Month: November 2021

Winning gold never gets old in San Elizario.

Matter of fact, it has become a tradition – a rite of passage for its runners.

The Class 4A cross country juggernaut defended its state title on Saturday morning at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, edging Region 1 foe Argyle by four points.

This was the Eagles sixth state title in eight years – winning in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 and 2021. In the years they didn’t win gold, they finished second (2019) and third (2018).

Canyon, the Region 1 champion, was third.

“We’re very happy for the kids,” San Elizario coach Cesar Morales. “Finishing second at regionals gave us a little bit of humility and it forced us to come up with a plan that needed to be executed. It all worked out perfectly for us.”

Morales credits the 25-second gap between his two through five runners for the team’s success.

“We knew it was going to come down to the last kilometer so made several adjustments that eventually paid off for us,” he said.

Junior Angel Maese was 29^th in 16:41.3 followed by sophomore Matthew Maese (39^th, 16:53.5), senior Irvin Vazquez (48^th, 16:59.6), sophomore Julian Guerra (55^th, 17:06.1), senior Alan Ceballos (69^th, 17:13.1) and senior Jorge Maese (105th, 17:55.0).

He is also impressed with how the team has emerged as state champions after losing Edwin Gomez and Dilan Sanchez – its two leaders the past four years.

“This group of kids is carrying on that tradition of doing well in state,” Morales said. “Edwin was a great leader and a great athlete for the past four years so there was a question coming into the season if we could continue the San Eli legacy. This is proof that we can and that we will continue to do well.”

San Elizario junior Chris Moreno was second in 15:45.8, three seconds behind state champMicah Swann from Athens who completed the course in 15:42.4.

“The first mile was pretty relaxing but heading out into the second mile, Swann made a move, and I knew I had to keep up with him,” Moreno said. “Little by little, he was moving farther ahead of me, so I just kept my pace because I know I have a good 800-meter kick. Almost towards the end of the race, I noticed that he slipped and almost fell. I saw that as my opportunity, so I started pushing myself harder. But as we headed to the finish, he regained his momentum, and it was too late for me.”

Moreno said he was happy with his silver medal but is even happier the team was able to repeat as Class 4A state champions.

“It feels great,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, people all over Texas doubted we could do it again. It gave us motivation to show them we could do it even without Edwin and Dilan. In our hearts and in minds, we knew that we could win another state title for San Elizario and carry on the tradition.”

Riverside seniors Jayden Bustillos (16^th, 16:18.5) and Andrew Valdiviezo (19^th, 16:28.7) had top 20 finishes.

On the girl’s side in class 4A, San Elizario senior Samantha Ramirez was 74^th in the two-mile race in 12:45.0.

Class 6A

The Eastwood Troopers won its fifth consecutive state medal – eking out a bronze medal in Class 6A.

Initially, Humble Atascocista and Eastwood had been listed as having tied at 133 with Atascocista earning third place due to its sixth runner finishing better than Eastwood’s sixth.

However, about 20 minutes later, after resolving “a technical issue,” Eastwood was declared the winner, finishing with 132 points, one point better than Atascocista.

Southlake Carroll won state with 65 and The Woodlands was second with 96 points.

“The race goes on, the results come in and I see that we tied for third but lost the tiebreaker,” said Eastwood coach Mike McLain. “We’re in the tent taking pictures with the girls and someone from MileSplit said ‘congratulations, they redid the results and you finished third.’  We had no idea what was happening, so we get on our phones and it still shows us at fourth.”

McLain went to the medal stand and asked someone there and they didn’t know what was going on either. McLain walked over to the UIL tent to speak with an official who told him to go another tent where there was a monitor showing rolling results.

“It showed us in third by one point,” McLain said. “I asked someone there and he told me to go back to the medal stand, which is where we started, to find out.”

They finally got a hold of the official timer who said they went through the camera finish and reversed a couple of things and Eastwood finished third.

