By MARK MOLINA | Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — The Brownsville Hanna cross country teams had no intention of relinquishing their spot atop the district ranks, and they didn’t have to.
For the second straight season, Hanna earned not one but two trophies after capturing the District 32-6A boys and girls team titles Friday morning at the Harlingen Sports Complex.
While the Lady Eagles scored 47 points to barely edge Harlingen High’s 51, the Eagles cruised to a dominating win with a score of 29, besting the Harlingen High score of 48.
“ That was awesome,” Hanna coach Olaya Teran said. “I was seeing the race the opposite way. I thought our girls would have a chance to win it by a larger margin, but our boys did it instead. It was a tough race in the beginning. I’m very proud of all of them, and now we have our next goal, which is regionals. We have a few boys that can be up there, and that’s what we’re working towards. They ran well, but we still have to obviously continue to work hard and be ready for that one.”
The San Benito boys placed third with 57 points, followed by Los Fresnos (81) and Rivera (110). On the girls side, Harlingen South finished third with 55 points, followed by Los Fresnos (71) and Rivera (108).
Leading the Hanna boys was sophomore John Abrego, who placed first overall with a time of 16 minutes, 3.6 seconds, and spent a majority of the first mile with San Benito’s Jaoquin Medina, who finished the race with a 16:16.1.
Abrego said shaking off the prerace butterflies was one hurdle, but having Medina close was both a challenge and a motivating factor.
“ It was all, for me, a test,” Abrego said. “Last year, (Medina) was the runner who would come in first. From then until now, my goal was to pass Medina or stay with Medina. Having him was a great feeling. He was my challenge, and I just wanted to do my best to come in first. He pushed me and was my drive.
“ I also wanted to credit our seniors for pushing us and giving us wise words of experience,” Abrego added. “Our team was on the same page and with the right mindset. That’s why we finished first as a team.”
Hanna had three runners finish in the top five of the boys race.
Hanna’s Felipe Parra placed third (16:33.7), followed by teammate Marcos Tellez (16:40.2) and Los Fresnos’ Michael Paredes (16:43.5).
Winning the girls race was Harlingen High freshman Victoria Scarberry with a 19:36.1, easily ousting Los Fresnos’ Jasmine Ponce, who placed second with a 20:43.4.
Scarberry’s time was not only the best of the race but marked the second personal best in as many races. She set a PR at the Meet of Champions in Donna with a 19:48.5.
“ At the start I was really nervous, so to actually win is pretty good,” Scarberry said. “I didn’t expect this, but my coaches teach me to go after it and go after it, and I did. This really boosted my confidence. In middle school I always came in first, and I wasn’t expecting that this year because these girls are fast and these girls bring their all. I haven’t placed first any of these races, but that’s why I feel good about this one.”
Hanna’s Magali Osowski placed third with a 20:51.0, followed by Harlingen South’s Alex Perez (20:56.9) and Madison Meyers (20:59.9).
The Lady Eagles had three runners finish in the top 10 of the girls race.