There isn’t much San Juanita Leal hasn’t accomplished during her career at Edinburg North. The Cougars senior has three District 31-6A titles and a pair Region IV-6A titles under her belt.
Leal has also made three straight state meet appearances, including a top four finish last season, while holding the fastest time in RGV history in the girls 5K.
The Edinburg North senior put an exclamation point on her decorated cross country career Saturday, capping it with a second-place finish in the Class 6A girls race during the 2023 UIL state cross country championships at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
Leal finished in a personal best 16 minutes, 57.6 seconds for the silver, beating her own Valley record of 17:01.5 set during last year’s state meet. The placing also improved from last year’s fourth-place finish.
Her time came within less than a second of state gold Saturday, finishing just 0.6 seconds behind Denton Braswell’s Macy Wingard (16:57.0).
The Cougars distance runner ends her career as a three-time district and a two-time regional champion, while also adding a pair of top 5 state finishes.
Saturday’s meet also brings her state medal count up to three, adding to her two state gold medals won during last year’s state track and field championships.
Leal was just one of several RGV athletes to put together strong showings during the final day of the state cross country meet.
Edinburg Economedes Maddison Surita joined Leal in the top 10 during the Class 6A girls race, finishing in 17:35.0 for seventh.
Surita’s time moves her into No. 3 all-time in the Valley according to RGV cross country historian Carlos Vela.
In Class 4A, the La Feria Lions boys team finished as state runners-up in the team standings for a second straight year, with Canyon repeating as Class 4A team champs.
The Lions had three runners finish in the top 10 during the state meet, all of which are only sophomores. Armando and Anthony Morales finished fifth (15:37.2) and sixth (15:37.2), respectively, with Nathan Salinas coming in eighth (15:40.8).
In the girls division, La Feria senior Liana Navarro wrapped up a decorated four-year career with the Lionettes with a third straight top 10 finish in the Class 4A girls race, coming in 10th.
Navarro, who was making her fourth state meet appearance in as many tries, clocked in at 11:45.0 during her final high school cross country race.
To see how all of the RGV’s competitors stacked up during the 2023 UIL state cross country championships, visit RGVSports.com.
