DONNA — McAllen High senior Dana Rojas Vazquez has enjoyed a decorated cross country career since first stepping onto the course as a freshman.
During her first three years, the Bulldogs distance runner has qualified for the regional meet three times, won a district title and finished in the top 25 at the UIL state meet. Rojas Vazquez is also one of six RGV female runners to break the sub-18 minute mark in the 5,000-meter run, hitting the mark for the first time last year.
Rojas Vazquez continued to add to her lengthy resume Saturday, clocking in at 17 minutes, 52.5 seconds during the RGVCCCA Meet of Champions Elite Girls 5K for her first individual title during the event of her career.
Rojas Vazquez’s sub-18 time marked the fifth time in her career she’s broken the barrier, three of which have come this season.
“I feel really great,” Rojas Vazquez said. “It didn’t go as I expected because, well, I had some issues last week. I feel great that the Valley makes these kinds of events so we can have competition against each other before the district, regional and state meet. … Obviously I’m thankful to God for this opportunity and for being healthy because last year I couldn’t really participate as much as I wanted to. I just feel really great.”
Rojas Vazquez led a sea of purple and gold to the finish line during the Elite Girls 5K, with four of the top 10 spots belonging to the Bulldogs on Saturday.
Senior Kenzi Ramirez followed Rojas Vazquez to the finish line, coming in second with a time of 18:03.8. Freshman Sophia Simpson and junior Samara Gully rounded out the Bulldogs top 10 finishers, coming in sixth (18:57.6) and eighth (19:19.2), respectively.
A 19th place finish by junior Aileen Rivera capped a dominant day for McHi on Saturday, bringing the Bulldogs point total to 36 for the overall team championship. La Joya Palmview was the next closest team in the overall team standings, coming in second with 103 points behind a third place run by sophomore Dolores Ramirez. Edinburg High finished third with 116 points.
“We expect to make it to state as we did last year,” Rojas Vazquez said. “When we made it last year, expectations were kind of low from other schools. I think we really expect to make it again this year. We’ve put in a lot of effort in what we’re doing. We’ve shown we want to be a part of this and get to state … To be a part of this, it is incredible. I think it is something we expect to do. It’s not if we’re going to do, but how we’re going to get there.”
Rojas Vazquez and the Bulldogs weren’t the only ones delivering dominant showings during the Meet of Champions.
In the Elite Boys division, Harlingen High senior Zachary Lamar recorded a personal best time of 15:28.9 en route to his first career Meet of Champions victory.
Lamar made a push down the final mile to jump into the front of the pack and never looked back, cruising comfortably to first place. La Feria’s Nathan Salinas finished in second behind Lamar in a time of 15:34.1, with McAllen Memorial’s Roehl Rodriguez coming in third with a time of 15:36.6.
“It means so much to me,” Lamar said. “I’ve been making the team since I was a sophomore. I was third team that year. Junior year I was second team. Now I’m first team and first place. My mindset going in was to keep an open mind. I don’t know who was going to be here exactly or how others were going to feel. I just kept an open mind. I caught up to the lead pack a little past the second mile and I felt really good so I just kept putting on the gas until eventually nobody was behind me.”
Lamar was joined by teammate Ubaldo Flores in the top 10 during the race, with the senior finishing eight in 15:48.7 to help the Cardinals edge the Weslaco East Wildcats by three points for the overall team championship.
Jesse Cantu (22nd), Jaylen Bravo (25th) and Azariah Garzoria (36th) rounded out the Cardinals’ top five finishers, compiling a score of 90 points for the win. Weslaco East came in second with 93 points, highlighted by freshman Alexander Nava’s eighth place finish.
“This win is massive,” Lamar said. “It’s the last race for everyone before the end of the normal season and getting into district and regionals. This is a big confidence booster for me. To come here and win it and know I can place high, it gives me confidence for the regional meet and maybe state meet as well.”
For a full look at the meet’s results, click here.