As Lasara’s Jose Ventura walked the course Friday, one day prior to his race at the UIL State Cross Country Championships, the sophomore was overcome with emotions, realizing where he was.
Ventura had state goals last year and looked to be on pace to reach them before an injury derailed his season during the District 32-1A meet. The then-freshman tore ligaments in his foot during the final stretch of the race.
Still, he managed to limp his way to second and advance to the regional meet. His season ended there, however, unable to complete the course at the regional meet due to the injury.
“It was just feelings of nerves, joy and excitement. It was like everything all in one,” Ventura said. “I was just trying to take it in. This is the biggest stage to run at, so it felt really good to just be here.
“Since last year, state was a big goal and I felt like I was going to get there before the injury. It just motivated more to work harder and get up here so I could shock everyone.”
Ventura delivered the Valley’s top performance of the weekend during his state debut, taking home the bronze in the Class 1A boys division during the UIL State Cross Country Championships at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
The Lions’ sophomore clocked in at 17 minutes, 5.7 seconds en route to third, trailing only Mertzon Irion County’s Tayte Cormier (16:25.00) and Paint Rock’s Austin Magness (17:00.70).
“It felt really good being from the RGV and being able to get top three in the whole state as a sophomore,” Ventura said. “It just felt really good. Crossing that finish line, it was just a feeling of relief, excitement and just joy.”
This season, Ventura captured the District 32-1A title that evaded him last year, also adding a second-place finish during the Region IV-1A championships.
With his first state appearance under his belt, Ventura has his eyes set on returning the next two years and then some.
“It was just an overall almost perfect season,” he said. “Next year I’m going for that undefeated season and a state championship hopefully. I’m just honestly really proud how I did this season, and I’m happy with the way I finished.”
Ventura was one of two Valley runners to earn top-10 finishes during the final day of the UIL Cross Country State Championships.
In Class 5A, McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Granados wrapped up a decorated high school cross country career with back-to-back top 10 finishes at state, coming in seventh with a time of 15:41.80. His mark topped his finish during last year’s state meet, at which he finished eighth.
The senior distance runner finishes the year with wins in 10 of 11 races, including back-to-back District 31-5A individual titles and a Region IV-5A individual crown.
“If you believe in something you can do it,” Granados said. “Its just a matter of how bad you wanted it. Today showed me everyone wanted it bad. I’m not saying I wanted it as bad as the other person, but it’s the way it went down. That’s what I thought about coming into this year. I was trying to get nine to 10 wins. It is a bittersweet feeling. At the same time, it happens but I’m just glad I was able to have an amazing season with my team. Unfortunately, it has to come to an end, but I’m definitely going to miss them a lot.”
Several Valley athletes joined Granados in the 5A 5,000-meter run, with three other RGV runners finishing in the top 50.
Sharyland Pioneer’s Ryan Servantes came in 19th in 16:06.30., the second-highest finish by an RGV athlete in the boys 5A race. McAllen Memorial’s Diego Deleon (16:24.90) and Sharyland High’s Valdemar Meza (16:26.70) added finishes of 33rd and 34th, respectively.
In the Class 5A girls division, PSJA Southwest’s Yazmin Guerra made some noise during her first state appearance, finishing 14th with a time of 18:51.40.
The junior was the highest finisher of four Valley athletes competing in the 5A race, missing out on a top-10 finish by 16 seconds. Harlingen South’s Alexis Fonseca finished 40th with a time of 19:37.90, with Brownsville Veterans’ Itzel Rodriguez (19:49.70) and Naia Gracia (20:22.00) coming in 60th and 88th, respectively.
Brownsville IDEA Frontier’s Jose Blanco was the top RGV finisher in the Class 3A boys race, coming in 34th with a time of 17:16.30. His team finished seventh overall in the team standings with 209 points.
Pharr IDEA’s Naomi Cotero came in 37th in the Class 3A girls 3,200-meter run, finishing in 12:56.10, with teammate Ana Ximena Loya finishing right after in 12:58.40. The duo was a part of Pharr IDEA’s girls team that qualified for state, finishing 13th in the team standings with 251 points.
For full results visit RGVSports.com.
