By ROY HESS/Staff Writer
Competitors from District 32-4A enjoyed strong showings at Saturday’s Region IV cross country meet in Corpus Christi.
The meet took place on the grounds surrounding Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Dr. Jack Dugan Family Soccer and Track Stadium.
The top four teams in each division earned a trip to the UIL state meet Nov. 12 in Round Rock. The top 10 individual finishers in each division not on a state-qualifying team also secured a spot at state.
La Feria had plenty to be happy about in the Class 4A girls division as the Lionettes took second place as a team with 92 points behind first-place Bandera with 46.
Leading the way for the Lionettes were Tina Sierra and Dariana Vasquez, who finished first and second individually in the 3A girls race over a two-mile course. Sierra won in 12 minutes, 4.3 seconds, while Vasquez was close behind for second place in 12:04.9. Other Lionettes who counted toward their team’s points were Analiza Rodriguez (32nd), Briana Reyes (33rd) and Katrina Villarreal (42nd).
Other 32-4A girls with strong showings Saturday were Progreso‘s Lizbett Rivera, fourth place; Rio Hondo‘s Jazaline Ayala, seventh; and Rio Hondo’s Jasmine Rangel, ninth.
In the 4A boys division, where the course was 5,000 kilometers or 3.2 miles, Progreso was the team champion with 65 points, La Vernia was second with 95 and Hidalgo was third with 147. La Feria’s boys were seventh.
Individually, Progreso’s Everardo Esparaza (16:32.8) and Hidalgo’s Jesus Guerrero (16:37.9) finished second and third. Also scoring points for the Red Ants were Anthony Vasquez (ninth), Omar Anguiano (19th), Gerardo Gallardo (26th( and Ricardo Salazar (32nd).
“We are elated with their performance today,” Progreso coach Margarito Jimenez said of his runners. “The difference was their will to win.”
The most dominant performance for the Valley on Saturday came in the boys 5A division as the top three teams were Donna North (51 points), Donna (137) and Mercedes (137).
In the 5A boys race, Rio Grande City‘s Brandon Gracia was second, Donna North‘s Daniel de la Cruz was third and Mercedes’ Jonathan Reyes was sixth. In the 5A girls race, Edcouch-Elsa‘s Haley Villalpando was fourth.
In the Class 6A boys division, the Valley’s best team showings were Edinburg North and Harlingen, finishing sixth and eighth, respectively. The best finisher for Harlingen was Art Benavides in 37th place. PSJA Memorial‘s Cruz Gomez and Weslaco East’s Luis Ramirez came in fourth and seventh, respectively, in the 6A boys race.
In the 6A girls race, Edinburg North’s Ariana Beth Ramos was the winner and Brownsville Rivera‘s Andrea de la Rosa was third.
In other team results, Santa Maria‘s girls were sixth in 2A and San Perlita‘s boys were seventh, also in 2A. Santa Maria was led by the fourth-place finish of Kristen Aleman, a freshman. Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s Sabrina Garcia was also a state qualifier in 3A.