By ROY HESS/Staff Writer
It remains to be seen if last Saturday’s results at the Islander Splash Invitational cross country meet in Corpus Christi will mirror those of the Region IV meet at the same site Oct. 29.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi was the host of the well-attended meet on the grounds surrounding Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer and Track Stadium.
It attracted top runners from all parts of Region IV, including the Valley, Corpus Christi, Laredo and San Antonio. Everyone wanted a chance to run on the course as preparation for the regional meet that will determine which teams and individual runners make it to state in Round Rock on Nov. 12.
At this point of the season, it appears Donna North has the top boys team in the Valley and La Joya Palmview is the Valley’s best girls squad. Donna North‘s boys took second place in the Gold Division team standings at the Islander Splash Invitational, while Palmview took third among girls teams in the Gold Division.
The best individual showings by Valley runners came in the Gold Division girls race, where Palmview’s Brianna Robles edged Rivera’s Andrea de la Rosa for first place. Robles, a junior, finished the 3.2-mile course in 18 minutes, 43.6 seconds and de la Rosa, a sophomore, was second in 18:44.1.
De la Rosa is the defending individual champion in District 32-6A. Her goal is to make it to state for the first time this year.
“”Andrea ran an excellent race,” Rivera coach Arturo Hurtado said. “(Teammate) Jennifer Lopez did well, too. She came in 37th. I thought our boys (21st in Gold Division) could have done better, though.”
Aside from de la Rosa being the clear favorite to repeat as individual district champion at the 32-6A meet on Oct. 14 in Harlingen, there are indications the competition for individual boys champion plus the boys and girls team winners is going to be wide open.
For the girls from 32-6A at the Islander Splash meet, San Benito (18th), Hanna (21st), Weslaco High (22nd) and Harlingen South (23rd) were all bunched together in the team standings. For the boys, it was much the same as the top team finishers from 32-6A at the meet were Harlingen High (16th), Weslaco High (20th) and Rivera (21st).
MEET OF CHAMPIONS
Other than district meets in October, the Meet of Champions is annually the Valley’s most important cross country event. It’s the only competition on the schedule in the Valley this weekend.
It takes place Saturday at Monte Cristo Golf Course in Edinburg with the first race beginning at 8 a.m. or 8:30 a.m.
In the girls race, Palmview’s Robles and Rivera’s de la Rosa figure to cross paths again and battle for the individual championship. Edinburg North‘s Ariana Beth Ramos could also be a factor.
For the boys, Rio Grande City‘s Brandon Gracia is a clear favorite. He’s currently ranked No. 8 among all male cross country high school runners in Texas by Athletic.net and he finished fifth at the Islander Splash meet.
Team favorites Saturday would appear to be Donna North for the boys and Palmview for the girls.
VALLEY RANKINGS
Here are the latest Valley team rankings by the RGV Cross Country Coaches Association:
Girls — 1. La Joya Palmview, 2. Sharyland Pioneer, 3. Edinburg High, 4. PSJA North, 5. McAllen High, 6. PSJA Memorial, 7. La Feria, 8. San Benito, 9. Hanna, 10. Weslaco High
Boys — 1. Donna North, 2. Edinburg North, 3. Donna High, 4. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 5. Harlingen High, 6. PSJA Memorial, 7. Mission High, 8. Rio Grande City, 9. La Joya Palmview, 10. Sharyland Pioneer
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess