Mercedes' de la Garza defends 32-4A crown

MISSION — Mercedes senior runner Alex de la Garza defended his first-place crown at the District 32-4A cross country meet Saturday at Anzalduas Park.

“It was a tough little course, but we did really well,” de la Garza said. “We performed with a lot of pride, and overall I like the way we came out and performed, especially our third guy, Rene (de la Rosa), who came through for us there at the end.”

De la Garza established his lead after the first 600 meters of the race and did not look back as he held a comfortable advantage throughout, cruising over the finish line with a time of 14 minutes, 56 seconds. Behind him was Mission High’s Jesse Rodriguez, who took the lead early in the race but finished in second place with a time of 15:00. Mercedes’ Rene de la Rosa (15:27) finished third.

Although de la Garza finished first in the race, his team did not repeat as district champions. The title went to Weslaco East.

“We could have done a little better, but getting that win was the main thing,” Weslaco East coach Tom Owens said. “We needed to win the district championship. We hadn’t done anything like that at Weslaco East so I was pleased.”

The top three teams and top 10 individuals at district qualify for the regional meet Nov. 3 in San Antonio.

The top teams and individuals at the regional meet advance to state Nov. 10 in Round Rock.

In the girls race, Mission High won its third straight district title. Leading the way for the Lady Eagles was Esmer Torres, who finished first with a time of 12:52.

“We as a team did awesome,” Torres said. “We’ve been working so hard, and it’s a big relief to get to this point but we’re not stopping here. We’re taking it all the way, and that’s a promise.”

Mission’s Dina Oriendo finished second (13:00), and fellow Lady Eagles Nicole Taylor (13:02) and Amalia Mora (13:05) finished third and fourth, respectively.

District 32-4A meet

At Mission

Saturday

Boys

Team results

1, Weslaco East 47; 2, Mission 54; 3, Mercedes 55; 4,Edcouch-Elsa 65.

Individual results

1, Alex de la Garza, Mercedes, 14:56; 2, Jesse Rodriguez, Mission, 15:00; 3, Rene de la Rosa, Merecedes, 15:27; 4, Ozzy Luera, Weslaco East, 15:29; 5, Aaron Rodriguez, E-E, 15:31; 6, Edgar Diaz, E-E, 15:36; 7, Robin Torres, Weslaco East, 15:40; 8, Arturo Villanueva, Mission, 15:41; 9, Joel Morales, Weslaco East, 15:45; 10, Fernie Velasquez, Mercedes, 15:50; 11, Frank Garcia, E-E, 15:54; 12, Kenny Valenzuela, Weslaco East, 16:07; 13, Peter Cerda, Mission, 16:12; 14, Ignacio Ochoa, Mission, 16:13; 15, Eddie Lopez, Weslaco East, 16:14; 16, Julio Diaz, Weslaco East, 16:24; 17, Jovanny Torres, Mission, 16:25; 18, Marty Rodriguez, Mission, 16:40.

Girls

Team results

1, Mission 24; 2, Weslaco East 52; 3,Veterans Memorial N/A; 4, Edcouch Elsa 93; 5, Mercedes 108.