By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Juan Manzano of Weslaco High experienced the euphoric feeling of winning his first cross country meet at Saturday’s Harlingen Invitational.
Meanwhile, for Andrea de la Rosa of Rivera, winning has become pretty much a part of her weekly routine.
The two runners were individual champions of the boys and girls varsity races over a 3.2-mile course at Harlingen Sports Complex. It’s the same site as the District 32-6A meet on Oct. 14.
“Around the two-mile mark I pulled away (from the rest of the field to win by a comfortable margin),” said Manzano, a senior who finished in 15 minutes, 56.24 seconds. “This feels pretty good. It’s what I wanted, you know. It just prepares me for district. I already know the course now. I feel confident.”
The worst finish for de la Rosa this season — if it could be called that — was second place, just a fraction of a second behind the winner, at the Islander Splash Invitational in Corpus Christi on Sept. 17. Otherwise, the sophomore defending 32-6A champion has won all her meets this season.
She’s become used to the winner’s circle and has set a goal of making her first trip to state in November.
“I just feel proud of myself,” she said. “I was up there today (with a good lead). This feels great. Maybe next time (in district) I’ll get the same thing. It helps to know the course. And more than having confidence, it helps to just keep working hard (and run a strong race).
“My coaches are pushing me and I’m working really hard,” she added. “I also want to congratulate my teammate ‘J-Lo’ (Jennifer Lopez). She’s pushing me a lot, too.”
De la Rosa won her race in 18:42.69, while Lopez finished fifth in 19:50.65.
“I feel really good because I have a teammate (in de la Rosa) who is the definition of an extraordinary athlete,” said Lopez, a senior. “She’s the best athlete I’ve ever competed with. I’m just proud of her, myself and our whole team.”
Finishing second through fourth place Saturday in the girls race were Weslaco High’s Gloria Martinez (19:33.37), Edinburg Economedes’ Mayra Bernardo (19:46.12) and Weslaco High’s Haliyah Garza (19:50.18).
The next four finishers after Manzano in the boys race were Rivera’s Ruben Chapa (16:13.05), Harlingen High’s Edward Ramos (16:21.81), Rivera’s Jonathan Herrera (16:28.43) and Harlingen High’s Art Benavides (16:29.87).
Rivera’s boys came in second, fourth, 14th, 15th and 16th to successfully defend their team title at the meet with 51 points. Harlingen High was the runner-up with 63 points and Weslaco High was third with 82 points. All are 32-6A teams that will battle again Oct. 14.
“It’s looking better for us,” Rivera coach Arturo Hurtado said. “We’ll be all right. The district meet coming up is the one that counts.”
Weslaco High was the girls team champion with 58 points. Its runners came in second, fourth, 14th, 17th and 21st. Weslaco East was the runner-up with 115 points and Valley View was third with 134.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess