CORPUS CHRISTI — PSJA North senior Hector Solis was aware of the task at hand going into the regional cross-country meet, with Region IV-6A’s top 15 runners all posting season-best times below 15 minutes, 50 seconds.
Still, Solis was confident and ready for the challenge, having been to the regional meet during his first three seasons with the Raiders, which helped him become familiar with the course.
“Before getting experience, I thought about it as one of the hardest courses in my season because there are a lot of twists and turns and roundabouts,” Solis said. “Over time, I’ve developed those tricks and tips.
“My freshman year, the first time I got to the line, as soon as I thought about it, the race was over. It’s one of those courses where you have to break it down to its components and take it one meter at a time.”
Solis’ confidence and experience were on full display Monday, finishing second during the Region IV-6A cross-country meet at Dugan Stadium in Corpus Christi, earning his third straight trip to the state meet.
Solis clocked in at 15:41.39, finishing behind only Austin Vandergrift’s Kevin Sanchez (15:14.84), who holds the top mark in the state with a time of 14:44.
“This race was the icing on the cake,” Solis said, “Going to state is going to be the cherry on top. I have yet to peak. Going up against even more competitive guys, it’s going to be an experience. I’m looking forward to see what I can do on that course.”
Solis was one of four top 10 finishers in Region IV-6A to come from the Valley. Harlingen High’s Geovany Cisneros (15:54.35) and Dominic Luna (16:01.70) finished fifth and eight, respectively, giving the Cardinals two runners at the state meet.
Meanwhile, Mission High’s Rogelio Aguirre (15:58.41) earned the highest finish of his three regional appearances, coming in seventh and advancing to state.
In Region IV-5A, three RGV runners earned individual state bids, led by Donna High senior Kevin Hernandez, who came in second with a time of 16:10.85. Mission Veterans Daniel Alamilla (16:26.99) and McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Granados (16:41.84) will join Hernandez at the state meet, both qualifying for the first time.
The sub-5A regions, featured a pair of RGV teams capturing regional crowns, while three others nabbed individual bids.
The La Feria Lions, like the girls’ team, hoisted the Region IV-4A trophy, led by a pair of top 10 finishers in Evan Torres and Julian Dominguez. Torres posted a time of 17:37.19 for a sixth-place finish, while Dominguez (17:48.49) finished 10th.
Brownsville IDEA Frontier became the third RGV team to bring home a regional crown, coming out on top in Region IV-3A. Carlos Zavala was the top runner for Frontier, ranking No. 8 with a time of 17:47.44.
Edinburg Quest IDEA’s Kevin Macias and IDEA Pharr’s Jesus Cotero qualified as individual in Region IV-3A, coming in fifth and ninth, respectively.
Santa Maria’s Juan Morales was the last state qualifier of the day for the Valley, clocking in at 18:27.71 for fifth place in Region IV-2A.
The University Interscholastic League’s state meet is set for Nov. 5-6 at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.