By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
The Del Rio Queens captured the District 30-6A cross country championship Wednesday, Oct. 14, while the Rams finished third to give Del Rio two teams advancing to regional competition.
The district championship meet was held at San Antonio’s Southwest High School.
Both teams overcame challenges to earn their regional berths, said Vicky Perez, Del Rio’s Rams and Queens cross country coach.
“Both teams worked extremely hard throughout the season,” Perez said. “They both showed a lot of perseverance and rose to the challenge today. They get one opportunity to step up and they did just that today.”
The boys competed without one of their stronger runners, putting more responsibility on teammates further down the lineup.
“My number five and six … really had to step up today,” Perez said. “They did what they had to to get us to qualify to region.”
The Queens scored 59 points to finish ahead of Laredo Alexander’s 72 and Laredo United’s 79, according to results from V Fit Productions. Lower scores determine team placement in cross country.
Celeste Garcia led Del Rio with a third-place finish in 21 minutes, 27.33 seconds. Teammate Xitlali Vasquez placed fifth in 21:41.69, giving the Queens two runners among the top five.
Bella Montemayor finished 13th in 22:42.38, Reba Salinas placed 17th in 22:57.15 and Hailey Dobbins took 21st in 23:02.95 to complete Del
Rio’s scoring lineup.
Amya Mendoza finished 24th in 23:16.92, followed by Ava Jimenez in 26th at 23:21.95.
Alexander had the first two finishers and three of the top four, but the Queens’ depth carried Del Rio to the team championship.
In the boys’ race, Ray Torres finished second in 16:43.92 to lead the Rams. Eagle Pass’ Alex Alvarez won in 16:30.77.
Alexavier Medina added a 10th-place finish for Del Rio in 17:26.83. Jesus Robles placed 15th in 17:52.77, Emiliano Zuniga finished 23rd in 18:30.14 and Isau Salazar took 25th in 18:40.45.
Tyler Lopez rounded out the Rams’ six runners, finishing 32nd in 19:16.74.
Eagle Pass won the boys’ team title with 33 points, followed by Alexander with 50. Del Rio scored 75, finishing seven points ahead of fourth-place United South to secure the final team qualifying spot.
“I’m just really proud of both teams because they raced really well today,” Perez said.
Both Del Rio teams advance under UIL rules allowing the top three teams at the district meet to qualify for regionals.
Perez said the teams will build on their preparation as they look toward regional competition in Corpus Christi.
“We’re gonna have to continue to work and build on what we’ve already been building on, and race the same way that we raced here,” Perez said. “Obviously, it’s against all the region teams in Corpus.”
The Queens and Rams will compete at the Region IV-6A championships Monday, Oct. 26, at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Dugan Stadium, with the girls racing at 7:30 a.m. and the boys at 8 a.m.
