Vega earns top ten finish at Floresville

By Manuel Azocar III - Sports Writer/Managing Editor | August 23, 2023

2023 FLORESVILLE CC INVILLE CC INVITATIONAL

Pearsall opened its 2023 cross country season at the Floresville Cross Country Invitational on Saturday, August 19 and although shorthanded by a few runners, the teams showed their potential in a competitive field with a grueling course.
“This was a great opening meet for us with great competition,” PHS Head Coach Ricky Medrano said. “We had some great performances by freshman Angelyna Montes and junior Romeo Vega that led their respective teams. They look to be on track for huge personal records soon.
“Even though we were missing a couple key runners, I was happy with the effort we displayed in these races even though we didn’t get the performances we expected team-wise. We all went out there and raced hard and competed.
Medrano still sees plenty of room for improvement from both his squads and is optimistic about the potential both teams showed.
“Our one through five split for the guys was about two minutes and 45 seconds, which I definitely see improving tremendously throughout the season,” he said. “On the girls’ side, we showed a lot of heart and promise for the season on what the team can be once we get our full team back. It’s a solid group that I only see improving as the season progresses.
“Having the leadership and experience from Romeo, Jonathan Viesca and Dylan Ortiz will be huge for us throughout season going forward.”
Vega earned a top ten finish at the event for Pearsall as he was ninth overall with a time of 18:33.19. Jonathan Viesca was 48th with a time of 20:17.45 while Dylan Ortiz came in 57th at 20:30.44.
Derek Rodriguez was 73rd at 21:08.78, Jevan Torres was 77th at 21:15.91 and Ayden Rodriguez finished 103rd with a time of 22:53.25.
Pearsall was ninth in a field of 16 teams at the meet.
Montes paced the Lady Mavs, finishing 11th with a time of 13:33.65. Tori Ortiz was 46th at 14:27.29 and Shaylnn Vera was 92nd at 15:34.32. Izaely Ovalle finished 114th overall with a time of 16:18.79.
In the junior varsity division, Jose Rocha was 33rd for the JV boys while Marc Ramirez was 37th. JJ Torres came in 41st for Pearsall while Steven Herrera was 73rd. Aiden Lucio was 107th for Pearsall.
Cora Rogers led the Lady Mavs JV with a 71st place finish while Carina Martinez was 101st overall at the event.
Pearsall will hit the course in Castroville this weekend for the Medina Valley Invitational on Saturday, August 26.
“We will be in Medina Valley this weekend, and it will be another stacked meet with some of the best teams in the region,” Medrano said of the event. “It’ll be another test for us to see where we stack up against the 4A teams in the region.”