BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The first ever cross country championship took place this Saturday at the Brownsville Sports Park.
The event was hosted by Texas Southmost College with the participation of five colleges from NJCCA Region 14.
The competition featured both the men and women divisions.
Interviewed before the meet, Basilio Mendoza, the TSC cross country head coach, said the competition promised to be a tough one.
“The winners of the first three places will go to nationals to be in held in Alabama,” he said. “It will be a dog fight.”
Mendoza said two TSC runners, Angela Soto, a sophomore, and Emily Ortiz, a freshman, are ranked in the top 10 in Region 14.
“We came out with the idea of hosting the event here so our kids can be able to see something like this,” he said. “We have runners coming from as far as Roma and from Brownsville.”
Some 50 runners participated and sdmissionwas free.
Mendoza described the meet as a one-of-a-kind event.
Last year, in its inaugural season, the men’s Scorpion team was ranked No., 18 nationally by NJCAA.
Dr. Stella Garcia vice president of institutional advancement and external relations for TSC, said hosting the cross country meet was “special.” She said her college possesses cross country runners worthy of national recognition.
“It’s special because it is the first time we have hosted such a competition. As a member of the NJCAA (the National Junior College Athletic Association), every school has to host an event, in this case a cross-country meet. We were asked to host the regional district meet and gladly accepted. Schools from across the state that are in our region will be competing,” Garcia said, in advance of the event.
“We've got some really good runners that advanced last year so we hope to see that again this year.”
Garcia continued: “The students have two years of eligibility here at our college. For those that want to continue running, hopefully they get picked up by a four-year university and will continue their running careers as juniors and seniors.
“The same thing happens with our soccer team, right? They do two years of eligibility with us and then a lot of them get picked up by other schools outside the area to continue playing soccer and continue their education.”
Editor's Note: Reporter Steve Taylor assisted on this story from Weslaco, Texas.
