Omar De La Rosa was part of the last McAllen High team to advance to the UIL cross-country state meet – in 1975.
It was fitting he was the judge presiding over the McAllen High boys cross-country team securing its return to the UIL Class 5A state meet Monday, ending a 45-year drought.
“I spoke with Omar De La Rosa and he said it was awesome to see McHi is back and that we are going to state,” McHi head coach Luis Cantu said. “He was on that team and it just made it more special.”
The 1975 McHi cross-country team won regionals and finished second overall at the state meet.
Senior Hunter Herrera and senior Ismael “Cinco” Hernandez finished 12th and 13th, respectively, just 0.64 second apart as the Bulldogs placed all five qualifying runners in the top 50 to score 129 points and claim third place — the final team position to advance — during Monday morning’s UIL Region IV-5A Cross-Country Championships at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Boerne Champion won the meet with 52 points and four of its five runners placed in the top 15.
Cedar Park was second with 116 points.
“The kids have worked hard with the pandemic. Sure, we had our ups and downs. The kids would get restless at home, and we had a late start with practice, but they put the work in by themselves,” said Cantu, in his fifth year at the Bulldogs’ helm. “It’s an honor to represent McHi and get back to state for our school and community. It feels really good and we’ll see what we can do and represent one more time. We’ll press hard to see if we can get on the podium.
Foster Wilfong, of Boerne Champion, narrowly edged out PSJA Memorial’s Williams Macias by 0.68 second to capture the individual title. Macias, the defending region champion, took second and will once again be heading to the state meet.
The top three teams, and top 10 individuals not on those teams, advance. The Valley will be sending six individual boys to the meet. Those advancing individually to state are Macias (second), Donna High’s Kevin Hernandez (fourth), Rio Grande City’s Alex Canales (fifth), Sharyland Pioneer’s Cesar Ramirez (sixth), Donna High’s Erick Chavez Carreon (eighth) and Weslaco East’s Rene Tamez (16th).
Teams from McAllen High (third), Sharyland Pioneer (fifth), Donna High (eighth), Mission Veterans (12th), and Edcouch-Elsa (16th) represented the Valley at Monday’s regional boys meet.
Junior Danielle Salinas finished seventh for Sharyland High in 19:17.11 to advance. Also advancing was teammate, Daylah Vega, who finished 19th, and La Joya Palmview’s Destiny Quintanilla, placing 27th. Teams from Sharyland High (fifth), Brownsville Veterans (eighth), McAllen Rowe (ninth), Edcouch-Elsa (13th), Mission Veterans (15th), and Roma (16th) all represented the Valley at Monday’s regional girls meet.
“The whole Valley represented very well today, especially with the late start,” Cantu said. “I’m super proud of what the Valley has done. It’s just awesome to see.”
The UIL State Cross-Country Championship will be held Nov. 23 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
Results from the UIL Region 4-5A Cross Country Championships. Top three teams advance and the top 10 runners not on those teams.
BOYS
Team results
1. Boerne Champion 52; 2. Cedar Park 116; 3. McAllen High 129; 4. Medina Valley 141; 5. Sharyland Pioneer 170; 6. Corpus Christi Carroll 176; 7. San Antonio Jefferson 180; 8. DonnaHigh 195; 9. Gregory Portland 200; 10. Liberty Hill 213; 11. Comal Canyon 234; 12. Mission Veterans 306; 13. San Antonio Harlandale 320; 14. Laredo Martin 358; 15. San Antonio Brackenridge 397; 16. Edcouch-Elsa 428
Individual results (qualifiers for state meet)
1. Foster Wilfong, Boerne Champion, 15:50.16; 2. Williams Macias, PSJA Memorial, 15:50.84; 3. Caleb Lopez, Dripping Springs, 15:57.39; 4. Kevin Hernandez, Donna High, 16:10.49; 5. Alex Canales, Rio Grande City, 16:13.55; 6. Cesar Ramirez, Sharyland Pioneer, 16:1.12; 7. Ethan Feinstein, San Antonio Alamo Heights, 16:17.63; 8. Erick Chavez Carreon, Donna High, 16:21.31, 27; 9. Devin Duran, Boerne Champion, 16:23.41; 10. Cody Fountain, Gregory-Portland, 16:25.39; 11. Chris Martinezm Boerne Champion, 16:28.65; 12. Hunter Herrera, McAllen High, 16:31.27; 13. Ismael Hernandez, McAllen High, 16:31.91; 14. Jack Woods, Cedar Park, 16:33.92; 15. Josiah Alvarado, San Antonio Jefferson, 16:34.91; 16. Rene Tamez, Weslaco East, 16:38.91
GIRLS
Team results
1. Dripping Springs 44; 2. Boerne Champion 60; 3. Georgetown High, 63: 4. Cedar Park 112; 5. Sharyland High 115; 6. Medina Valley, 212; 7. Corpus Christi Carroll 266; 8. Brownsville Veterans 272; 9. McAllen Rowe 275; 10. San Antonio Brackenridge 289; 11. San Antonio Jefferson 292; 12. Gregory-Portland 298; 13. Edcouch-Elsa 326; 14. San Antonio Harlandale 376; 15. Mission Veterans 393; 16. Roma 402.
Individuals (all qualifiers for state meet)
1. Isabel Conde De Frankenburg, Cedar Park, 17:51.84; 2. Anastacia Gonzales, Boerne Champion, 18:49.26; 3. Maddie Livingston, Dripping Springs, 18:58.59; 4. Mckenzie Bailey, Georgetown High 19:02.24; 5. Karsten Bobb, Dripping Springs, 19:03.60; 6. Kate Williams, Boerne Champion, 19:06.51; 7. Danielle Salinas, Sharyland High, 19:17.11; 8. Kate Ginther, Dripping Springs, 19:29.42; 9. Molly Breuer, Boerne Champion, 19:36.00; 10. Dennie Decker, Georgetown High, 19:36.53; 11. Avery Hill, Georgetown High, 19:38.35; 12. Marleena Mickel, Dripping Springs 19:47.85; 13. Jaya Coats, Leander High, 19:48.96; 14. Zoe Seaman-Gregory, Cedar Park, 19:48.96; 15. Ava Sieckman, Georgetown High, 20:02.00; 16. Anika Cuff, Gregory-Portland, 20:02.35; 17. Ayanna Donwerth, Liberty Hill, 20:06.26; 18. Carolina Russey, Dripping Springs, 20:07.77; 19. Daylah Vega, Sharyland High, 20:12.57; 20. Jesse Bookbinder, Dripping Springs, 20:15.36; 21. Madison Tafoya, Dripping Springs, 20:16.10; 22. Macy Livingston, Medina Valley, 20:17.48; 23. Josey Whitaker, Boerne Champion, 20:21.85; 24. Ava Rideout, Boerne Champion, 20:24.00; 25. Grace Flores, Boerne Champion, 20:24.35; 26. Jacqui Spencer, Georgetown High, 20:28.60; 27. Destiny Quintanilla, La Joya Palmview, 20:28.84; 28. Kyra Gaddy, Hays Johnson High School, 20:31.90