By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
MERCEDES, TX—The Mid Valley has hosted two meets in which San Benito and Rio Hondo cross country runners have participated over the past two weekends.
In some cases, these competitors’ run times are improving as they near a month of competition.
On Aug. 22, La Feria High School hosted its 38th annual Invitational at Llano Grande Golf Course in Mercedes.
Alexis Villarreal, of Rio Hondo, finished fourth with a time of 13:05.30. She outpaced Brownsville Pace, Donna, and Mercedes runners during the two-mile course.
The Lady Greyhounds were represented by Alexia Delgado, who for the first time this season finished in the top 10.
She placed ninth with a 13:23.80 time. She was able to outrun a trio of La Feria runners, two of whom were just one and three seconds slower.
San Benito teammate Julianna Carrizales was 39th. She had a time of 15:51.20.
Carrizales is still taking in many of these events for the first time as a cross country runner.
She was competing for SBHS’s track team, specifically in the 400-meter run. Carrizales said this sport is very different, and she will continue to acclimate to its surroundings.
“It’s a lot harder than track, but I want to keep doing cross country,” Carrizales said.
“I trust my coach (Sonia White), and it’s a long season, so I think my endurance and competing in this sport will help me for track once that begins.”
She competed against 48 runners on an uneven surface that is not as smooth as a stadium track.
In the boys’ category, SB had three runners finish the 5K route with 63 competitors.
Jon Montemayor was five seconds off from finishing in the top 10. He finished 12th with a time of 17:11.80.
Host La Feria and Donna had seven runners finish in the top 10, with the top runner from La Feria, Jake Vela, clocking in at 15:38.80.
Rounding out the SBHS runners were Gabriel De Leon (38th) with a time of 19:26.00, and Nehemiah Rivera (44th) with a time of 20:03.10.
In the junior varsity category that had 82 runners, the ‘Hounds entered the following competitors: Eli Rostro (22nd, time 20:19.70), Mark Koite (32nd, time 21:15.0), and Amadeo Hernandez (69th, time 25.54.60).
The Lady Hounds had JV runners compete, including Alyssandra De La Rosa (11th, time 15:53.90).
RHHS had both the girls and boys enter into races in freshman and JV categories.
The JV boys race included Lorenzo Pardon (18th, time 20:15.80), Rylee Rodriguez (44th, time 22:25.70), Angel Rodriguez (70th, time 26:00.10), and Jerry Cavazos (74th, time 37:17.50).
The JV girls race had the following Ladycats compete: Selena Martinez (9th, time 15:42.00), Litzy Salas (33rd, time 18:30.00), and Mitza Solis (36th, time 19:16.80).
There were 44 runners competing.
The freshman two-mile race featured RHHS runners, headlined by Emily Castaneda, who finished in first place.
She had a time of 14:38.00, which was 10 seconds faster than her nearest competitor from St. Joseph, of Brownsville. She beat 22 other runners from Progreso, Raymondville, as well as Donna IDEA, Pace, and Mercedes.
RHHS rounds out the freshman race that had Leonardo Cavazos (18th, time 13:44.50, and Aaron Sanchez (20th, time 14:15.70) entered in an event that had 37 runners.
SBHS BOYS EARN TEAM RANKING
Five ‘Hounds had their times recorded for the 6th annual Coach Martinez Invitational held at the Mercedes High School campus on Aug. 29.
Montemayor was once again the top SBHS runner, finishing 13th with a time of 17:05.28.
Montemayor was four seconds from finishing in the top 10, which was an improvement from the prior week.
He competed against Edcouch-Elsa, Mission Veterans Memorial, Sharyland, and Brownsville Hanna runners.
His teammate De Leon also had a solid run, finishing just outside the top 20 by four seconds as well, placing 22nd with a time of 17:59.02.
Other SBHS runners to finish were Lorenzo Machuca (54th, time 19:20.08), Rivera (64th, time 19:51.83), Jordan Arredondo (77th, 20:54.39), Jesus Millan (84th, 22:06.26).
The 5,000-meter run attracted 96 male runners.
The girls ran a similar distance, with 49 runners.
SBHS’s Delgado was 24th with a time of 21:43.68. Carrizales followed, finishing 39th with her time clocked at 23:50.50.
Teammate Madisann Murillo was 43rd, with her time at 24:21.57.