NATHANIEL MATA | THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Beth Ramos finished in the top six in both of her UIL state track events in May, but a few weeks ago she was close to giving into the pain and not competing in the 6A Region IV Cross Country Meet on Oct. 20 in Corpus Christi.
The Edinburg North runner’s career has been plagued by injury, but racing the 5,000-meter course with shin splints, also known as medial tibial stress syndrome, has almost become too much.
The four-time state qualifier has been on the podium at the regional race each season, even while fighting through hip and now lower-leg pain. She won her second consecutive regional meet this year with a time of 18 minutes and 31.4 seconds — a convincing 8 seconds faster than the runner-up.
“I feel like we’re supposed to make the best of our opportunities,” Ramos said. “If you have a talent, you’re supposed to make the best of it. If I can keep running, then I’ll run. If I really can’t, because it hurts too much, then I’ll stop.”
Ramos has only competed in three races this cross country season, and they’ve been big ones. She placed first at the RGVCCCA Meet of Champions, the District 31-6A meet and regionals.
She says this year has been a microcosm of her career at Edinburg North. She’s been taking some days off periodically but finds herself in pain then, as well. The injury has been volatile and can flare up worse on some days than others.
“That’s the hard part for me, because that’s been my high school career: Trying to decide what’s too much or what’s not, what I can do without hurting it too much,” Ramos said. “It’s just something you have to find within yourself to balance it out.”
Her coach, veteran distance instructor Homer Martinez, has seen a lot of runners under his guidance since he started at Edinburg High in the late 1970s. Even with 40 years of experience, he says Ramos stands out.
“I’ve never had anybody as both mentally and physically tough as she is,” Martinez said. “I’ve had good athletes, I’ve had state champions, but no one has been as tough as she is. And that sometimes works against her, because she tries to run through it, but you have to hand it to her. To show up every day and work as hard as she does, and also race as tough as she does.”
Ramos will try to gut out a podium finish at state for the first time. Her best previous result is 19th, but she says she has only had the ‘true state experience’ once — last year in track and field, when she finished in the top six.
“She’s not happy, because she has high expectations for herself,” Martinez said. “Of course, we both know that she’s better than what she’s running, and the only thing holding her back is her injuries. I know that she could run with the best if she’s healthy. As it is, she’s already close to the top.”
Ramos has a much-needed break in her future before moving on to training for track in the spring. She said she hopes to make a decision in November on where she will run in college. She’s hoping trainers at the next level will lessen her ailments or help her run through them.
On Saturday, she’ll be joined by only one teammate, Tristan Peña. It’s a fitting pair to represent the Cougars in Round Rock. They have been teammates since their days at B.L. Garza Junior High.
Peña has had better luck with staying healthy, only suffering a minor setback as a sophomore, but he’s watched Ramos go through much more while joining the boys for their long runs.
“I would consider Beth stronger than most male athletes,” Peña said. “She’s really tough. Nothing can hold her back. She can have the most pain ever, and she’ll keep going as if she doesn’t even have any pain. There’s always that once-in-a-lifetime runner, but Beth would probably be that once ever. I don’t think there can be anyone else like Beth here in the Valley.”
Peña won’t have injuries in his way as he competes at state. He will face tons of familiar competition, including PSJA Memorial’s Cruz Gomez, the only RGV runner who ran quicker than him in Corpus Christi. Peña’s 15:49.2 was just a few seconds behind Gomez’s 15:41.0.
Both Edinburg North runners will be fighting to reach their goals at the highest level, and they’ll have a familiar teammate to lean on when the dust clears.
“I look up to him a lot, because he’s the most consistent in training,” Ramos said of Peña. “I really look up to someone who works as hard as he does.”
Upper-Valley UIL State Qualifiers
2A
Robbie Sue Espericueta, La Villa (11)
Refugio Montelongo, La Villa (12)
Avram Vasquez, Lasara (12)
3A
Valery Tobias, Edinburg IDEA Quest (12)
Desiree Guerra, Santa Rosa (10)
4A
Lizbett Rivera, Progreso (12)
Omar Anguiano, Progreso (12)
Samuel Cerda, Progreso (10)
Everardo Esparza, Progreso (12)
Gerarado Gallardo, Progreso (10)
Greg Rangel, Progreso (9)
Anthony Vasquez, Progreso (12)
Jonathan Vega, Progreso (10)
5A
Vanessa Cerda, Edcouch-Elsa (9)
Haley Villalpando, Edcouch-Elsa (10)
Sidney Bravo, Sharyland (9)
Valeria Diaz, Sharyland (12)
Andrea Gallardo, Sharyland (10)
Arianna Gomez, Sharyland (10)
Samantha Guerrero, Sharyland (11)
Odett Meza, Sharyland (11)
Delilah Vega, Sharyland (10)
Kayla Aul, Sharyland Pioneer (10)
Nydia De la Garza, Sharyland Pioneer (11)
Yanelly Garza, Sharyland Pioneer (11)
Nadia Gutierrez, Sharyland Pioneer (12)
Ana Hernandez, Sharyland Pioneer (10)
Gabriela Ramirez, Sharyland Pioneer (9)
Alyssa Saenez, Sharyland Pioneer (9)
Jose Bocardo, Mercedes (9)
Dominic Cavazos, Mercedes (12)
Julian Fuentes, Mercedes (10)
Marco Jimenez, Mercedes (12)
Jason Ledesma, Mercedes (11)
Guadalupe Reyes, Mercedes (10)
Eduardo Trevino, Mercedes (12)
Alex Canales, Rio Grande City (9)
Jose Corona, Rio Grande City (12)
Frank Gonzalez, Rio Grande City (12)
Brandon Gracia, Rio Grande City (12)
Alejandro Lopez, Rio Grande City (11)
Efrain Palacios, Rio Grande City (11)
Guillermo Villarreal, Rio Grande City (10)
Rudy Aranda, Sharyland Pioneer (12)
Angel Avila, Sharyland Pioneer (10)
Marcos Garza, Sharyland Pioneer (11)
Cesar Ramirez, Sharyland Pioneer (9)
Jose Rodriguez, Sharyland Pioneer (10)
Juan Rodriguez, Sharyland Pioneer (10)
Wilberth Soberanis, Sharyland Pioneer (11)
6A
Ariana Beth Ramos, Edinburg North (12)
Brittany Cano, La Joya Palmview (12)
Karla Chapa, La Joya Palmview (11)
Yoko Gomez, La Joya Palmview
Gissel Gonzalez, La Joya Palmview (10)
Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview (12)
Oma Sanchez, La Joya Palmview (12)
Bailey Villalon, La Joya Palmview (11)
Tristan Pena, Edinburg North (12)
Evan Williams, McAllen Memorial (11)
Trevor Williams, McAllen Memorial (11)
Cruz Gomez, PSJA Memorial (11)