By KEVIN NARRO | Valley Morning Star
La Feria junior cross country runner Dariana Vasquez has improved each year at the state UIL cross country meet.
After finishing 14th as a freshmen and 10th as a sophomore, Vasquez took another step in the right direction as a junior by placing a career-best fourth place with a time of 11 minutes, 46 seconds at the state UIL cross country meet Saturday in Round Rock.
“ She improved from last year, she was just a few seconds away from wining the bronze,” said La Feria coach Gracie Campos. “Dariana ran with a big heart, she is a very hard worker and is a humble girl she did the best she could and we as a coaching staff are all proud of her.”
Vasquez who will return for her senior season has emerged as a leader on the cross country team. Along with Vasquez, Marina Villanueva finished 73rd with a time of 12:50 and Miranda Torres finished 80 th with a time of 12:57.
“ She (Dariana) has accepted her role as a leader,” Campos said. “She gets the girls going, she keeps improving each year and that is expanding her level on the field. Overall the girls mastering the concept of what it will take to be a better runner and get them to the next level, we are extremely proud of our team and how they performed.”
Brownsville Rivera’s Andrea De La Rosa finished 20th with an 18:02 time. De La Rosa was the lone Rio Grande Valley female runner to finish in the top 20 in Class 6A.
De La Rosa, who is a senior, reached the state meet three times in her career.
“ Andrea did great, at the state meet the competition is always tough at the state meet,” said Rivera coach Arturo Hurtaro. “Last year she had some injuries and this year she came back and did well. She was sad because this was her last year at state but she will be signing her letter of intent soon, so she is looking forward to that.”
Sophomore Victor Leos from Brownsville Frontier Prep finished 27 th with a time of 17:00, while Jose Mendieta finished 76th with a 17:49 time.
“ Victor is just a sophomore and he did a great job at state. He was excited to make the state meet and is ready to come back next year,” said Frontier coach Albert Alanis. “Each year our boys get faster, but so does the rest of the state. This year we had a new state champion, it just goes to show how tough it is.”
Several other Cameron County runners tried their hands at the state meet Saturday.
Rio Hondo’s Jasmine Rangel finished 31st with a 12:31 time and Lyford’s Dulce Rodriguez finished 49 th with a 12:53 time.
Ryan Sanchez of Lyford finished with a 17:33 time and finished 58th, Progreso’s Jonathan Vega finished 18th with a 16:33 time and La Feria’s Anthony Cepeda finished in 28th place with a 16:40 time.