BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
DONNA — Few runners have consistently placed as well as Edinburg Vela sophomore Mario Salas has this season.
Salas finished in the top five of each of his first three races: second place at the Laredo Border Olympics on Aug. 18 and Edinburg High Invitational on Aug. 25, in addition to fourth place at the RGV Classic on Sept. 1.
“I went to see him run when he was in middle school,” Edinburg Vela cross country coach Hernan Figueroa said. “I talked to him before a race. I told him to stay under control, check out the field and, as you feel, move up. He took the lead (in the race) from the beginning, and he never relinquished it. Then I thought to myself, ‘OK, I guess I was wrong.’”
“I was still looking for a sport to compete in. One of my middle school coaches told me I should join, and I did,” Salas said. “I’d get first-place finishes off of pure talent, and that made it easier to stick with cross.”
Salas said his freshman year at Edinburg Vela was the first year he fully committed to cross country.
“I don’t see myself as a runner with much speed, but I have a lot of strength,” Salas said. “Last year, I started pushing myself more in the middle of races.”
Salas is not unlike many athletes in his sport. Runners often compete in races despite nagging injuries that could worsen or increase the likelihood of a more serious injury.
In the week leading up to Saturday’s Meet of Champions 5K race, Salas did not have much of a chance to prepare for the course on the campus at Donna High School.
“If I keep pushing it, the injury could come close to a stress fracture,” Salas said Saturday. “I wasn’t able to land or push off with my right leg, so I had to get on a bike or an elliptical just to not get out of shape. I was pushing, but it wasn’t the same as running. Yesterday (Friday), it finally stopped hurting. If it didn’t hurt on race day, then I thought I was going to be OK.”
Salas finished 20th on Saturday with a time of 16 minutes, 59.7 seconds.
“I didn’t feel it hurting anymore when I was running, but I felt I like I wasn’t getting a lot of oxygen,” Salas said. “I wasn’t able to be up near the front. I probably would have fallen during in the first mile if I tried to. I had to take deep breaths and do as much as I could. I’ll have a good amount of time to get back into a rhythm before the district race.”
“Mario had been dealing with this injury for about three weeks. We thought it could be a stress fracture, but thankfully, it was just inflammation of the bursa sac,” Figueroa said. “He’s a very tough kid. He’s going to give you everything he has on any day. He was out of his normal rhythm, but God willing, we’re going to see a better Mario down the road.”
The SaberCats placed fifth as a team thanks to Salas’ top-20 finish and Jeremy Nino, who took seventh with a time of 16:20.4.
“I can’t say enough about those guys (Jeremy and Mario) and our team,” Figueroa said. “A lot of times, we find that the coaches will want something more than the kids. These guys want it as much as we do, and that makes things a lot easier. We’re able to set individual goals, team goals and act upon what we believe we can do. They’re very honest with their effort.”
Edinburg Vela will be out of the Valley this weekend to compete at the Nike South Invitational, held north of Houston at Bear Branch Sports Park in The Woodlands.
“There’s a lot of competition, and I want to do damage up there,” Salas said. “If I go up there with the right mental attitude and I run a good race, I can get a sub-16 (minute) finish. I don’t know for sure, but I hope I can. 15:50-something, at least. If I can hang with those guys, I’ll have a chance to PR.”