PHARR — PSJA North’s Hector Solis was sitting in an H-E-B parking lot mid-December when he decided where he’d be continuing his academic and athletic career.
The senior cross-country and track star held offers from several collegiate programs at that time, including Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV.
One program’s offer, however, was too good to pass up, Solis said. After months of evaluating his choices, Solis verbally committed to the University of Texas on Dec. 9, announcing his decision on Twitter just days after an official visit to the school.
Solis made it official Wednesday, signing his national letter of intent surrounded by his family and friends at the PSJA North gym, committing to run cross country and track for the Longhorns.
“It’s a surreal experience,” Solis said. “This is my dream school and I felt this was the best choice for me. It’s been a long thought process from being able to visit and then having to make that crucial decision. I actually made my decision at an H-E-B. It doesn’t get more Texas than that. Coming from the Valley, signing Division I is not something you see every day. It’s something worth its weight in gold.”
Solis is the latest in a string of Valley athletes to join the Longhorns, with Edinburg North’s Beth Ramos, Edinburg IDEA Quest’s Valery Tobias and Weslaco High’s Amity Ebarb all on the women’s roster.
He’ll join fellow PSJA ISD alum Cruz Gomez, who signed with the Longhorns in 2019, on the men’s cross-country and track team.
“I kind of wanted to follow that trend,” Solis said. “We had local stars, like Cruz Gomez, who were offered a scholarship opportunity for this same sport. I thought if they could do it, there is no stopping what anybody can do. That’s the message I’m trying to bring. Even if you’re from a small city or from a low economic background, the possibilities are endless.”
Solis finished his high school cross-country career as a three-time state qualifier.
During his senior season, Solis captured his first individual district title, at the District 31-6A meet with a time of 15 minutes, 56.9 seconds. He followed it with fourth place at the Class 6A state cross-country meet, setting a personal best time of 15 minutes, 9.07 seconds.
Solis’ success is a result of his hard work, PSJA North head football coach and athletic coordinator Marcus Kauffman said.
“I remember during football practice, no matter what time we’d get there whether 6 or 7 o’clock, Hector was running around the campus,” Kaufmann said. “Then it felt like 15-20 seconds later here comes Hector again coming back around the field. As we’d keep going at night, he was still out there running and running. Everything he’s going to get from this point on, he’s going to be successful because he knows how to work.”
As he prepares for his next steps in his journey, Solis hopes he can motivate the next class of Valley runners, just like those who came before motivated him.
“My message to other Valley runners would be if got something that you want to do, just keep your head to the grindstone and never give up,” Solis said. “There have been times that I wanted to throw this whole career away over the pandemic because it’s been that hard of a deal. But if you have something you want to do, don’t give up on it and keep chasing your dreams.”
