BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — PSJA North is embarking on a new era with its girls cross country team. PSJA ISD hired Romeo de la Garza, a Mission High alum and longtime Mission Veterans boys basketball coach, to lead the program.
“It was a great opportunity when I was first approached,” De la Garza said. “It’s something I was excited about. Knowing that you’ve been somewhere you helped establish for 16 years and then moving to another school, I kind of didn’t know what to expect. Once I got here, I was welcomed with open arms, not only by the coaching staff, but by the faculty and the administration. It was something I needed.”
De la Garza has experience as a cross country coach. He served as an assistant on the girls cross country team at Mission Veterans before becoming the head boys cross country coach last year. De la Garza has a daughter, Charlize, who decided to join her father and the girls team at PSJA North.
“The young ladies I’m working with every day are improving every day,” De la Garza said. “They haven’t peaked yet, which is very exciting. They’re running well, they’re putting in the work and the seniors want to go out with a bang. We’re ecstatic about what we can do if we continue to work hard.”
Faith Cruz is a freshman on the Raiders’ varsity squad, but she is far from a novice runner.
“It started when I was five and I started racewalking,” Cruz said. “Anytime we had meets, I’d always get disqualified because I’d start running.”
Whenever Faith was disqualified, she knew she’d be better served competing in something that was a little more her speed.
“She said, ‘You know, Mom, I want to do summer track,” Faith’s mother, Carmen, said. “That’s where it all started.”
Fortunately for Cruz, once she was able to run competitively, the results have come instantaneously. In three 5K races this season, Cruz has two top-three finishes. She won her first meet at the high school level when she took home the fastest time at the PSJA Inner City Cross Country Meet on Sept. 8 with a time of 20 minutes, 51.3 seconds.
Nine days earlier, the freshman placed third at the annual Meet of Champions at 21 minutes, 13.9 seconds. Last Saturday, Cruz and the Raiders made the drive up to The Woodlands to compete in a three-mile race at the Nike South Invitational with some of the best runners in the state. Cruz finished with the second-fastest time from a Valley runner at 21 minutes, 2.4 seconds, good for 35th overall.
“It’s been a big surprise,” Cruz said. “I remember going to one meet and I thought, ‘Why come here if I’m going to finish last or finish low?’ When we started running, I really was surprised to be in front of everyone. It just shows how much hard work pays off.”
Both of Cruz’s parents ran while they attended high school. Carmen, ran track and cross country for PSJA North when she was in high school. Faith’s dad, Pedro, was a district champion and regional qualifier at PSJA Memorial.
“It brings me a lot of joy to see her doing the things that she enjoys,” Carmen Cruz said. “She’s pretty much grown up in this environment and took it upon herself to make it hers. We try to give her as many tips as we remember from high school. I coached her in middle school, and I’m proud to see her transition to high school so well.”
PSJA North’s first-year coach is encouraged by what he has seen from his first-year runner.
“She’s bought in to what we want to do,” De la Garza said. “Faith has done so well because she’s done this for a long time, and she has tremendous support from her family. She continues to improve, and that’s the scary part. She’s very determined and disciplined. When you have a student-athlete that has those things, you can expect some more great things out of her.”