“Two of our top runners were sick so coming into the race we knew a third-place finish was probably the best we could do, so that was pretty nice,” McLain said. “We knew medaling for five straight years at state would be historic for El Paso. We’ll celebrate this, and hopefully we can get those two boys feeling better and go after it again at Nike South.”

Seniors Andres Gurrola and Isaac Mendoza had top 20 finishes to lead Eastwood – Gurrola 12^th in 15:28.6 and Isaac Mendoza, 17^th in 15:37.8. Sophomore Jacob Beckett was 37^th in 15:54.6 followed by senior Victor Anchondo (46^th, 15:58.5), senior Devon Paez (108^th, 16:44.6) and juniors Anthony Casillas (120^th, 16:56.1) and Joaquin Chavez (148^th, 17:51.1).

“It was a roller coaster of emotions,” Gurrola said. “Regardless of the place we were going to get, we were all proud of the effort that we put in because we all know how hard we worked this season.”

Eastwood ran in its eighth consecutive state meet and its ninth in the past 10 years.

“This culture was built way before I came in,” Gurrola said. “As soon as I came in my freshman year, a light went on in my head. Watching the seniors and seeing the team succeed my freshman year and being able to go to NXN changed my mindset and inspired me.”

Austin Vandegrift junior Kevin Sanchez won the individual title in 14:53.4. Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim was eighth in 15:17.3 and Coronado junior Luis Pastor was tenth in 15:19.9 – both earning All-State honors.

“It was exciting and nerve racking but overall it was a great experience with great competition, and I really loved the flat course,” Ibrahim said. “I felt strong and good once the race got started but before the race I was wondering how it would go down so that got me a little nervous.”

Ibrahim said he didn’t feel too overwhelmed at his first state championship.

“I’m really excited about what I did; I really feel good about myself,” he said. “I did what I had to do, and I was able to get it done.”

Pastor said his first state championship was “roller coaster of emotions.”

“I would feel nervous for one second and then the next minute I was feeling good ready to compete,” he said. “Once the gun went off, I was trying to stick with my strategy. Usually, I like to run from the front because even if I died out, it wouldn’t matter because I would be so far ahead of everyone. But at regionals and state, I ran from the back and picked off one guy, one pack, at a time.”

Americas senior Jared Laverty was 45^th in 15:58.4 and teammate Carmelo Corral was 71^st in 16:17.8.

On the girl’s side, Eastwood freshman Adelynn Rodriguez and senior Lauren Walls-Portillo earned All-State honors.

It is the first time a pair of Eastwood teammates finished in the top 10.

Rodriguez was seventh in 17:49.2 and Walls-Portillo was tenth in 18:10.3.

“It’s really crazy, I honestly wasn’t expecting this,” Rodriguez said. “I just wanted to go out there and run my best race of the season.”

Rodriguez credits Walls-Portillo for her continued support throughout her first high school season.

“She is really special to me,” she said. “I never had a female teammate as fast as me so coming into Eastwood and seeing that I could run with Lauren was a big deal for me because of what she has accomplished in her four years. She has inspired me to do the same thing in my four years.”

Walls-Portillo, who ran in her fourth state meet, said is relieved she is leaving the Eastwood girl’s program in good hands.

“It feels really good knowing that she is going continue to keep the Eastwood tradition alive,” Walls-Portillo said. “It really comforts me to know that our girl’s team will have someone leading them next year.”

Lewisville Flower Mound senior Natalie Cook won the event in 16:32.4. Franklin junior Alyssa Laspada was 62^nd in 19:08.1.

McLain said it was great to see two Eastwood girls receiving state medals around their necks. “This was one of the strongest years in our state for the girls,” McLain said. “The Woodlands and Flower Mound are killing it; Southlake Carroll was up there killing it against some of the best teams in the nation and they end fourth and they are one of the best teams in the nation.”

Monday: Tornillo girls.

Tuesday: San Elizario boys.

Wednesday: Eastwood boys.

