By ROY HESS | Staff Writer
St. Joseph Academy is hoping for strong showings from its girls and boys at Monday’s TAPPS district cross country meet in Corpus Christi.
The meet host is Corpus Christi Incarnate Word Academy. The meet course is at Our Lady of Corpus Christi Retreat Center.
Besides SJA and C.C. Incarnate Word Academy, other schools participating in the TAPPS district meet are Victoria St. Joseph, Corpus Christi John Paul II and Laredo St. Augustine.
From the district meet, runners move on to the TAPPS state meet Oct. 21 at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco.
“Last year we were second at district as a team (in the girls competition),” SJA coach Teddy Lopez said. “Obviously, we’re hoping to win this year.
“Our girls have been running pretty decently all season, and I’m proud of them,” Lopez added. “Competing in the small school (or junior varsity) division, our girls won the Brownsville ISD meet and the Port Isabel Invitational.
“I’m excited to see how we’ll do. I think we will have a better showing than last year.”
The top three runners for the SJA girls are senior Camila Martinez, sophomore Valeria Bazan and junior Isabela Douglas, who is the girls team captain.
“Camila is a senior who came out for cross country for the first time and is doing well,” Lopez said. “She’s become our No. 1 runner.”
Other runners for the SJA girls include Marcela Valenzuela, Emma Gonzalez, Amanda Hinojos, Ana Paula Gonzalez, Valeria Conteras, Ana Ybarra, and twin sisters Lucia and Alejandra Gonzalez, who are sophomores.
In all, SJA has 11 girls going to Monday’s meet in Corpus Christi plus seven boys. Five of the boys are freshmen.
The SJA boys are led by sophomore Pedro Cardenas, the team captain who placed second last year at district. Other leading runners for the Bloodhounds are freshman Alejandro Ramirez and senior Antonio Garza. The remainder of the squad includes freshmen Juan Pablo Butron, Diego Garza, Rolando Vasquez and Rafael Villalobos.