TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Evan and Trevor Williams love to run.
And that’s a good thing for McAllen Memorial. The sophomore twins and a new coach have helped resurrect what was perhaps the Rio Grande Valley’s most dormant cross country program.
The 2016 District 30-6A champion Mustangs had never won a boys district cross country title before, much less compete on a weekly basis. But that was then. This is now. And with the 2016 UIL Region IV Championships looming this morning, the Williams’ and the Mustangs hope to continue to change the running culture at Memorial. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will host all 1A through 6A cross country classifications on a course next to its track and field stadium.
The Valley will have dozens of teams and competitors at the meet. Some of the girls and boys runners are state-ranked and expected to perform well enough to make it to state. Region IV includes the Valley, Corpus Christi, Laredo and San Antonio areas.
Evan and Trevor Williams and the rest of the Mustangs will also be there. As curly, blond-headed twins in Valley cross-country meets, the Williams’ tended to stand out. But it wasn’t long before the 15-year-old pair got extra looks for their times and not their locks.
Two years ago, the twins did some running in middle school, but nothing serious. However, once the Williams’ got into cross country at Memorial, they dove in full bore and haven’t looked back.
“We are all super excited,” Trevor said about the team reaching its first regional meet. “We are going to go there and run the hardest race we can.”
This year, the Williams brothers were finishing in the top 10 at nearly ever meet they entered. But they still found room for improvement, and at the Mission Invitational on Sept. 10, Evan won his first meet ever. Trevor finished second — and that’s typical for most races. Evan usually edges Trevor by a few seconds.
“Over the course of the season, it’s a process,” Trevor said. “The idea is to drop times slowly during the season as you get to district.”
That they did. The Williams’ also set personal records at the high-profile Round Rock McNeil meet on Oct. 1. Those times (Evan 15:47, Trevor 15:48) are still the best for the Williams’, and they rank 13th and 15th in the Region IV, according to athletic.net.
And as far Evan nearly always edging Trevor, that’s not a problem for these two. They work together. They work with their team and have the respect of their coaches. The two also said they have a kinship with their teammates because all of them are underclassman and most of them started running last year — when coach Jesse Trejo arrived.
In addition to the Williams’, the Mustangs seven include Jorge Perez, Leonardo Saavedra, Juan Zamora, Jarod Garza and Nathaniel Garza.
Jesse, son of longtime Valley track coach Tony Trejo, said the Memorial team is very close knit and has grown during the season. He said he’s preached running hard each and every race.
“We exposed them to some big meets this year to prepare them for such a time as this,” said Trejo. “They are every excited about this opportunity.”