Today: Individual qualifiers. Class 6A – Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim; Coronado junior Luis Pastor; Americas senior Jared Laverty; Americas senior Carmelo Corral; Eastwood senior Lauren Walls-Portillo; Eastwood freshman Adelynn Rodriguez and Franklin junior Alyssa Laspada. Class 5A – Burges senior Pamela Ramirez; Jefferson senior Crystal Peterson; Hanks junior Alejandro Tarin; Hanks senior Gael Alvarado. Class 4A – Riverside seniors Andrew Valdiviezo and Jayden Bustillos and San Elizario senior Samantha Ramirez. Class 3A – Tornillo sophomore Daniel Romero and junior Angel Torres.

Make Plans

What: UIL State Cross Country Championship.

When:  Friday, Nov. 5. All times MDT: Class 3A girls, 9 a.m.; Class 3A boys, 9:30 a.m. Class 5A girls; 10:30 a.m., Class 5A boys, 11:10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 6. Class 4A girls, 9 a.m.; Class 4A boys, 9:30 a.m.; Class 6A girls, 10:30 a.m.; Class 6A boys, 11:10 a.m.

Where:  Old Settlers Park in Round Rock.

At Stake: State team and individual titles.

Five sets of teammates will be racing for a spot on the medal stand at the UIL State Cross Country Championships on Friday and Saturday.

They are: Americas seniors Jared Laverty and Carmelo Corral; Eastwood senior Lauren Walls-Portillo and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez; Hanks senior Gael Alvarado and junior Alejandro Tarin; Riverside seniors Andrew Valdiviezo and Jayden Bustillos; and Tornillo sophomore Daniel Romero and junior Angel Torres.

Also chasing state medals will be Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim, Coronado junior Luis Pastor, Franklin junior Alyssa Laspada, Burges senior Pamela Ramirez and Jefferson senior Crystal Peterson and San Elizario senior Samantha Ramirez.

Laverty and Corral have been teammates since they were 8-years-old, running for the El Paso Flames.

“Once we both got to Americas, our goal has always been to qualify for state,” Laverty said.

The first two years, Laverty and Corral – who have been running varsity since their freshman year – advanced to state as part of the team.

Last year, Laverty advanced as an individual. He said having Corral train with him in the 10 days leading up to state has been beneficial.

“Sometimes when you’re having a bad day it’s always good to have someone in front to try to catch up to or on the good days, have someone pushing you from behind,” Laverty said. “Training has been going really smooth. We’ve been tapering down and getting ready for state.

Corral, who will be racing in his third state championship, said Saturday’s run is going to be bittersweet.

“Before the race it’s going to be all nerves, but when it’s done, as nerve wracking as it is, I’m probably going to do it all again,” Corral said. “It’s going to be fun, especially since I’m doing it with Jared who has been a friend of mine for such a long time.”

Corral considers himself blessed to be able to run in three state championships.

“I’m very appreciative to have been given the opportunities that I’ve been given,” he said. “A lot of runners would be happy just to be able to experience state one time and I’ve been blessed to be able to compete in three. This one I take the most pride in because the first two we qualified as a team, but this one I made as an individual; that has been my goal since my freshman year.”

Laverty and Corral will race in the Class 6A boys race at 11:10 a.m. Saturday.

Also racing in the Class 6A division will be Eastwood’s boys, Pebble Hills junior Omer Ibrahim, Coronado junior Luis Pastor.

“The season has had its up and downs,” Pastor said. “I had an airway disease that affected me for from the end of August to the middle September where I was wheezing all the time. I could barely walk much less run – it was really bad and I thought that was the end of my season.”

But Pastor – who finished fifth at the Region 1-6A Championship in 15:47.0 – persevered winning three meets and finishing in the top 3 in many of his races.

“I’ve learned a lot about myself this season, but mostly that I’m stubborn,” he said. “My coach would tell me to take it easy but I would sneak off with the boys and did the workout anyway. I also learned that I won’t let adversity keep me down, I’ll keep working through it until I get what I want.”

Ibrahim, who finished with bronze medal at regionals in 15:45.3, said he’s kept his training pretty much the same the past 10 days.

“At this point I’m trying to maintain strength so I don’t overwork my body,” he said.

After missing out on state the previous two years, he is more than ready for Saturday’s run.

