By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
Four years ago, Head Boys Cross Country Coach Chris Ortiz set a goal for the cross country team: to qualify for the Region IV 4A Regional. He started off with a small group of four freshmen, junior Nathaniel Gonzalez and senior Angel Pardo. Over the years, the team has grown and now has close to a dozen participants.
On Monday, Oct. 21, the Port Isabel Cross Country Boys Team achieved that goal as they competed in the 2024 1A-6A Region 4 Championship held at Dungan Stadium in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The boys 5000 Meter run featured 180 runners from 23 different schools within the region.
The top seven teams with points earned were, in order, La Feria- 41, Davenport- 86, Floresville- 100, Hidalgo- 149, Fredericksburg- 187, Zapata- 229 and Port Isabel- 240. Other notable schools included El Campo, Lago Vista, Beeville Jones, Devine, Rockport-Fulton, Bay City, Bandera and La Vernia.
The first Port Isabel runner to complete the run was senior Cleveland Smith, who finished in 26th place with a time of 17:59.59. He set his personal record [PR] of 17:21.8 during the 2023 season. Smith has spearheaded the Tarpons Cross Country squad throughout the year. Meanwhile, his twin, Christian Smith, finished in 60th place with a time of 19:07.62 (PR 18:24.8).
Sophomore Jorge Garcia, who has been on the heels of Cl. Smith all season long, finished in 37th place with a time of 18:19.18 (PR 17:44.2).
Rounding out the top three PI runners this season was senior Oscar Arona, who finished in 56th place with a time of 19:02.96 (PR 18:08.0).
Other PI runners, with order of finish, recorded time and PR were: 87. senior Julio Cortez, 19:47.46 (PR 18:56.8), 97. Sophomore Mikel Sosa, 20:03.12 (PR 19:47.9) and 124. Senior Jesus Gaitan, 20:34.96 (PR 18:09.1).
Although none of the runners qualified for the state meet, head coach Ortiz is pleased that his team has accomplished their goal.
“My pride in these young men is beyond words,” said Ortiz. “The dedication and growth I’ve witnessed as their coach fills me with immense pride.”
Upperclassmen Smith twins are towards the end of the football season and will soon be joining the basketball team and then track. Meanwhile, Arona, Cortez and Edward Sanchez will be moving on to soccer and track.
As far as the underclassmen, Joaquin Rodriguez, Sosa and Garcia, “they are already revving up to uphold our tradition of reaching the regional meet,” said Ortiz. “With their determination, I have no doubt we’ll see another runner at the state cross-country meet soon.”
Comments