BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA – Eli Rodriguez thought of one thing, and one thing only, as he crossed the finish line at the District 30-6A cross country meet at La Joya Palmview.
He wasn’t thinking about his first win, however. Nor was he focused on the burning pain in his legs caused by running three miles in 16 minutes, 22.18 seconds. He wasn’t even thinking about Palmview’s chances of advancing to regional competition in San Antonio.
He was thinking about his family.
“I ran this race for my grandma, who is fighting cancer,” Rodriguez said.
While others may celebrate such an occasion with a raised fist or an exhausted expression of relief, Rodriguez, a sophomore for Palmview, quietly made a Sign of The Cross and hugged his father.
Rodriguez won in convincing fashion, outrunning Juarez-Lincoln’s Florentino Castillo by 18 seconds. Rodriguez began to pull away at the race’s halfway mark, not once looking back.
“Two days prior to this race, I was making the game plan in my head,” Rodriguez said. “My dad and I made a game plan for me to win this race.”
The win marks the culmination of a year’s worth of progress.
“He’s had some good meets in the past, but we didn’t know which Eli we were going to get today,” Palmview coach Claudia Bazan said. “We just needed him to run smart, and that’s what he did.”
Eli’s personal success served as a microcosm for Palmview’s day. The Lobos claimed first place in the girls competition (scoring 33 points) and second in the boys (44 points). Both units will move on to the regional meet in two weeks.
The Palmview girls swept the podium, with Natali Gonzalez coming in first with a time of 19:27.59. Naila Flores (19:46.28) finished second, and Briana Robles (19:51.75) took third.
“For the girls, we went in focusing on the district championship,” Bazan said. “We hadn’t won it in a couple years, and we performed well.”
The boys, however, had been counted out before the season began after having lost four seniors from a year ago. Though the Lobos boys move on, Bazan sees room for improvement.
“We knew we were the underdog,” she said. “There were a bunch of really good runners there and we didn’t know who (was) going to step up.”
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District 30-6A Cross Country Meet Meet
At La Joya Palmview High School
Saturday’s Results
Boys
Team Results — 1. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 31 points; 2. La Joya Palmview, 44; 3. Mission High, 105; 4. McAllen Rowe, 105; 5. La Joya High, 105; 6. McAllen High, 134.
Individual Results — 1. Eliseo Rodriguez, La Joya Palmview, 16:22.18; 2. Florentino Castillo, 16:40.46; 3. Mischel Lara, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 16:51.03; 4. Victor Bocanegra, La Joya Palmview, 16:55.67; 5. Martin Baez, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 16:57.76; 6. Jesus Jaime, La Joya Palmview, 17:00.23; 7. Tristen Robles, La Joya Palmview, 17:07.70; 8. Jorge Santoyo, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 17:13.55; 9. Jorge Perez, Mission High, 17:16.27; 10. Joey Martinez, La Joya High, 17:17.76; 11. Humberto Silva, McAllen High, 17:19.41; 12. Vincente Franco, McAllen Rowe, 17:28.74; 13. Ricardo Mendoza, La Joya High, 17:37.49; 14. Cesar Reyna, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 17:39.69; 15. Esequiel Ramirez, McAllen Memorial, 17:41.15; 16. Oscar Torres, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 17:42.71; 17. Luis Sanchez, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 17:42.71; 18. Cesar Lozano, McAllen Rowe, 17:49.36; 19. Arsenio Alfaro, McAllen Rowe, 17:55.73; 20. Brandon Ramirez, McAllen Rowe, 17:59.25.
Girls
Team Results — 1. La Joya Palmview, 33 points; 2. McAllen Rowe, 68; 3. Mission High, 73; 4. McAllen Memorial, 93; 5. La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 109; 6. McAllen High, 142.
Individual Results — 1. Natali Gonzalez, La Joya Palmview, 19:27.59; 2. Naila Flores, La Joya Palmview, 19:46.28; 3. Briana Robles, La Joya Palmview, 19:51.75; 4, Aminta Michelle Flores, Mission High, 20:09.76; 5. Veronica Dougherty, McAllen Rowe, 20:17.03; 6. Courtney Macias, McAllen Rowe, 20:22.98; 7. Yareli Tamez, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 20:25.43; 8. Mia Hinojosa, Palmview, 20:30.98; 9. Valerie Flores, Mission High, 20:36.60; 10. Julissa Montoya, La Joya High, 20:43.44; 11. Alessandra Gutierrez, McAllen Rowe, 20:52.17; 12. Alexandria Canchola, McAllen High, 20:55.27; 13. Samantha Perez, McAllen Memorial, 21:08.10; 14. Yasmin Gonzalez, McAllen Memorial, 21:15.85; 15. Jessica Coronado, McAllen Memorial, 21:19.32; 16. Karolyna Acosta, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 21:20.98; 17. Angelica Cano, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 21:23.21; 18. Natalia Nevarez, Mission High, 21:35.26; 19. Ana Maldonado, La Joya Palmview, 21:36.26; 20. Sandy Martinez, Mission High, 21:43.12.