BROWNSVILLE — The celebration was minimal when Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s boys cross country team captured the District 32-3A title Oct. 12.
District titles have become the norm for head coach Alberto Alanis and his bunch, with their most recent win marking the sixth straight by the Chargers and eighth in the past nine years.
Instead, winning the district crown only marks the first step toward the team’s real goal this season – winning a state title.
“It definitely doesn’t get old winning district titles,” Alanis said. “I would just say the expectation changes. Obviously, we’re still happy about it but when you have talented kids, you’re thinking big picture. We’re thinking about going back to the state meet. That’s what we spoke about all year long, getting back to the state meet and hopefully getting on that podium.”
Last season, the Chargers came close to earning a spot on the podium at the UIL State Cross Country Championships, finishing fourth in the overall team standings.
With all seven runners from last year’s state qualifying squad returning, expectations were high for the Chargers this season. They were the lone 3A team to earn a spot in the RGVCCCA’s top 10 team poll, ranking as high as No. 9.
Handling the pressure has been one of the team’s biggest challenges this year, Alanis said, along with dealing with numerous injuries throughout the year.
“We definitely knew the pressure since the beginning,” Chargers runner Carlos Valdez added. “We knew we wanted to be back, and step it up and get on the podium. We started training a lot earlier this year and put in a lot of work the whole year. We definitely are trying to keep up with expectations we have for ourselves and that others have set for us while also not trying to let it get to us too much and run our races.”
The team has managed to maneuver through the season, holding its own against 5A and 6A schools from across the RGV and finishing in the top half of the team standings in each of their races this season, including a first-place finish during the Brownsville ISD Invitational on Sept. 10.
They also added a second-place finish at the Mission Fly Like an Eagle Invitational on Aug. 20 and third place during the TAMUCC Islander Splash while competing in the Large School Division.
This year’s team is led by senior Jose Blanco, who has evolved from one of the team’s slower runners a year ago into the Chargers’ No. 1 runner.
Blanco’s highest finish last season was 17th. He has delivered three top-10 finishes this season, which includes capturing the District 32-3A title with a personal-best time of 17 minutes, 3 seconds.
“Going back to my freshman year, I missed going to state by one,” Blanco said. “That motivated me to at least leave my senior year with a district championship and going to state with my teammates.”
Blanco is one of two seniors on the team, joined by Carlos Zavala, the team’s top runner last year. They’re joined by juniors Aaron Aguirre, Juan Jimenez, Alejandro Maldonado, Jose Medina and Edgar Ortiz, all who ran at last year’s 3A state cross country meet.
After taking the first step in their quest to a state title, the Chargers turn their attention to the regional meet, hoping to make it back-to-back Region IV-3A championships and punch their ticket back to state.
“Texas MileSplit interviewed them earlier this year, and they said the goal was state champs,” Alanis said. “I’m going to keep them accountable because that’s my job as their coach. I had said get on the podium, but they leveled it up to state champs. I want to make sure to keep them accountable for that. They’re going for state champs, and I’m going to help the best that I can to get them there.”
The UIL Region IV Cross Country Championships are set for Oct. 24-25 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s Dugan Soccer and Track Stadium in Corpus Christi.
