McALLEN — Ayden Granados’ morning began like it has most days the past few years. The McAllen Memorial senior grabbed his running shoes and headed to track practice.
Friday wasn’t just any other day for the Mustangs’ distance runner, however.
Granados’ afternoon consisted of him officially joining the college ranks, signing his National Letter of Intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Oklahoma State, an NCAA Division I program in Stillwater, Oklahoma, that competes in the Big 12.
“I was late to practice today because I was a little nervous,” Granados said. “I got to practice, got a good run in and was talking to my teammates, looking back at how I got here. It has been fun and something crazy to do. After really talking about it, it finally hit me we aren’t freshman anymore. This is something we’ve been trying to get to forever. I started rewriting my speech after that and got emotional. I’m just excited.”
Granados’ running career began after being discovered at a 5K run more than 10 years ago by the late Tony Trejo. The elder Trejo told his son, Jesse, who is in his eighth season as the boys cross country coach at McAllen Memorial, that Granados would do great things and run at the collegiate level one day.
Granados’ career didn’t take off right away, initially competing as a sprinter. He eventually made the move to distance running after being told he wasn’t built to be a sprinter.
The move has paid dividends for Granados, who evolved into one of the Valley’s most decorated distance runners through his four seasons at McAllen Memorial.
“I’ve been his coach for about 10 years now,” Trejo said. “I remember when I got hired I remembered Ayden and Diego (DeLeon) were coming up. My dad would always tell me one day these kids are going to sign somewhere and that I just had to take care of them and set the foundation. … It wasn’t ever about records of anything he’s done or accomplished. He did it for a love of running. He learned a lot from my dad, just like I learned a lot from my dad. Together, by the grace of God, you see where he’s at now.”
Granados has left his mark on the Valley during his four years at McAllen Memorial. The senior distance runner earned top 10 finishes during each of his past two cross country seasons at the state meet, including a personal-best seventh this year.
He also became the seventh RGV runner to break sub-15 in the 5,000-meter run, finishing in 14 minutes, 59.5 seconds during the CHAMPS South Regional XC Championships on Nov. 26, 2022.
Granados’ best performances have come on the track, however. He holds the fastest time in RGV history in the 1,600-meter run, clocking in at 4 minutes, 11.03 seconds during the Southlake Carroll Texas Distance on March 19. The time broke a 40-year-old record set by Weslaco High’s Basilio Garcia in 1980.
Granados also holds the fourth-fastest time in the 3,200-meter run, finishing in 9:08.91 for a silver medal at the Class 5A state meet. The second place was one of two for Granados during the state meet; he also nabbed the silver in the 1,600-meter run.
“There are times where I’m just tired or felt like I couldn’t take it anymore,” Granados said. “In my head, I just imagined someone working just as hard or pushing it farther than me. It just makes me more motivated and pushes me even harder to be the greatest I can be. After doing all this, it is just an amazing feeling. Nobody really sees the extra work you put in.”
Granados is set to wrap up his high school track career later this year, with track season set to begin early February. He already has his eyes set on a return to state, hoping to change out his silver for gold.