“Of course, the best-case scenario is I win it all, but as I long as I compete to the best of my ability, give it my all, stay strong and stay with the lead pack, I’ll be happy with it,” he said.

The girls Class 6A race will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and will feature Franklin junior Alyssa Laspada and a pair of Eastwood runners – senior Lauren Walls-Portillo and freshman Adelynn Rodriguez.

Franklin coach Anthony Laspada said he is proud of the way Alyssa has taken on the leadership role for Franklin after the graduation of Eva Jess and Ally Little – both running at UT-Austin.

“Those are some really big shoes she had to fill,” he said. “We had Eva for the past four years and Ally came on strong last year but for her to step into that role was amazing. She knew it was coming, we talked about it, we strategized in the summer about how it is to take the lead. She’s had some hiccups here and there because she is not used to it. She is maturing nicely but it isn’t just her, it was also the other girls on the team, I am so proud of them all.”

Franklin narrowly missed out on its third consecutive state appearance, finishing tied for fourth with Northwest Eaton with 167 points in the Region 1-6A Championship.  Eaton advanced on the strength of its sixth runner finishing before Franklin’s sixth runner.

Laspada placed 20^th in 19:28.0 and advanced to state individually.

“There’s been a lot of pressure this season,” she said. “I was used to Eva and Ally being there for me pushing me and talking me through my races. But this year I had all my other teammates be there for me; they’ve really come through for me.”

Laspada said she learned a lot from Jess and Little.

“Eva and Ally taught me so much but probably the most important thing they taught me was to work my hardest and try my best all the time and I’ll get where I want be,” she said.

Eastwood’s Walls-Portillo and Rodriguez have developed into one of the strongest 1-2 combinations in the state.

“Lauren has worked her tail off for four years and has shown great improvement every year so this is icing on the cake for her,” said Eastwood coach Mike McLain said. “We just want her to enjoy her time and enjoy what she is doing her senior year. What does it mean for Adelynn? She can learn some good lessons from Lauren’s career as she looks forward to her own great career. She can take what she has learned from this experience and make her own mark on Eastwood, the city, the state and hopefully beyond that.”

Walls-Portillo was second on a region (18:05.1) that features three of the nation’s top girls programs – Lewisville Flower Mound, Southlake Carroll and Prosper. Rodriguez was sixth in 18:28.6.

“Region 1 is sick,” McLain said.  “You have three of the top 30 teams in the nation in our region so for Lauren to finish second is just amazing. And last time I checked, Adelynn was ranked 13^th among all freshman in the nation.”

It was the first team Eastwood had two girls finish in top six in regional competition.

“That means a lot to us,” McLain said. “Our girls were winning city championships before our boys were. If you go back to 2005, we’ve only not won district three or four times and in those years we didn’t win, we were second. Sixteen championships out of the past 20 years is huge.”

Eastwood’s best girl’s finish was in 2014 when Anna Mora placed eighth in 18:09.59.

“Our goal is to create memories for our athletes,” McLain said. “We believe by putting athletes first and giving them great experiences, success will follow. What’s more important is what it means for Lauren and Adelynn.”

Class 5A

The Hanks Knights also have a pair of teammates in Round Rock – senior Gael Alvarado and junior Alejandro Tarin.

“Running that state meet with Gael should be a fun experience,” Tarin said. “It’s definitely better than running on my own. I really enjoy running with him so I hope it brings out the best in us.”

This is Tarin’s third trip to state – his second as an individual.

He finished 47^th last year in 16:07.77.

“We’re both very competitive so that makes practices much better,” he said. “It’s a lot more fun competing against someone on your own team. Having that constant competitiveness will bring out the best in you.”

Alvarado won the District 2-5A title and placed 13^th at regionals in 16:23.7. Tarin was 16^th at regionals, three seconds behind his teammate in 16:29.1.

“Training is easy when you have someone else to run with,” Alvarado said. “Running with Alejandro has been very uplifting. He is bit more competitive than me but it has definitely helped us a lot.”

