BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — Standing on the “1” position of the medal stand Saturday night, the Rio Grande City boys track team was a world apart from last year’s district meet.
The Rattlers took third in 2017, one point separating them from a second-place tie due to an untimely injury. One of the Rio runners in the 800-meter relay pulled a hamstring, which cost the team key points.
This year, the Rattlers left no doubt. They were the class of District 31-5A.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Rio Grande City coach Eladio Bermudez said. “The kids have been working toward this, and this was what we wanted to accomplish. It’s a testament to the hard work they’ve put in.”
Senior Brandon Gracia, who is signed to run cross country at the University of Texas next year, added to his 3,200 run victory earlier this week with a first-place finish in the 1,600 on Saturday. Gracia ran a 4:31.92.
Gracia and Alejandro Lopez also earned silver and bronze, respectively, in the 800-meter run.
“We knew we had a chance last year, but we didn’t have as many contributors points-wise,” Gracia said. “But we came in focused with a lot more contributions. It worked out in the end.”
In the 100 dash, Rio’s Abelardo Lopez and Adolfo Reyna took the top two spots.
“I didn’t qualify for area in the 100-meter dash last year, but I qualified in the four-by-two. Some guy beat me,” Reyna said. “Not making it pushed me to become a better runner.”
Reyna ran an 11.35, which earned him silver, while Lopez’s 11.27 earned him a gold medal.
“I just felt I was only competing with my teammate (Reyna),” Lopez said. “We both knew it would come down to one of us, and we didn’t really focus on the other competition. We push each other all the time. If he took it or I took it, that’s all that mattered in the end.”
Abelardo Lopez, Reyna, Elias Cobos and senior Izrael Lambert made up the Rio 400 relay team that earned silver with a time of 43.55.
The Rattlers team crowded around Bermudez and his staff for celebratory photos. When the last photos were taken, the runners, led by Lambert, began to soak Bermudez with bottles of water as he held the district championship trophy in his arms.
“That was my idea,” Lambert said.
At some point, Bermudez and his team will have to look ahead to the area meet, which will take place in two weeks. But they’ll continue to celebrate the Rattlers’ first district title in 19 years for as long as they can.
“In all honesty, we’re on cloud nine right now,” Bermudez said.
Under the direction of Kathy Howell, the Mission Veterans girls team has turned winning district titles into a habit. According to Howell, the Patriots entered this week having won 11 of 14 district championships since the campus opened.
But six seniors graduated from Mission Vets’ 2017 district championship team, and only one senior (Nyla Vela) would be present on the 2018 roster.
“This was the biggest team effort that we had ever had at districts,” Howell said. “The majority of my kids are sophomores, but they just fought all night long.”
Howell was pleasantly surprised with some of her athletes’ finishes, including a bronze medal in the 100-meter dash from freshman Halle Milam. Another surprise came in the 300-meter hurdles, with sophomore Alyssa Villarreal winning the race with a 48.09.
“Alyssa went crazy in the hurdles,” Howell said. “That was very unexpected, because she had been hurt almost all season with tendonitis in her knees. This was the second time she ran in the event all year long. I told her that all she needed to do was score points. Well, she scored 10. I’ll take those.”
Other notable Patriots victories included a win in the 1,600 relay, a gold for Vela in the 800 run (2:22.76), and junior Charlize De La Garza striking gold with a 59.95 in the 400 run.
“Coach had actually taken me out of the four-by-one and put me in the 400,” De La Garza said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. How am I going to do this?’ I hadn’t run in that race all season, and the last time I did I was a freshman. But I got out here and did what I had to do for my teammates.”
For the senior Vela, winning the district championship on campus at Patriot Field carries a little more weight.
“The past two years, when we won district, was nice, but this one feels more special,” Vela said. “We’re here on our home turf. No one really expected us to get it this year. To be the underdogs and win it after all was great.”