La Feria High’s Anthony Morales and Armando Morales have been racing since birth. Armando won the first race between the two, born one minute before his twin sibling.
The brothers have continued to compete against one another since, sharing the course together as a part of W.B. Green Junior High’s cross country team last season and now as freshman on La Feria’s boys cross country team.
“We’ve been running cross country together for over a year now,” Anthony said. “It motivates both of us running together because we’re very competitive, especially me. I always want to win but he also wants to win. We both want that first place and we keep fighting for it.”
The brotherly competition has yielded success for the twins during championship season, with the duo claiming the top two spots during the District 32-4A meet Oct. 10. Anthony earned the individual title during the meet, with Armando finishing second.
On Monday, it was Armando coming out on top, finishing in 16 minutes, 34.59 seconds to capture the Region IV-4A individual title during the Region IV cross country championships at Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s Dugan Soccer and Track Stadium in Corpus Christi.
Anthony finished just over three seconds behind his brother, coming in second with a time of 16:37.85.
“I’m just happy we get this opportunity to race together,” Armando said. “Our parents would have never imagined we would get this opportunity so we’re just grateful. And then the team performed good, too. I think that is because of the program we have here. We’re just trying to stay consistent. Our coach motivates us a lot. We have this quote that says we don’t dream of winning; we train for it. That is exactly what we’ve been doing.”
The Morales twins were two of three top 10 finishers for the Lions on Monday, with fellow freshman Nathan Salinas coming in eighth in 17:05.38.
The top 10 trio, along with top 25 finishes from Evan Torres (17:20.00) and Christopher Velazquez (17:26.55), helped the Lions capture their second straight Region IV-4A team title and punch their ticket to state.
“Its pretty sweet. These guys came out there trying to defend that championship and they went out and proved it,” La Feria boys cross country head coach Luis Zuvieta said. “At the end of the day it wasn’t even about just trying to prove that. It was about making sure we clicked at the same time. Everyone came out and ran a controlled race and stuck to the gameplan. At the end of day that is what was able to give us that back-to-back championship.”
The top four teams and top 10 individuals not on qualifying teams from each class earn berths to the UIL state cross country championships. The state meet is set for Nov. 4-5 at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
La Feria’s boys team will be joined at state by the girls team, with the Lionettes finishing second in the overall team standings with 98 points. Fredericksburg took home the Region IV-4A girls team trophy with 50 points, with Sinton coming in third with 136 points.
Junior Liana Navarro led the pack for La Feria, finishing in 11:37.86 for third in the two-mile race. Cierra Garcia (12:35.36) and Mia Trevino (12:40.80) added top 25 finishes for the Lionettes, coming in 19th and 21st, respectively.
“The whole team got together at the end,” La Feria girls cross country head coach Graciela Campos said. “I believe once you get to a certain point the standards, the kids set the standards themselves. It is bittersweet because we don’t take the regional trophy home. But like I told the girls, there are many teams that wish they were in their shoes.”
In Class 6A, Edinburg North’s San Juanita Leal continued her dominant junior campaign, recording a sub-18-minute mark for a sixth time this season en route to the Region IV-6A crown.
Her time of 17:53.34 was over one minute faster than the next competitor, a feat that has become common for the Cougars’ junior this season, averaging a margin of victory of nearly two minutes all season long.
“She has had an amazing season,” Edinburg North girls cross country head coach Marianna Watson said. “She does everything she needs to do and goes above and beyond. She takes care of her body really well and puts in that effort. … As we’re coming to the latter part of the season, I know she’s sort of feeling it a little bit more. We’re just trying to take care of her as much as possible. It is a lot of maintenance and a lot of checking in to get her what she needs to succeed.”
Harlingen High’s Ayianna Olivas also punched her ticket to the state meet as an individual, finishing 11th overall and 10th among individuals not on a qualifying team with a time of 19:22.49.
Harlingen High’s Dominick Luna was the lone qualifier in the 6A boys division, coming in seventh with a time of 16:10.43. Edinburg North’s Alexis Rodriguez just missed an individual state berth, coming in 11th among competitors not on qualifying teams.
Class 2A featured one team and a pair of individuals earning spots at the state meet. Santa Maria’s boys team finished third to qualify for state. Santa Maria’s Mia Picazo and La Villa’s Kaycei Salazar earned individual berths, finishing second and fifth, respectively.
The UIL Region IV cross country championships wrap up today at Texas A&M Corpus Christi’s Dugan Soccer and Track Stadium in Corpus Christi, with Class 3A kicking off the final day at 8:30 a.m. Class 5A is set to follow at 10 a.m., with Class 1A closing the day out at 11:40 a.m.