He said the knowledge he gained from training with former Hanks All State runners Michael Abeyta and Rodger Rivera has helped prepare for this moment.

“When Michael and Rodger were here, I was able to take their guidance and that’s what made me a better runner,” he said. “Once they left, it was just me and Alejandro so it forced us to push each other and to do better.”

Alvarado – who will making his second state appearance – missed out last year by one spot.

“I’m extremely relieved,” he said. “I’m actually more excited than nervous. I’m just happy I could run the state course my senior year.”

The Class 5A boys will race at 11:10 a.m. Friday.

Burges senior Pamela Ramirez and Jefferson senior Crystal Peterson will be racing in the girl’s Class 5A race at 10:30 a.m. also on Friday.

Ramirez, the District 1-5A champion was eighth at regionals in 19:16.4, will be racing in her second consecutive state championship. She placed 101^st in 19:53.14 last year.

This will Peterson’s third trip to state.

Class 4A

For Riverside seniors Andrew Valdiviezo and Jayden Bustillos, the journey to state began when the pair were 8^th graders at Riverside Middle School.

“We have a history together of dominating in our middle school years so it’s not like he is new to the game,” Valdiviezo said. “He ran last year and just missed state by seven places. But he turned it up this year and I couldn’t be more grateful to him for that.”

Valdiviezo is appreciative to have his old middle school running mate back.

“Having Jayden with me this year has been a big help,” he said. “Last year doing everything myself was tough. This year, if I slack off he would be right there on me. If he slacks it, I would be right on him so we’ve helped out each other get better.”

Valdiviezo who placed 69^th in 17:21.62 at last year’s state race.

“Things didn’t play out in my favor last year so I’ve been very eager to go back and to prove to everyone that I deserve to be there,” he said. “Coming into high school was tough because I came in from winning it all in middle school to being a mediocre runner. Once I get a feel for varsity and I started to understand how good I could become, it really helped my confidence. It took some time to get as comfortable and confident as I am but I’m glad I’m here.”

The Class 4A boys race is at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

After taking a break from cross country his freshman and sophomore years to focus on wrestling, Bustillos returned to the course his junior year.

“Last year I really didn’t take it seriously,” he said. “But this year, I felt the love for running again. Coach (Manny) Estrada is very good coach, the way he trains us and the way he runs the program, I just found a love for it.”

The thing Bustillos loves most about cross country is just finishing.

“Even through you feel like you’re about to die and pass out, at the end, you feel so accomplished, you feel, ‘dang, I ran those 3.1 miles,’ it’s insane, not many people can do that,” he said. “I love the feeling of that accomplishment.”

Bustillos is no stranger to a state championship. He has wrestled in the past two UIL State Wrestling Tournaments, winning a silver in the 113-pound weight class last year.

“I’m not really nervous,” he said about the state cross country championship. “I’ve been in big competitions before so being in that type of environment doesn’t really get to me. I think I perform better under pressure, I don’t know why, but I do.”

So now it comes down to one race in the high school careers of Valdiviezo and Bustillos.

“It’s surreal,” Valdiviezo said. “Never would I have thought that me and that kid from middle school would be running at the state meet together. I’m very grateful for him and the coaching staff who helped us get there.”

Busitllos feels the same way.

“I know it’s going to be sad,” he said. “It’s my last race so all I can do is go out and give it all I’ve got. I already told Drew that I’m coming for him.”

Valdiviezo and Bustillos, teammates and competitors till the end.

San Elizario senior Samantha Ramirez will race in her first state meet. She placed 15^th in 12:52.2 at regionals. She will race at 9 a.m. also on Saturday.

Class 3A

For the first time in nine years, the boys did not qualify to state as a team.

However, sophomore Daniel Romero and junior Angel Torres will race for a spot on the medal stand at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

Romero was third at regionals in 16:48.0 and Torres was 14^th in 18:14.1.

Coach Jesse Garcia said both runners have the potential to medal.

Torres earned All State honors with his sixth place in 16:06.03 at last year’s state meet and Romero was 21^st in 16:33.23.