BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
After finishing in a tie for third place at last week’s YellowJacket Invitational in Edcouch, the Progreso boys slid past Weslaco East to win the 2018 Edinburg High Cross Country Invitational at Ebony Golf Course in Edinburg.
“The boys have been working all summer long,” Progreso coach Margarito Jimenez said. “These are a group of kids that have dedicated themselves to winning this year.
“We give the kids goals every week. Last week, our goal was to finish in the top three, and we accomplished that. I knew the field would be a little bigger this week, so we were aiming for the top five. But hey, we’ll take first place. It’s a testament to the coaching staff putting the kids in positions to succeed.”
The Red Ants were without a top-10 finisher, but team captains Gerardo Gallardo and Jonathan Vega were two of Progreso’s four top-30 finishers.
“Those top-30 finishes made all the difference,” Jimenez said. “Gerardo and Jonathan are just juniors, and they’ve been to state with us the last two years. These kids are leaders, because they are dedicated and disciplined.”
Gallardo’s time of 17 minutes, 13.6 seconds was good enough for a 12th-place finish, while Vega checked in at 13th with a 17:20.7.
“We needed to remind ourselves that we are the best,” Gallardo said. “We just had to put the work in every day and let that work do the talking for us. Winning today gives us the confidence to show everyone out there what we can do, even though there are some that doubt we can get back to state. Every practice, every meet gets us one step closer.”
“This team has a lot of heart,” Vega said. “People have doubted us, and they still are. We’re just trying to go out there and represent our school.”
Despite placing three runners in the top 10, Edinburg Vela came in fourth as a team. The Valley’s top male finisher was SaberCats sophomore Mario Salas, who took second with a 16:13.5. Laredo United’s Alex Muñoz won the race with a 16:12.9.
“It was difficult on us as a team, because we were without two of our runners,” Salas said. “Even though we had three in the top 10, we came in fourth. We know who our fourth and fifth guys are. We’re just waiting for them to recuperate from their injuries.”
The Weslaco High girls made it two-for-two this season after winning last week’s invitational at Edcouch and now Saturday morning’s meet in Edinburg. The Panthers posted a team score of 73, ahead of Sharyland High’s 91.
“They’re a good bunch to see work together,” Weslaco High coach Pablo Almaguer said. “It’s awesome seeing their work pay off. We’re trying to prepare ourselves for the bigger meets ahead. It was good to see Laredo United come down here, because we never get to see them that much.”
Panthers sophomore Destinee Longoria followed up her second-place finish in Edcouch with a fourth-place performance on Saturday.
“She was a leader for us as a freshman, and she’s just picking up where she left off,” Almaguer said. “We want to get better, week in and week out, and she’s showing a lot of progress. It was also good to perform well in front of teams in our new district.”