PSJA Southwest’s Yazmin Guerra didn’t enter the 2023 UIL state cross country championships as a name to watch.
The junior distance runner finished fifth at the Region IV-5A meet after coming in second during the District 31-5A meet. Her then-personal best of 18 minutes, 31.5 seconds didn’t even rank in the top 25 in Class 5A heading into the state meet, according to Athletic.net.
None of that mattered to Guerra, however, and she put together her best performance of the year when it mattered most.
The Javelinas’ runner delivered the best finish of any RGV girls athlete during Day 1 of the state meet, coming in eighth during the Class 5A girls race at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
“It was just like last year,” Guerra said. “A lot of people didn’t think I’d have what it takes to be up there. I think I proved everybody wrong, especially myself. It feels pretty good.”
Guerra finished in a personal-best time of 18:19.6 to secure eighth, shaving more than 10 seconds from her previous best. She also beat out two of the four runners who finished ahead of her during the Region IV-5A championships two weeks ago.
The top-10 finish also marked her highest finish in three state meet appearances, as she came in 14th last season and 68th as a freshman.
“I had a lot of setbacks going into this season,” Guerra said. “Going into this meet I just had one thing in mind, and that was that I made it to state. I told myself just because the rest of the season didn’t go well doesn’t mean this last race had to be the same. I definitely came in and proved myself in this state meet.”
Guerra was one of two RGV athletes to earn top-10 finishes during Day 1 of the state meet, joined by Lasara’s Jose Ventura.
The junior distance runner, who was making his second straight state meet appearance, matched his finish from last year, coming in third during the Class 1A boys race.
Ventura finished in 16:34.1 to claim the bronze, with Comstock’s Sebastian Talamantez (16:25.1) and Cumby Miller Grove’s Ryker Haivala (16:27.1) coming in first and second, respectively.
The third-place finish marks back-to-back bronze medals for Ventura, who’s sights already are set on adding gold next year.
A total of 39 RGV athletes competed during Day 1 of the meet. McAllen High’s Dana Rojas Vazquez and Donna North’s Ricardo Chacon each added top-30 finishes for the RGV, with Rojas Vazquez coming in 23rd in the Class 5A girls race and Chacon coming in 29th in the Class 5A boys division.
Rojas Vazquez’s performance highlighted a ninth-place finish by McAllen High in the Class 5A team standings. The Bulldogs were making their first state meet appearance in 26 years.
Weslaco East and Vanguard Rembrant’s boys cross country teams each competed during Day 1 of the meet, with the Wildcats finishing 13th in Class 5A and the Spartans finishing 13th in Class 3A.
The 2023 UIL state cross country championships continues at 8:30 a.m. today with Class 6A races, followed by Class 2A and 4A races, respectively.
To see how all of the RGV’s competitors stacked up during Day 1 of the meet, visit RGVSports.com.
