Edinburg Economedes came up short at the Rio Grande Valley Cross-Country Coaches Association’s Meet of Champions on Oct. 2, coming in second place in the elite girls’ division to the Sharyland High Rattlers.
The loss left a bitter taste in the team’s mouth, motivating them going into their district meet.
“After the Meet of Champions, we had redemption on our mind,” Edinburg Economedes head coach Brenda Lozano said. “We were still kind of hurt about the Meet of Champs, but today, we came in focused and determined because we are the defending district champions. It’s hard to have that honor so we had to step up to the plate and get the three-peat this year.”
Fueled by the defeat, the Jaguars dominated the competition at the District 31-6A meet Thursday at the Ebony Golf Course in Edinburg, with all seven of their runners finishing in the top 25 en route to their third straight district title.
“We’ve built this bond and family kind of thing,” Lozano said. “Our family has really held us together. As we get ready to say bye to our seniors, we keep trying to build on that family togetherness. That’s what I’ve told these girls the past two weeks, everything together.”
The Jaguars’ top performer was sophomore Maddison Surita, who finished second overall with a time of 19 minutes, 39.9 seconds. She was joined by senior Dianette Garcia (20:15.7), junior Francesca Alvarado (20:50.7) and senior Marbelle Marques (21:24.8) in the top 10, helping the Jaguars cruise to the district title.
Meanwhile, Edinburg North sophomore San Juanita Leal built off her victory at the Meet of Champions, earning the District 31-6A individual title with a time of 19:20.8, her second straight win of the season.
Edinburg High and Edinburg North punched their tickets to the regional meet by earning second and third in the team standings. The top three teams and top 10 individuals from each district qualify for the regional meet.
Elsewhere, the Rattlers continued their dominating run, earning their fourth straight district title during the District 31-5A meet at Spring Fest Park in McAllen.
The Rattlers claimed the top-three individual performances, with Danielle Salinas (18:55.6), Cecilia Cavazos (19:39.9) and Carolyn Tudor (19:54.4) finishing first, second and third, respectively.
They’ll be joined by runners from McAllen High and McAllen Rowe at the regional meet, with the Bulldogs coming in second in the team standings, followed by the Warriors.
In District 32-5A, the Weslaco East Wildcats captured their first district crown behind five top 15 finishes during the meet at Donna High School.
Natalie Bazan paced the Wildcats, finishing fourth with a season best time of 21:04.8. Brownsville Veterans’ Naia Garcia earned the individual district crown, posting a time of 19:09.7. Garcia’s performance helped the Chargers earn second in the team standings, qualifying them for regionals.
Edcouch-Elsa’s Miranda Guerrero (20:12.6) finished second individually to lead the Yellow Jackets to a third-place team finish and a spot at the regional meet.
In District 30-5A, La Joya Palmview’s Destiny Quintanilla defended her crown for a third straight year, becoming the eighth consecutive Lobo to win the individual district title.
Teammate Brianna Muñoz came in third, helping lead the Lobos to the district crown. Rio Grande City followed the Lobos, earning second place in the team standings, with Laredo Martin nabbing third, each qualifying for the regional meet.
The University Interscholastic League’s Region IV cross country meet is set for Oct. 25 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, with Class 6A girls opening the event at 8 a.m.