BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
SAN JUAN — Jonathan Reyes already knew the feeling of victory. The Mercedes junior won two cross country meets this season meets prior to Saturday’s District 32-5A showdown at PSJA High.
But this meet saw Reyes experience the thrill of winning along with the tension of close competition. Though Reyes claimed his first district title with a time of 15 minutes, 47.41 seconds, he never felt secure until the race’s waning moments.
“I knew this was going to be a tough race,” Reyes said. “There’s a lot of good runners here. I just knew I had to come out and run strong the whole time. This is something I wanted since last year.”
Through the opening third of the 5K event, Reyes found himself among a group of competitors including PSJA Southwest’s Victor Pedraza and Edcouch Elsa’s David de Hoyos. No one separated themselves, instead settling into an early groove. During the race’s home stretch it came down to Reyes and Pedraza — last year’s district champion.
“I knew he was there,” Reyes said. “I couldn’t see him because he was behind me, but I could hear him and smell him. It wasn’t until the last leg when I knew I had the race won.”
Reyes edged Pedraza by 2.47 seconds, and qualified for regional competition on Oct. 26 in Corpus Christi. The top 10 individual finishers and the top three teams for boys and girls competition automatically advance to the meet.
“He’s always been a very talented runner,” Mercedes coach Pete Martinez said. “But he’s more mentally tough than he was last year. Today, he knew the race was going to be a fight from start to finish.”
Though the Mercedes boys failed to place in the top three, Reyes will be joined at regionals by teammate Dominic Cavazos, who placed seventh (16:49.49) despite falling down twice during the race.
“I got tripped up by someone behind me during the early part of the race,” Cavazos said. “A lot of guys passed me. I thought my race was over. I fell down again when I stepped into a pothole on the track and twisted my ankle a bit. I just kept running and started catching guys and soon I put myself in a good position.”
PSJA Southwest, Donna High and Donna North were the top three boys teams, respectively.
The Mercedes girls placed third as a team, and were led in part by freshman Soledad Cruz, who placed second with a time of 19:18.91. Edcouch-Elsa’s Krysta Martinez won the girls individual gold with a time of 18:33.95. The Lady Yellowjackets claimed first place.
Team Results — 1, PSJA Southwest, 38 points; 2, Donna High, 58; 3, Donna North, 73; 4, Edcouch-Elsa, 90; 5, PSJA High, 110; 6, Brownsville Pace, 163, 7, Brownsville Porter, 172.
Individual Results — 1, Jonathan Reyes, Mercedes, 15:47.41; 2, Victor Pedraza, PSJA Southwest, 15:49.88; 3, Edgar Barraza, PSJA Southwest, 16:31.52; 4, David de Hoyos, Edcouch-Elsa, 16:36.00; 5, Francisco Morales, Donna High, 16:41.01; 6, Fernando Martinez, PSJA Southwest, 16:48.43; 7, Dominique Cavazos, Mercedes, 16:49.49; 8, Alejandro Castillo, Donna High, 16:50.35; 9, Gerardo Perez, Brownsville Porter, 16:50.35; 10, Alexander Villanueva, PSJA Southwest, 16:54.88; 11, Ramiro Granados, PSJA High, 16:55.00; 12, Erick Doria, Edouch-Elsa, 16:55.15; 13, Daniel de la Cruz Flores, Donna High, 17:00.5; 14, Leonel Vazquez, Donna North, 17:03.61; 15, Pablo Carrera, Donna High, 17:10.52; 16, Alexis Rodriguez, Donna High, 17:11.37; 17, Fernando Teran, Donna North, 17:15.67; 18, Ricardo Monsivais, Brownsville Pace, 17:17.76; 19, Marco Trevino, Donna North, 17:18.94; 20, Gabriel Magallan, Donna North, 17:22.62.
GIRLS
Team Results — 1, Edcouch Elsa, 48 points; 2, PSJA High, 62; 3, Mercedes, 81; 4, Donna North, 96 points, 5, PSJA Southwest, 106; 6, Brownsville Pace, 140; 7, Donna High, 164; Brownsville Porter, 239.
Individual Results — 1, Krysta Martinez, Edcouch-Elsa, 18:33.95; 2, Soledad Cruz, Mercedes, 19:18.91; 3, Kelly Aguinaga, Edcouch-Elsa, 19:36.41; 4, Anna Sanchez, PSJA High, 19:47.04; 5, Alma Villanueva, PSJA Southwest, 19:53.31; 6, Monic IZaguirre, Mercedes, 20:13.49; 7, Jennifer Chacon, Donna North, 20:36.89; 8, Mailen Navarro, PSJA Southwest, 20:38.93; 9, Leslie Alvarado, Edouch-Elsa, 20:40.69; 10, Sandra Flores, PSJA High, 20:45.60; 11, Madeline Gonzalez, Mercedes, 20:51.39; 12, Yvonne Sanchez, Donna High, 21:11.14; 13, Anahi Robles, PSJA High, 21:27.47; 14, Jazlynn Richie, PSJA High, 21:41.88; 15, Hope Ngo, Brownsville Pace, 21:47.21; 16, Dalia Sanchez, Donna North, 21:48.71; 17, Marisol Segovia, Edcouch-Elsa, 22:00.16; 18, Ashley Alvarado, Edcouch-Elsa, 22:00.50; 19, Melanie Cordero, Edcouch-Elsa, 22:01.39; 20: Megan Villella, Brownsville Pace, 22:04.58.