnos sophomore runner David Guillen. Guillen advanced to the state meet for the first time, placing 37th with a time of 16.22.95. Guillen says he learned a lot from his first state experience and hopes to return stronger next season.

“I wasn’t so satisified with my time,” he said. “But that’s what I got and I hope to break it in the coming years. I’m proud of myself. I’ve gone far with little time.”

Ramiro Paez covers high school cross country for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4470 or via e-mail at rpaez@themonitor.com.

Cross country-State meet results

ROUND ROCK  —  Results from the UIL cross country championships on Saturday:

CLASS 5A
Girls
Team Totals
Humble Kingwood, 55.
Conroe College Park, 85.
Southlake Carroll, 102.
Conroe The Woodlands, 110.
Houston Cypress Fairbanks, 112.
Coppell, 129.
Houston Clear Lake, 159.
Lewisville Flower Mound, 184
Katy Seven Lakes, 239.
Corpus Christi Carroll, 268.
Mission Sharyland, 270.
Del Rio, 293.
Individual Results
1. Sarah Andrews, Conroe the Woodlands, 10:45.09.
2. Rachel Johnson, Plano, 10:48.65.
3. Amanda Russell, Cedar Park, Vista Ridge, 10:58.25.
4. Nielson Alyssa, Colleyville Heritage, 11:14.17.
5. Hillary Montgomery, Klein, 11:16.46.
6. Regan Tindell, Belton, 11:21.44.
7. Kim Kirby, Coppell, 11:29.42.
8. Natalie Coday, Lewisville Hebron, 11:26.84.
9. Gabriela Salazar, Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, 11:29.83.
10. Jessica Harper, Southlake Carroll, 11:31.07.

Boys
Team Totals
Conroe The Woodlands, 65.
Klein Oak, 77.
Cedar Park, 101.
Lewisville Marcus, 114.
Lewisville Flower Mound, 122.
Humble Kingwood, 183.
Houston Strake Jesuit, 193.
La Joya Palmview, 206.
Edinburg North, 223.
Corpus Christi Carroll, 235.
Keller Central, 249.
Houston Clear Lake, 259.
Individual Results
1. Craig Lutz, Lewisville Marcus, 14:45.24.
2. Mark Pinales, Round Rock Stony Point, 15:08.05.
3. Parker Stinson, Cedar Park, 15:11.40.
4. Jeff Arnier, Arlington Lamar, 15:16.00.
5. Donovan Torres, Lubbock Coronado, 15:18.69.
6. Jacob Benn, Northside Stevens, 15:20.85.
7. Connor Adams, Lewisville Flower Mound, 15:27.16.
8. Neal Smith, Southlake Carroll, 15:27.67.
9. Tom Sanderson, Conroe The Woodlands, 15:29.75.
10. Ivan Villanena, La Joya Palmview, 15:31.82.

Class 4A
Girls
Team Totals
Humble Kingwood Park, 45.
Dallas Highland Park, 83.
Fort Worth Boswell, 90.
Magnolia West, 119.
Canyon, 127.
Frisco, 202.
Boerne champion, 205.
Gregory-Portland, 214.
Hereford, 215.
McKinney, 237.
New Braunfels Canyon, 260.
Richmond Foster, 262.
Individual Results
1. Maggie Escobar, Fort Worth Boswell, 11:14.78.
2. Cali Roper, Willis, 11:16.48.
3. Zahri Jackson, Humble Kingwood Park, 11:24.72.
4. Nicole Aponte, Humble Kingwood Park, 11:26.33.
5. Meghan Shea, McKinney, 11:29.62.
6. Carly Kitts, Midlothian, 11:31.28.
7. Kaitlyn Boucher, Humble Kingwood Park, 11:31.45.
8. Sara Sutherland, Dallas Highland Park, 11:40.39.
9. Arin Rice, Canyon, 11:38.05.
10 Maddie Zimmerman, Frisco Wakeland, 11:39.15.
Boys
Team Totals
Boerne Champion, 30.
El Paso Jefferson, 120.
Frisco Liberty, 136.
Lockhart, 141.
Friendswood, 166.
El Paso Austin, 171.
Mercedes, 176.
Magnolia West, 189.
Dallas Highland Park, 193.
Clint Horizon, 202.
Cleburne, 222.
La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 245.
Individual Results
1. Nathan Christianson, Boerne Champion, 15:24.32.
2. Travis Barclay, Boerne Champion, 15:28.03.
3. Tyler Chappell, Cleburne, 15:35.22.
4. Brandon Swindler, Friendswood, 15:38.81.
5. Drevan Anderson, Killeen, 15:46.88.
6. Angel Banda, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 15:47.38.
7. Isaac Spencer, El Paso Austin, 15:48.43.
8. Yonas Tesfai, Houston Westbury, 15:52.85.
9. Ryan Miller, Boerne Champion, 15:53.87.
10. Eduardo Rodriguez, Dallas Adamson, 15:55.68.

