PHARR — Faith Cruz spent her first three years of high school running cross-country for PSJA High, advancing to the Region IV-6A meet as a junior.
Going into her senior year, a series of unforeseen events led to Cruz deciding transfer to Vanguard Rembrandt, a Class 3A school with a reported enrollment of 457, according to the University Interscholastic League.
After waiting for the UIL’s approval to compete for Rembrandt, Cruz made her season debut Oct. 6 during the District 31-3A meet, instantly leaving her mark on the Spartans’ program, winning the individual district title with a time of 12 minutes, 34.50 seconds, a district meet and school record.
Cruz followed up her debut with another record-setting performance, coming in second at the Region IV-3A meet Oct. 25, breaking her two-week-old record with a time of 12:34.14, while becoming the school’s first state qualifier in program history.
“This year was very different transitioning from a big school to a smaller school,” Cruz said. “What’s been keeping me going is the people here, especially my teammates. I’ve gotten really close to all the people here at my new school.
“It feels good. It gives me a chance to show the underclassmen that they can do it if they work hard, are dedicated and focus. I am able to show them that, even at a small school, they can make it to state, too.”
July set off a series of events that led to Cruz’s move from PSJA High to Vanguard Rembrandt. During in the month, Cruz and her family were involved in a car accident. While Cruz, her sister and father all recovered quickly from the collision, her mother’s recovery was prolonged, dealing with neck pain, torn ligaments in her ankle and more.
Following the accident, Cruz’s mother, Maria, accepted a teaching position at Vanguard Rembrandt, unable to return to her previous position at PSJA High due to hiring shortages because of COVID-19.
With her mother leaving PSJA High and still dealing with the aftermath of the crash, Faith and her sister, Hope, decided to join their mother at Vanguard Rembrandt, helping ease the load of commuting between two different campuses.
A week after the accident, the family was thrown another curveball, with each member contracting COVID-19, leading to a three-week quarantine.
“It was a big decision,” Faith said. “At the end, my decision was made on what was best for all of my family. It was very last minute. But at that point, I was certain I was going to come to this school. I was overwhelmed because I didn’t know what was going to happen once here. I knew nobody. I was coming in brand new. But everything went smoothly. I am glad I made the decision to come here.”
When Faith arrived at Vanguard, she was locked in on her goals, eyeing a return to the regional meet and her first state appearance.
It was an adjustment early on, Faith said, having to adjust her training regime and race strategy, with 3A races usually consisting of two miles, one mile less than that of Class 6A.
It didn’t take long for Faith to learn, however, as she set school records during her only two meets this year, while reaching her personal goal of advancing to state.
“You can tell she was here to work,” Vanguard Rembrandt head coach Veronica Almeida said. “At this point, she just runs her race. You prepare for this the whole year. Regionals was just the door that opened it for her. It was a big adjustment for her having to do her workouts shorter. Usually, she had a whole mile more to plan her strategy and then you take that away. But she adjusted to it well.”
With one race remaining, Faith is going into the state meet looking to soak in every second of it, thinking back to the offseason leading up to this moment.
“It feels good,” she said. “This is my first year going to state. I feel prepared for state. This is my final year. I’m hoping to get in the top two or three. I just want to give it my all in this last race. But I really just want to have fun up there.”
The UIL cross-country state championships are slated for Nov. 5-6 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.