Rio Hondo’s Adames, Progreso’s Ramon capture titles at 32-3A cross country meet

HARLINGEN — Rio Hondo senior Javier Adames came back to cross country to become a district champion.

As a freshman in 2004, Adames finished 21st in District 32-3A and 64th at regionals. He did not run his sophomore and junior years.

Adames made the most of his return to the sport on Monday morning at the Harlingen Sports Complex, winning the 32-3A boys varsity three-mile race in 16 minutes, 55 seconds. He came in nearly a minute ahead of runner-up Eduardo Cortez of Progreso (17:47).

Halfway through the race, Adames held a comfortable lead of 50 yards or so. He didn’t let up in cruising to the finish line.

"It’s awesome (to win district). It feels really good," Adames said. "I tried staying with the top five guys in the beginning, and then, I took off from there.

"We’ve been running at (Class) 5A meets, and I’ve been finishing in the top 15, so I thought I was going to do pretty good today," he added. "Now, I’ve just got to run faster (at regionals)."

The top three teams and top 10 individuals at district qualify for the Region IV meet Nov. 3 in San Antonio. The top teams and individuals at regionals advance to the state meet Nov. 10 in Round Rock.

Also in the boys race, Progreso’s Victor Perez was third (17:49), Port Isabel’s Matthew Garza fourth (17:56) and La Feria’s Angel Cano fifth (18:00).

"It was all in my mind just to do well today, and that’s it," said Garza, a sophomore. "I stayed up with the pack, and then I turned it on down the straightaway (at the end)."

Progreso junior Jessica Ramon won the girls varsity two-mile race in 13:16. Miriam Vasquez of Rio Hondo was second in 13:19.

"This is incredible because I practiced all season long for it," said Ramon, who finished seventh at the 32-3A meet a year ago. "I think I did awesome and my team did awesome, too.

"I was nervous at the beginning," she added. "But (along the course), I just heard my coaches and my teammates, the guys and the girls, pushing me, encouraging me, and telling me everything was going to be OK. Sometimes, I don’t finish races that well, and I know they were all just waiting. Today, I had a strong finish and it felt very good (to win)."

Progreso’s Alma Alaniz finished third in 13:32, while La Feria’s Briana Villarreal was fourth (13:44) and Hidalgo’s Janneth Molina fifth (13:51).

With five runners finishing in the top nine, La Feria’s girls repeated as 32-3A champions with 29 points. Also for La Feria, Marcela Contreras was sixth, Liliana Rodriguez seventh and Debani Garza ninth.

"Today, we ran as a team, and that’s exactly what we had to do to win," La Feria coach Laly Almaguer said. "In the past, there have been times when we’d have gaps (between finishers). I’ve always taught the kids that the less of a gap, the better our chances to win, and girls finished right next to each other today.

"The girls knew what they had to do and they got it done," she added.

Progreso’s girls totaled 60 points for second place and PI was third with 62.

In the boys competition, Progreso dethroned Rio Hondo as 32-3A champion. The Red Ants finished with 32 points, while Rio Hondo was second with 51. La Feria was third with 85.

Besides Cortez and Perez in second and third place, respectively, teammates J.P. Maldonado, Luis Olague and Luis Garcia came in eighth, ninth and 10th to help Progreso secure the district title.