BROWNSVILLE — Edcouch-Elsa’s Rebecca Davila has been knocking on the door of a district title since she was a freshman.
During her first varsity season in 2020, Davila finished second at the District 32-5A meet, following it with back-to-back fourth-place finishes as a sophomore and junior.
Davila kicked down the door this year.
After three consecutive top-five finishes in district races, Davila ran away with the crown this year, finishing nearly one minute faster than the next competitor en route to first during the District 32-5A cross country championship Thursday at the Brownsville ISD Encampment in Brownsville.
“This means that all I’ve put in since my freshman year has finally paid off,” Davila said. “I’ve gotten close so many times. It was such a bittersweet moment getting this today. I’ve been waiting for this for four years. All the little things that happened in the past, it just pushed me to go harder. The whole time I was running, I was telling myself I had to go and get this. It felt so good to cross that finish line to where I just started crying with my coaches and my parents.”
Davila’s first individual district title didn’t come without any obstacles. After warming up for her 8 a.m. race, an announcement was made of a nearly two-hour delay due to the weather.
A constant downpour overnight and in the morning also led to muddy and wet conditions on the course.
Nothing could slow Davila in her quest for the district crown, as she finished in 20 minutes, 57.9 seconds for first. Harlingen South’s Alexis Fonseca finished in 21:49.9 for second, followed by Brownsville Veterans’ Naia Gracia (21:57.6) in third.
Davila’s victory advances her to her fourth straight Region IV-5A cross country championship, where she’ll look to capture her first state meet berth.
“We warmed up twice, actually, because of the delay,” Davila said. “It was just hard. I was already in the zone, then I had to get out of the zone and then get back into the zone. I just had to stay focused and be ready. That is all we could do.”
Davila wasn’t the only new champion crowned during Wednesday and Thursday’s 5A district meets in the RGV.
Sophomore Juan Aguinaga Jr. made it a clean sweep by Edcouch-Elsa athletes in District 32-5A, capturing the boys’ individual title.
Aguinaga used a kick during the final 800 meters of the race to overtake Donna North’s Ricardo Chacon and win the race. The Yellow Jackets’ distance runner finished in 17:54.5, followed by Chacon in 18:02.2.
“I’m very hard on myself,” Aguinaga said. “Last year I came in sixth place, and I took that personal because I know I could do better. This year, I wanted to show what I could really do on a bigger level. Coming in first in this race means a lot.”
Over in District 31-5A, McAllen High’s Dana Roja Vasquez continued her dominant junior campaign, clocking in at 18:01.4 en route to her first district title. PSJA Southwest’s Yazmin Guerra finished second in 18:31.5, followed by McAllen High’s Kenzi Ramirez in third.
Rojas Vasquez’s victory marks the first time in three years a non-Sharyland High athlete has won the individual district crown.
Meanwhile, the District 31-5A boys crown stays at McAllen Memorial for a third straight year, with Roehl Rodriguez claiming stake to his first district title.
The Mustangs’ junior clocked in at 15:58.7 for first, with Sharyland Pioneer’s David Zuniga (16:13.6) and McAllen High’s Sean Smith (16:17.5) coming in second and third, respectively.
For full individual and team results from all of this week’s district cross country action across the Valley, visit www.rgvsports.com.
