By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
A little mud never hurt.
After a heavy rain during the previous night created muddy conditions, area cross-country runners trekked through less than ideal conditions in the BISD Invitational meet Saturday at the BISD Encampment.
Despite the difficulty on the trail, the Edinburg Economedes girls and Rivera boys took home the top team awards.
The Lady Jaguars had top four finishers and finished with 27 points, better than the second-place finishing team from Brownsville Veterans Memorial, which had 94, Hanna finished third (101), followed by Harlingen South (117) and Los Fresnos (145).
“I feel we’re better than what we do. I feel like we’re improving as the season goes on,” Brownsville Veterans coach Jorge Medina said. “We’re going to improve. The kids have been working hard, have a good attitude, and I think they have to see that the competition is going to be tough. It’s going to be tight at district, and we just have to get it done.”
Daniela de la Cruz of Edinburg Economedes was the top individual girl with a time of 20.48, finishing ahead of three teammates. She also ran the majority of the race with one shoe as the other got stuck in some mud along the trail.
Jennifer Lopez of Rivera (21.46) was fifth. Reeanna Zamfir of Brownsville Veterans (22.03) was seventh and was followed by Nadia Sinfuentes of Hanna (22.05), Hope Njo of Pace (22.09), and Cecilia Tellez of Hanna (22.11) to round out the top 10.
“They ran pretty good, but we still need a lot of work,” Hanna coach Olaya Teran said. “I wish it was better, but we have some girls that are still training.”
The Raiders had the top two finishers, Anthony Garza (16.56) and Jonathan Herrera (17.25), and two teammates finished in the top 10 for a total of 42 points to take the boys trophy. Donna North was second with 63, followed by Harlingen High (89), Hanna (119) and Brownsville Veterans (130).
“I’m happy, but they can do better,” Rivera coach Arturo Hurtado said. “I feel pretty good, but I just want us to improve every week. If we improve every week, I’m happy, satisfied. But we’ll see what happens at the end of the season in district.”
After Garza and Herrera, Jerry Perez of Porter (17.31) was fourth, David Martinez of Hanna (17.37) was sixth, and Raiders teammates Raul Casino (17.38) and Ruben Chapa (18.00) were seventh and 10th, respectively.
The Golden Eagles’ coach is still trying to find a complete team.
“With the boys I need one more (runner),” Teran said. “Hopefully we have a JV boy to run at the varsity level. We need to work but we’re in a good spot, but I’m not very comfortable with it.”
Medina was disappointed but optimistic about the boys squad going forward.
“Our boys struggled a little today,” he said. “We got separated, and I think we’re going to have to work on it. They are a hard-working group, and we’ll fix it and get the wheel rolling just right for district.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.
BISD Invitational
Saturday
At BISD Encampment
Boys
Team results
1. Brownsville Rivera, 42 points; 2. Donna North, 63; 3. Harlingen High, 89; 4. Brownsville Hanna, 119; 5. Brownsville
Veterans Memorial, 130
Individual Results
1. Anthony Garza, Brownsville Rivera, 16.56; 2. Jonathan Herrera, Brownsville Rivera, 17.25; 3. Fernando Escobar, Harlingen High, 17.27; 4. Jerry Perez, Brownsville Porter, 17.31; 5. Edward Llanos, Harlingen High, 17.34; 6. David Martinez, Brownsville Hanna, 1737; 7. Raul Casino, Brownsville Rivera, 17.38; 8. L. Vasquez, Donna North, 17.58; 9. F. Teran, Donna North, 17.59; 10. Ruben Chapa, Brownsville Rivera, 18.00; 11. D. de la Cruz, Donna North, 18.06; 12. Art Benavides, Harlingen High, 18.07; 13. Camilo Callejas, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 18.08; 14. U. Espinoza, Donna North, 18.15; 15. Leonel Pena, Brownsville Hanna, 18.16; 16. Juan Castellanos, Harlingen South, 18.18; 17. John Rivera, Brownsville Hanna, 18.18.59; 18. Beto Aguillon, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 18.19; 19. Enrique Soto, Brownsville Porter, 18.20; 20. Julio Dragustinovis, Brownsville Hanna, 18.21
Girls
Team Results
1. Edinburg Economedes, 27 points; 2. Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 94; 3. Brownsville Hanna, 101 points; 4. Harlingen South, 117 points; 5. Los Fresnos, 145
Individual Results
1. Daniela de la Cruz, Edinburg Economedes, 20.48; 2. Mayra Serrano, Edinburg Economedes, 21.06; 3. Teresa Castillo, Edinburg Economedes, 21.09; 4. Mayra Bernando, Edinburg Economedes, 21.15; 5. Jennifer Lopez, Brownsville Rivera, 21.46; 6. Mya Price, Harlingen South, 21.58; 7. Reeanna Zamfir, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 22.03; 8. Nadia Sinfuentes, Brownsville Hanna, 22.05; 9. Hope Njo, Brownsville Pace, 22.09; 10. Cecilia Tellez, Brownsville Hanna, 22.11; 11. Jennifer Chacon, Donna North, 22.14; 12. Paola Villarreal, Brownsville Veterans Memorial, 22.14.78; 13. Mekayla Guerra, San Benito, 22.15; 14. Monica Hernandez, San Benito, 22.15.96; 15. Clarissa Tellez, Los Fresnos, 22.19; 16. Gloria Hernandez, San Benito, 22.35; 17. Yvette Paredes, Edinburg Economedes, 22.46; 18. Imelda Garcia, Brownsville Lopez, 22.49; 19. Valeria Tellez, Los Fresnos, 22.51; 20. Sydney Salazar, Brownsville Hanna, 22.56