The Sharyland High Rattlers have established themselves as one of the Valley’s best girls cross country programs over the past four years. Since 2018, the Rattlers have captured all three Rio Grande Valley Coaches Association Meet of Champions team championships, with the 2020 meet canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just over 32 miles away reside the La Feria Lionettes, a team with its own tradition of success. La Feria has earned team state berths four times since 2015, including a fifth-place finish during last year’s UIL Class 4A state cross country championships.
The Rattlers and Lionettes have continued their success this season, combining for 11 team victories through seven weeks, earning them the No. 1 and 2 spots in the RGVCCCA’s top 10 poll all season long, respectively.
The two teams have yet to meet on the course this season, however, leaving the question of Valley’s “best” in the air.
The long-awaited matchup arrives Saturday, with La Feria and Sharyland High set to face off during the RGVCCCA’s 2022 Meet of Champions Elite Division girls race at Monte Cristo Golf Course in Edinburg.
“All the girls have to run their race so we can show we’re No. 1,” Sharyland High head coach Melissa Dearth said. “We’ve been checking on their times. Their No. 1 is right there with our No. 1. … There is no room to be off on Saturday.”
The Meet of Champions is the largest cross country meet in the Valley, featuring 49 teams from across the RGV. Teams are divided into four divisions. The top runners and teams compete in the elite division. Other groups include the 5A/6A varsity division, sub-5A/Private/JV division and freshmen division.
The Rattlers enter the meet with top-two team finishes during each of their four meets in the Valley this season, including three first-place overall team finishes. They’ve also competed in three meets outside of the Valley, honing their craft against some of the top across the state.
Saturday will mark the first time since Aug. 19 the Rattlers will field all four of their top runners, with at least one out due to injury or personal reasons since. They’ll be led by junior Cecilia Cavazos, whose personal best time of 19:05.4 ranks No. 4 in the Valley.
“Our four returnees have all been to state before and ran under 21 minutes before,” Dearth said. “They all have personal bests under 19:50 but they’re just now hitting those times. That’s where they need to be during the Meet of Champs. That would be the biggest breakaway from La Feria. I told them they have to run the way they should be.”
On the opposite side, the Lionettes have dominated the course this season, picking up seven wins in as many tries.
La Feria is led by junior Liana Navarro, who has qualified for the state meet during each of her three seasons. Her personal-best time of 19:03.0 ranks No. 3 in the Valley this season.
Unlike most sub-5A girls teams, the Lionettes opted to compete in 5,000-meter runs with Class 5A/6A teams rather than the typical two miles run by smaller programs.
Despite being smaller most races, La Feria doesn’t feel like the underdogs heading into Saturday, with five of its seven victories coming during 5,000-meter runs against 5A/6A schools.
Still, the group isn’t focused on the rankings, looking to continue building toward a state championship run.
“At the end of the day, whether 6A, 5A or 4A, all the young ladies come out and run their race,” Campos said. “It doesn’t matter what classification you happen to be in. We don’t see ourselves as the underdogs or as the No. 1. We don’t see it anyway. We just come out and work hard. … At the end of the day, Sharyland has established themselves throughout the year. Our girls have established themselves in our division. The whole purpose of going out and run the 5Ks was to get better at our race. It is what we felt was going to be the next wrinkle we needed to iron out for these ladies to keep rising.”
The clash between the Lionettes and Rattlers gets going at 8 a.m. Saturday during the elite girls division race.
DOUBLEHEADER
Following the girls elite race, Sharyland High and La Feria’s boys teams will take center stage in the elite division, with the two also ranking No. 1 and 2 in the RGVCCCA top 10 poll, respectively.
Like their female counterparts, the Rattlers and Lions have been on a collision course leading up to the Meet of Champions.
The Lions have earned top three team finishes during each of their seven meets this season, including three wins. Meanwhile, Sharyland High has earned a top-two finishes during each of their five meets in the RGV this year, also competing in a pair of meets outside of the Valley.
Both teams field runners holding top 10 times in the boys 5,000-meter run this season. Senior Valdemar Meza (15:38.0) and freshman Nathan Salinas (16:02.9) lead the Rattlers, ranking third and sixth, respectively.
La Feria freshman Armando Morales anchors the Lions, ranking No. 10 with a time of 16:19.8 set during his first career victory at the 27th annual Mercedes High Invitational on Sept. 10.
The boys elite division race is set to be run immediately after the completion of the girls elite race.
