MISSION — Coming down the final stretch of Thursday’s District 31-5A cross country meet, McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Granados heard an unfamiliar sound behind him — footsteps.
Breathing down his neck was Sharyland High’s Valdemar Meza, seeking to overtake Granados and dethrone the reigning district champ.
“I didn’t expect him to be that close at the end,” Granados said. “I just heard his coach yell, ‘There you go!’ I turned around and looked to see who was behind me. I saw Valde pushing and I knew I had to go. I started sprinting. I wanted to be district champ and keep this winning streak alive. I saw everyone at the finish line — the students, coach — and I knew I had to finish this hard.”
Granados kicked it into another gear during the final 100 meters, separating himself from Meza to secure his second straight District 31-5A individual title at Sharyland Pioneer High School in Mission.
The victory marked the ninth straight win by Granados, bringing his season record to 9-0. He finished in a personal-best time of 15 minutes, 23.1 seconds.
Prior to Thursday’s meet, Granados had won his races by an average of 14.4 seconds. Meza came 2.2 seconds behind Granados, clocking in at 15:25.3. Sharyland Pioneer’s Ryan Servantes came in third in 15:31.3.
“It means a lot because it shows what I can do going into regionals and state,” Granados said. “A kick like that at the end, it is pretty good for me considering how fast it was. This meet makes me ready and shows me who is going to be right there with me. Today showed me how hard everyone is going to push it.”
While Granados used a kick to secure the district crown, Sharyland High’s Cecilia Cavazos cruised to victory in the girls division, finishing more than 30 seconds faster than the next competitor. Cavazos set a personal best with a time of 18:57.3.
Cavazos’ victory makes it three straight years a Sharyland High runner has won the girls individual district title, with Danielle Salinas winning the event the previous two seasons.
“It felt nice. I feel like I worked harder than I’ve ever worked this season because I really wanted that title,” Cavazos said. “Honestly, Danielle has been a great mentor. She helped me a lot in getting faster when she was here, and even now that she graduated she still gives me tips to this day. She’s super supportive and such a great runner.”
Cavazos and Meza’s individual performances highlighted a dominant day by Sharyland High’s boys and girls teams, with the Rattlers sweeping District 31-5A’s team championships.
The Rattlers’ boys team had each of their top five runners finish in the top 15, with Patricio Garza (16:12.7) and Nathan Salinas (16:30.9) joining Meza in the top 10. Garza and Salinas finished fifth and ninth, respectively.
The girls team took home the top two spots in their division, with Daylah Vega finishing behind Cavazos in 19:30.9. Albeza Heredia (21:05.8) and Michelle Barragan (21:38.7) helped secure the team championship, coming in 10th and 15th, respectively.
McAllen Memorial and McAllen High finished second and third in both the boys and girls team standings, earning spots at the regional meet. The top three teams and top 10 individuals at each district meet advance to the regional meet.
The UIL Region IV cross country championships are set for Oct. 24-25 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s Dugan Track and Soccer Stadium in Corpus Christi.
For full results from Thursday’s district meets visit RGVSports.com.
