BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
The usual suspects took care of business at Friday morning’s Yellow Jacket Invitational in Edcouch — one of two meets in the Valley during the opening weekend of the cross country season. The defending 30-6A champion McAllen Memorial boys posted a score of 33, which was 64 ahead of second-place La Joya Juarez-Lincoln.
The girls side offered a more predictable result. Weslaco High fended off Edcouch-Elsa to capture the title, much like the team did last October at David Ybarra Middle School.
The Edinburg Economedes girls contingent graduated a big piece from their 2017 District 31-6A championship team in Mayra Bernardo earlier this year. Bernardo was a consistent top-five finisher during her two-year career, doing so in five of her six career varsity 5Ks.
Losing Bernardo did not appear to matter much to the Jaguars, who won Mission High’s Fly Like An Eagle Invitational on Saturday.
“We definitely saw what we can work on as a team, but we’re excited and proud for our kids,” Edinburg Economedes coach Brenda Lozano said. “They’ve really dedicated a lot of their time this summer, and they worked as a team out there on the field. It’s great to start the year on a high note.”
The Jaguars placed two in the top three: senior Teresa Castillo, who finished third with a time of 17 minutes, 49.9 seconds, and junior Dayan Lozano, who won with a 17:08.2.
Lozano’s first-place finish on Saturday was her first at the varsity level.
“I worked extra hard to be there in the front during the race, so I could hang around and have a chance to win during the last 200 meters,” Dayan Lozano said. “I didn’t have to work as hard in the end since I was already up front.”
Dayan Lozano finished 38.1 seconds faster than PSJA North’s Faith Cruz. Castillo was 3.6 seconds slower than Cruz.
“Dayan and Teresa are now like veterans of the sport,” Brenda Lozano said. “I think they already knew that they had to take up big-time roles for the team. The other girls know: if those two move, everybody else has to move.”
Brenda Lozano sensed the girls had been cultivating a family atmosphere around the program.
“It really does feel like a family,” Dayan Lozano said. “We’re always there for each other. If someone ever needs something, one of us is also there for them. I’ve never bonded so well with a team before.”
McAllen High won the boys 4,000-meter race, scooting past meet host Mission High. McHi had three Bulldogs in the top five, led by sophomore Hunter Herrera, who won the race after posting the meet’s only sub-14:00 time (13:58.2).
“Hunter’s been on a mission coming into the year,” McAllen High coach Luis Cantu said. “He’s worked extremely hard this summer to get to the level where a lot of the top Valley athletes are. He’s in the weight room a lot more now, because he didn’t really believe in it last year. Now, he’s a believer in the weight room. He’s a believer that the things away from the field can help him on the field.”
McHi freshman Joe Rios and sophomore Julio Alanis finished within seven-tenths of a second of each other to capture fourth and fifth place, respectively.
“We ran four freshmen at the varsity level last year, but now we’re a little bit more mature because of that,” Cantu said.