EDINBURG — All eyes were on Sharyland High and La Feria on Saturday going into the Rio Grande Valley Coaches Association’s Meet of Champions.
The Rattlers and Lions entered the meet as the consensus Nos. 1 and 2 team in the RGVCCCA girls top 10 poll, holding the spots all season.
Lurking in the shadows, however, were the sixth-ranked Harlingen South Hawks. Led by three top-15 finishers, the Hawks soared past both teams Saturday, capturing the overall team championship during the girls elite race at Monte Cristo Golf Course in Edinburg.
“I’m a little bit speechless, to be honest,” Harlingen South head coach Ariana Montalvo said. “I think even the girls really surprised themselves. In a way, though, it isn’t that surprising because the talent we have on this team is phenomenal. I had no doubt in my mind what they’re fully capable of doing. Coming into the meet we had talked about our biggest competition being La Feria, Sharyland, McHi and Harlingen. The girls had their mindset ready. They were ready to run. When the results came in, oh my goodness, we’re still trying to process we did that.”
Harlingen South finished with 108 points overall en route to first, led by junior Alexis Fonseca’s fourth-place finish, marking the fifth straight race she has finished among the top five overall.
Fonseca finished in a personal-best 19 minutes, 15.8 seconds, shattering her previous personal best of 19:34 set last season.
“You’ve seen it from meet to meet, she’s just an amazing runner,” Montalvo said. “She has continued to show out at every meet. I mean it’s paying off. The girls, they look to her. She’s the bunny for our team right now, even just being a junior. … To be able to be in the top five in every single meet is just amazing and very impressive.”
The Hawks ended with three runners placing in the top 15, the most of any team during the elite race. Fonseca was joined by Arianna Rodriguez (19:37.3) and twin sister Aliyah Fonseca (19:41.0), who finished 11th and 12th, respectively.
La Feria finished behind Harlingen South with 115 points, led by junior Liana Navarro’s silver-medal performance with a time of 18:47.7. Sharyland High came in third with 123 points.
RATTLER STRIKE
Following the girls elite race, the Sharyland High boys team cruised to the overall team win in the boys elite race, with their top five each finishing among the top 25 overall.
Senior Valdemar Meza led the pack for the Rattlers, taking third in 15:39.1. Junior Patricio Garza added another top 10-finisher for Sharyland High, coming in seventh with a personal-best time of 16:10.4.
Nathan Salinas (16:33.7), Patricio Salinas (16:42.6) and Leonardo Flores (16:42.7), rounded out the top five for the Rattlers, finishing 17th, 22nd, and 23rd, respectively.
McAllen High came in second in the team standings with 110 points, followed by Edinburg North in third with 143 points.
TONE SETTERS
An individual victory during the Meet of Champions elite race has all but guaranteed success during cross country’s championship season during the past four years.
Of the six individual champions crowned since 2018, five have gone on to win individual district titles and all six have earned state meet berths.
This year’s winners hope to continue the trend, with Edinburg North’s San Juanita Leal and McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Granados taking home the crown of Valley’s best Saturday.
Leal continued to establish herself as the Valley’s top girls distance runner, blowing past the competition with a personal-best time of 17:01.5. The junior has now gone sub-18 during each of her races since becoming just the fourth Valley girls runner to do so earlier this year.
The Cougars’ junior finished nearly two minutes faster than the next closest competitor, with La Feria’s Liana Navarro (18:47.7) coming in second followed by Edinburg Economedes’ Maddison Surita (18:52.5).
“It feels good. I wanted to attack this race more since it is a lot bigger race with more people to compete against,” Leal said. “I wanted to see how different things would be because at first, I didn’t start at top last year. This year feels a lot different.”
Shortly after, Granados picked up the win in the boys elite division, clocking in at 15:29.8. The victory kept the junior’s perfect season intact, picking up eight wins in as many tries this year.
“This vaults me pretty far,” Granados said. “I’m ready for state, honestly. I don’t set my eyes on district or regionals. I have my focus on state, then getting to NXR (Nike Cross Regionals) and qualifying for NXN (Nike Cross Nationals).”
Four other runners joined Granados in hitting sub-16-minute marks, highlighted by Weslaco East freshman Aaron Nava (15:35.7) and Sharyland High senior Valdemar Meza (15:39.1), who finished second and third, respectively.
For full team and individual results click here.
