By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
PROGRESO — Hidalgo junior Moises Campos and Grulla freshman Valerie Gutierrez each took an early lead and pulled away to win individual titles in decisive fashion at Monday’s District 32-4A cross country meet.
Varsity races for boys and girls were run over courses of 3.1 and 2 miles, respectively, around the Progreso campus with the finish line inside the Red Ants’ football stadium.
The top three teams for boys and girls, as well as the top 10 individual finishers in each varsity division, qualified for the Region IV meet Nov. 1 in San Antonio.
Campos, the defending champion in the boys varsity race, as 32-4A was previously District 32-3A, expected nothing less than to win it again. One year ago as a sophomore, Campos triumphed at district, took second at the regional meet and finished 46th at the UIL state meet.
Campos won Monday’s race in 16 minutes, 24.49 seconds. He came in at a quick pace nearly 30 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
“I felt good, and I felt strong,” said Campos, who won a meet for the third time this season. “This is what I’ve been practicing for, which is to be on top. I won’t settle for less. I wanted to break 16 minutes. It didn’t happen, but I still won district again.
“Actually, on paper I’m supposed to be the runner-up for the championship at regionals (again), so we’re looking for that or better and then to do well at state, which is the most important,” Campos added. “My times are very solid (this season) in the 16-minute range, so I think it’s going to help me over there (at the regional and state meets).”
Finishing behind Campos were La Feria’s Joseph Lunn in second place (16:53.33), Progreso’s Everardo Esparza in third (16:59.64), Progreso’s Javier Garza in fourth (17:02.24) and La Feria’s Gabriel Prado in fifth (17:13.02).
After not having won the district title in cross country for an estimated 15 years or so prior to 2013, the La Feria boys have captured the conference crown two seasons in a row. They took the team championship Monday with a solid 36 points, well ahead of runner-up Progreso with 46. Hidalgo came in third with 66 points to also secure a trip to the Region IV meet.
Besides Lunn and Prado, other top finishers for the Lions were Reyes Rodriguez in sixth, Vincent Vento in 11th and Isaac Guzman in 12th. Also for La Feria, Carlos Rodriguez came in 13th.
Gutierrez was just as impressive as Campos in winning the girls 2-mile race, taking first place in 12:25.58, also nearly 30 seconds ahead of second-place Mireya Zarazua, her Grulla teammate who came in at 12:54.74.
“It went good. I was in the lead the whole way, and that was my plan,” said Gutierrez, who won a meet for the first time this season after competing against Class 6A and 5A runners in races on a weekly basis since August. “It feels pretty good (to win). I was very confident, and I expected it.”
Added Grulla coach Sabrina Duberney, “She’s been working hard to go to state. Her motivation is to do well at regionals and make it to state. My girls came out and worked hard today. Hopefully we’ll do a lot better at regionals.”
In a close battle for Monday’s girls team title, Hidalgo, with 53 points, edged Grulla with 57. La Feria, which had won the girls team crown four straight years previously in 32-3A, finished third with 74 points. Perhaps the heartbreak of the meet belonged to the Zapata girls, who were fourth with 75 points, one point behind the Lionettes to barely miss out on a trip to the Alamo City.
Rounding out the top five finishers in the girls race behind Gutierrez and Zarazua were Hidalgo’s Daniela Ozuna in third (13:01.58), Hidalgo’s Alejandra Gonzalez in fourth (13:03.08) and Rio Hondo’s Lauren Rodriguez in fifth (13:05.58).
Also for Hidalgo, Jennifer de Hoyos was 11th, Victoria de Leon was 16th and Stephanie Gonzalez was 19th.
The best showings for Port Isabel runners were Felipe Cacho, 15th in the boys race, and Ava Gomez, 20th in the girls race.
District 32-4A Cross Country Meet
Monday
At Progreso
Girls division (2 miles)
Team Results
1. Hidalgo, 53 points; 2. Grulla, 57; 3. La Feria, 74; 4. Zapata, 75; 5. Raymondville, 122; 6. Port Isabel, 138; 7. Rio Hondo, 148; 8. Progreso, 153
Individual Results (top 20)
1. Valerie Gutierrez, Grulla, 12:25.58; 2. Mireya Zarazua, Grulla, 12:54.74; 3. Daniela Ozuna, Hidalgo, 13:01.58; 4. Alejandra Gonzalez, Hidalgo, 13:03.08; 5. Lauren Rodriguez, Rio Hondo, 13:05.58; 6. Raquel Almaguer, Zapata, 13:05.86; 7. Tina Sierra, La Feria, 13:11.99; 8. Brenda Ramos, La Feria, 13:13.52; 9. Anika Alfaro, Raymondville, 13:21.80; 10. Abigail Zuniga, Zapata, 13:25.05; 11. Jennifer de Hoyos, Hidalgo, 13:26.30; 12. Esmeralda Cortez, La Feria, 13:37.80; 13. Amairani Martinez, La Feria, 13:39.74; 14. Mariela Hernandez, Zapata, 13:51.70; 15. Merary Garza, Grulla, 13:53.52; 16. Victoria de Leon, Hidalgo, 13:56.52; 17. Lizbeth Rivera, Progreso, 13:57.11; 18. Giselle Garza, Grulla, 13:59.64; 19. Stephanie Gonzalez, Hidalgo, 14:00.95; 20. Ava Gomez, Port Isabel, 14:02.64
Boys division (3.1 miles)
Team Results
1. La Feria, 36 points; 2. Progreso, 46; 3. Hidalgo, 66; 4. Grulla, 109; 5. Zapata, 113; 6. Raymondville, 130; 7. Port Isabel, 134
Individual Results (top 20)
1. Moises Campos, Hidalgo, 16:24.49; 2. Joseph Lunn, La Feria, 16:53.33; 3. Everardo Esparza, Progreso, 16:59.64; 4. Javier Garza, Progreso, 17:02.24; 5. Gabriel Prado, La Feria, 17:13.55; 6. Reyes Rodriguez, La Feria, 17:13.55; 7. Omar Anguiano, Progreso, 17:14.49; 8. Anthony Williams, Hidalgo, 17:14.92; 9. Daniel Hinojosa, Zapata, 17:18.70; 10. Jose Tello, Raymondville, 17:20.95; 11. Vincent Vento, La Feria, 17:21.85; 12. Isaac Guzman, La Feria, 17:22.33; 13. Carlos Rodriguez, La Feria, 17:32.36; 14. Erik Garza, Progreso, 17:43.39; 15. Felipe Cacho, Port Isabel, 17:47.39; 16. Jesus Rodriguez, Grulla, 17:49.29; 17. Raul Ortiz, Hidalgo, 17:57.24; 18. Oziel Jaramillo, Progreso, 18:06.92; 19. Francisco Silva, Progreso, 18:07.17; 20. Leo Tanguma, Grulla, 18:12.08