By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Moises Campos came in third place at the UIL Region IV-4A cross country championship Monday at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, securing the Hidalgo boys team’s ticket to the state championship.
Campos (17:09.2) fended off Boerne’s Marty Luevano (17:09.3) to help the Pirates (150 points) finish fourth. The senior is coming off his third consecutive district title and will compete at state for a third straight year.
“It’s been a special year for us,” Hidalgo coach Zeke Morales said. “We’re very excited about the boys, especially Moises. He’s been instrumental in this. His commitment, dedication and leadership shows, and the kids are buying in.”
Campos is looking to improve on last year’s 14th-place finish when Hidalgo travels Nov. 7 to Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.
Progreso (161 points), which came in fifth, missed the cutoff. Still, the team will have a representative in sophomore Everardo Esparza (17:49.7). Despite finishing 14th, Esparza earned a spot as one the top-10 runners unattached from a state-qualifying team.
TOBIAS CROWNS AT REGIONALS
More than a week after leading Edinburg IDEA Quest to its first varsity title as a school, Valery Tobias will now be advancing to state.
The sophomore clocked in at 12:11.0 at the Region IV-3A meet, beating out Blanco’s Johanna Villarreal (12:18.4).
“She was very strong,” Edinburg IDEA coach Robbie Cruz said. “I think she was a little hesitant at times because of the mud, but I think she ran around a couple areas well.”
Tobias, who finished second at regionals and 24th at state as a freshman, will make the trip to Round Rock alone. Teammate Annette Escobedo (13:40.6) placed 30th and was the team’s next-best finisher.
As a group, Edinburg IDEA finished 12th out of 24 teams in its division.
THE REST
Brownsville IDEA Frontier and Santa Rosa were the only Valley boys teams in Region IV-3A. Brownsville IDEA Frontier (141 points) finished third to qualify for state. Santa Rosa came in 21st.
Lyford’s Robert Herrera (17:47.0, 9th place) qualified as an individual.
Edinburg IDEA Quest (12th), Santa Rosa (21st) and Lyford (23rd) rounded out the Valley’s girls team in Region IV-3A. Though their teams did not qualify, Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s Sabrina Garcia (13:03.2, 11th place) and Santa Rosa’s Kamryn Lara (13:08.6, 14th) will advance.