El Paso well represented at Texas Distance Festival

El Paso distance runners represented well at the Texas Distance Festival in Southlake over the weekend.

Franklin senior Eva Jess set an El Paso record and personal best 17.00.06 in the Elite 5K division, placing second behind Denton Guyer’s Brynn Brown (15:56.89). Brown committed to North Carolina and Jess will run for Texas next fall.

Eastwoood senior Sergio Leon Cuartes ran the second fastest El Paso 5K of all time – behind former Trooper and current Furman runner Daniel Bernal – racing to a 14:47.99. Bernal’s 5K city record of 14.29 was set in 2017.

Cuartes finished 8^th overall followed by teammates Isaac Medina (14^th, 15:09.56), Aaron Perez (40^th, 15:49.73) and Victor Parra (57^th, 16:16.30). San Elizario’s Edwin Gomez finished in a time of 16:21.45.

Parkland senior Kenneth Golston Jr. re-set his own city-best time in the 800 racing to a 1:56.77, good for fourth place behind The Colony’s Wesley Gibbs’ 1:55.51.

Also setting a season, city-best time was Eastwood junior Lauren Walls-Portillo who posted a 5:06.32 in the 1,600-meter run. Her teammate, Victoria Ovalles, also had a season best 5:25.90, good for third in the city.

Parkland senior Angelina Lujan-Marrufo had a fourth-place finish in the 800, racing to a   2:16.26. Flower Mound’s Emma Hoang won the event in 2:12.35.

In the boy’s 3,200-meter run, Eastwood’s Andres Gurrola posted the city’s fifth fastest time this season, placing 24^th in 9:46.86 and Devon Paez’s 9:57.94 was good for 8^th in the city and 42nd at the meet.

Eastwood’s Amber Martin ran a 12:15.59 two mile, good for 7^th in the city.