Class 3A
Girls
Team Totals
Decatur, 57.
Lucas Lovejoy, 130.
Argyle, 130.
Clint, 131.
Luling, 134.
Leander Rouse, 159.
Zapata, 166.
Palestine, 170.
Sanger, 182.
Waco Connally, 199.
LaFeria, 206. 12, Lufkin Hudson, 232.
Individual Results
1. Colbea Harris, Argyle, 11:34.44.
2. Taeler Marshall, Huffman Hargrave, 11:46.68.
3. Maira Salinas, Luling, 11:48.25.
4. Katie Ruhala, Lucas Lovejoy, 11:51.93.
5. Susie Kemper, Liberty Hill, 11:57.49.
6. Amber Moore, Longview Spring Hill, 12:03.98.
7. Hanna Galloway, Decatur, 12:06.73.
8. Brittany Adams, Fort Worth Castleberry, 12:08.45.
9. Irma-Yanet Duarte, Fairfield, 12:11.13.
10. Natalie Neighbors, Decatur, 12:11.91.

BOYS
Team Totals
Argyle, 87.
Lucas Lovejoy 110.
Lytle, 117.
Lufkin Hudson, 125.
Kaufman, 134.
Huffman Hargrave, 146.
Progreso, 167.
Bridge City, 180.
Burkburnett, 197.
Luling, 198.
Borger, 206.
Tornillo, 221.
Individual Results
1. Brandon Lacy, Lytle, 15:51.14.
2. Adrian Nevarez, Prosper, 15:55.26.
3. Harvinder Singh, Huffman Hargrave, 15:56.68.
4. German Lopez, Kaufman, 16:02.82.
5. Reid Strong, Abilene Wylie, 16:04.78.
6. Jake Roberts, Argyle, 16:05.57.
7. Marcos Vallejo, Llano, 16:09.38.
8. Paul Hansel, Cuero, 16:21.51.
9. Hervey Jake, Lucas Lovejoy, 16:18.95.
10. J.R. Hardy, Austin Vandergrift, 16:27.44.

Class 2A
Girls
Team Totals
Spearman, 51.
Brock, 87.
East Bernard, 89.
Shallowater, 138.
Maypearl, 158.
Ballinger, 160.
Geronimo Navarro, 171.
White Oak, 176.
Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill 191.
Rogers, 221.
Alvord, 231.
New Diana, 257.
Individual Results
1. Kamey Cole, Brock, 11:40.69.
2. Emily Koenig, Little River Academy, 11:54.14.
3. Savanna Day, Tuscola Jim Ned.
4. Tylo Farrar, Spearman, 12:04.60.
5. Sara Cuba, Holliday, 12:06.71.
6. Amanda Walters, East Bernard, 12:13.41.
7. Sutten Garnett, Spearman, 12:14.75.
8. Courtney Haass, Geronimo Navarro, 12:18.15.
9. Callie Padgett, Centerville, 12:18.33.
10, Kelsey Merritt, East Bernard, 12:18.94.

Boys
Team Totals
East Bernard, 61.
Wall, 70.
Kermit 119.
Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill, 120.
Salado, 125.
Bruceville-Eddy, 144.
Brock, 176.
San Diego, 178.
Sonora, 212.
Onalaska, 220.
New Diana, 257.
Pilot Point, 269.
Individual Results
1. Nick Guerra, East Bernard, 16:16.65.
2. Tye Doty, Bruceville-Eddy, 16:31.80.
3. Charles Bale, Kermit, 16:34.03.
4. Dylan Littlejohn, Godley, 16:35.12.
5. Michael Coursey, Millsap, 16:49.62.
6. Sean Motl, Wall, 16:58.06.
7. Randy McClain, Onalaska, 16:58.62.
8. Daniel Garcia, McGregor, 17:00.07.
9. Connor McAtee, Little River Academy, 17:00.79.
10, Rodrigo Netro, Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill, 17:03.00.

Class 1A
Girls
Team Totals
Gruver, 83
Sunray, 86
Seymour, 95
Hamlin, 123
Sundown, 139
Guthrie, 147
Lindsey, 148
Brackettville Brackett 184
Mason 191
Zavalla, 231
Era, 237
Cushing, 285
Individual Results
1. Laurie Byrd, Round top-Carmine, 11:29.08.
2. Taylor Sparks, Wheeler, 11:54.83.
3. Kelsey Bruce, Brackettville Brackett, 11:57.23.
4. Melissa Velazco, Shamrock, 12:00.39,
5. Kelsey Hermes, Lindsay, 12:12.38.
6. Jaylen Rodgers, Hamlin, 12:12.18.
7. Katie Gibson, Gruver, 12:20.65.
8. Haley Sparks, Wheeler, 12:23.70.
9. Jacky Villarreal, Hamlin, 12:24.96.
10. Angela Vasquez, Sunray, 12:27.47.
Boys
Team Totals
Plains, 53.
Sanderson, 66.
Boys ranch, 81.
Mason, 92,
Sulphur Springs North Hopkins, 135.
Priddy, 164.
Avery, 206.
Port Aransas, 209.
Goldthwaite, 210.
Clyde Eula, 222.
Merit Bland, 238.
Zavalla, 263.
Individual Results
1. Travis Roberts, Sanderson, 16:30.63.
2. Jonathan Lira, Plains, 16:46.89.
3. Logan Foster, Slocum, 16:59.78.
4. Jaxon Bean, Plains, 17:00.54.
5. Dylan Doss, Water Valley, 17:03.61.
6. Edwin Gonzalez, Perrin-Whitt, 17:05.29.
7. Taylor Roberts, Sanderson, 17:09.88.
8. Swasey Brown, Boys Ranch, 17:12.74.
9. Sam Rhoades, Priddy, 17:15.53.
10. Carl Hulen, Boys Ranch, 17:12.74.