WESLACO — The Weslaco East Wildcats opened the 2021 cross-country season with uncertainty across their roster, with only four runners returning from 2020.
Among those missing was last season’s team MVP, senior Jennica Paz, who early on elected not to run during the 2021 campaign.
Still, the Wildcats marched forward with their core four of Natalie Bazan, Mareli Cuellar, Stephanie Mendoza and Raven Ozuna.
After much convincing from her teammates and coaches, Paz decided to rejoin her team for one final ride, giving the Wildcats another weapon on the course.
“I kept texting her (Jennica’s) family and she finally came by,” Weslaco East head coach Joshua Davis said. “She was last year’s MVP. So, I showed her that and asked her if this is how she wanted it to end.”
Paz had catching up to do to regain her 2020 form, however, with her teammates ahead of her on their training schedule.
The Wildcats rounded out their 2021 roster by promoting freshman Téa Martinez to the varsity squad, giving them six runners going into the RGVCCA’s Meet of Champions on Oct. 2.
Despite uncertainty early on, the Wildcats came together and peaked at the right time, with all six of their runners finishing in the top 20, earning Weslaco East its first district title in program history.
“I cried when we hoisted the trophy,” Paz said. “To know that all the hard work we put in and all the training we had ever done was finally worth it. It feels amazing. And to be the first team to do it at Weslaco East feels really nice.
“We went from almost having no girls this season to this. I had quit then I came back. To know we did all of this is just really amazing.”
Five of the Wildcats’ six runners each set personal or season bests at the district meet, with four finishing in the top 10. Bazan was the team’s highest finisher, coming in fourth with a time of 21 minutes, 4.8 seconds.
Ozuna (21:21.3), Mendoza (21:35.5), Paz (21:38.3) and Martinez (23:26.3) each set season bests, finishing seventh, ninth, 10th and 18th, respectively, while Cuellar (23:14.0) finished 16th.
“We just had a lot of key performances that day,” Davis said. “You have a good meet sometimes, but it’s really difficult to have them all peak at the right time. So, to have five of them do season best times at that moment was the key to our success.”
The team’s bond also played a key role in the team’s district title run, Davis said, with the girls meeting outside of workouts for team dinners and gatherings.
The cohesiveness was evident on the course, each running for the team and not individual accolades.
“You can’t point to any one individual on this team,” Davis said. “That’s what makes this team unique. We’ve had runners in the past that are high-level as individuals and then you have roles after that. But this whole team kept switching leaders every meet. Our top five have each been one of our top runners at some point this season. Just having them together and having them run, that’s our strength, running as a pack.”
The Wildcats now turn their attention to the Region IV meet, set for 8 a.m. Monday at the Dugan Track and Soccer Stadium in Corpus Christi.
Despite what happens at the regional meet, Davis and the Wildcats believe they have cemented their place in school history, hoping this year’s success helps take the program to new heights.
“I’m hoping that when athletes hear about this and sees this, it just creates interest in the program,” Davis said. “I hope it attracts more people. You hear the term, ‘success breeds success.’ That’s my goal. To get more people interested in the sport.”