By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
LA FERIA — Success in cross country is nothing new for the La Feria Lions and Lionettes, but this year, both teams took the running tradition to new heights.
The girls and boys each won the District 32-4A championships with perfect scores, meaning all five scored runners placed first through fifth. Both teams were again victorious at the Region IV-3A meet, bringing home the girls and boys team titles for the first time as a set.
“I think it says a lot for both of our teams to win. It brings a lot of attention to La Feria, and I’m really proud of us,” Liana Navarro said. “It’s amazing to be a part of this team. Coming this far, we’re already really proud of ourselves, and we just want to cross the line and do our best (at state).”
The Lions and Lionettes will be competing at the UIL Class 4A state meet Saturday in Round Rock. The girls will run at 10 a.m., followed by the boys at 10:30 a.m. The meet begins with other classes today.
Navarro, a sophomore, is the only member of the girls team — comprised of Mia Trevino, Leandra Fernandez, Lindsey Cantu, Cierra Garcia, Mia Cerda and Jasmine Villagomez — who has run the Old Settler’s Park course at state. She has been headlining the talented bunch, winning the individual district championship and finishing second at the regional meet.
Navarro earned a 17th-place finish last year. She’s using her previous experience to help prepare her teammates and believes she can perform even better this season because of the improvement she’s made.
“Last year I was just starting out, so I was just running and seeing where I was,” Navarro said. “I’ve been working to improve my times from last year. My times have shown a great difference. I’m feeling really good. I think we can do really well at state.
“I’m trying to explain (the course) to them as best as I can, telling them where the hard parts are, the turns and everything. Just trying to give a detailed description so they’re prepared.”
Fernandez, a junior, said she’s looking forward to experiencing cross country at the highest level. She credited the team’s tight-knit bond and strong coaching from Graciela Campos for making it as successful as it is.
“We are a young team, but we feel very good. We practice every single day,” Fernandez said. “We chose to be a family. We’re very close. … The first meet we saw how much potential we had and we kept going from there, kept adding and adding more hard work, and it paid off. I hope everyone crosses the line happy and healthy.”
Evan Torres, Julian Dominguez, Joshua Marquez, Christopher Velazquez, Brandon Salinas, Tomas Navarro and Noah Rosales comprise the boys team.
Marquez, a senior, competed at state as a sophomore and is the only Lions runner with experience on the state course. He’s sharing some advice, but knows the family ties in La Feria cross country run deep, so many teammates have watched older siblings compete in Round Rock.
Winning the regional meet was a pleasant surprise for Marquez, and he knows the Lions have earned respect this season.
“The main goal was to get to state, we weren’t necessarily looking for a win. But we got the job done. It was a really good feeling,” Marquez said. “All I’m looking for this time is a great experience with my team. The training’s been good, the times are good. This team didn’t look like the strongest team that we’ve had early on, and we definitely proved everyone wrong.”
Dominguez won the boys individual district title and finished 10th at the regional meet, behind sixth-place finisher Torres. Dominquez is a junior and will use his experience at the track & field state meet to attack the race Saturday. He wants each of his teammates to leave their very best on the course, because the Lions feed off each other’s energy and he doesn’t want anyone to have regrets.
“We’re all pretty close, and we have that ability to push each other and push past our expectations. Even in practice, when one of us pushes, the other pushes harder,” Dominguez said. “It feels really good to help the team. This is not an individual sport, it’s a team sport. And being there to help the guys means a lot. …
“I want everyone to go out there and do their best,” he continued. “Not going out your best and thinking, ‘What if I’d gone faster?’ is the worst. Going to do your best is the best you can do.”