RHS Freshman Jesus Bocanegra won the District 19 Meet in Cameron on Saturday. His running helped the Tigers cross-country team earn a second-place finish overall.
“To win district as a freshman felt good, especially racing against seniors and juniors who have more experience in the 5k run,” Bocanegra said. “I was a bit nervous, but I knew I had big goals to achieve that day. I couldn’t have done it without my family, my teammates and especially Coach Meuth. She has pushed me in practice and prepared me for the district race.”
Bocanegra kept a good pace throughout the race and stayed in second place spot for majority of it. In the final stretch, he was able to kick his speed into second gear and edge out Rogers Junior Kade Sebek for the win. Bocanegra finished with a time of 16:55.
“He (Bocanegra) had been beaten by the Rogers junior earlier in the season, and he knew that he had a lot of work to put in to change that,” RHS Head Coach Cheryl Meuth said. “Jesus ran like a true mature varsity athlete that day, and it paid off in the end.”
Bocanegra now sits as the fastest freshman in the region.
The district meet featured Cameron, Rogers, Caldwell, Academy, and Lexington.
For the rest of the boys’ team, Yovanney Delgadillo finished in fifth place with a time of 17:16. Christopher Perez was 11th at 17:37. Cristo Hernandez placed 12th at 17:42. Jose Tenorio finished 17th at 18:11. Albert Silva placed 26th at 18:55, while Diego Garza was 36th at 23:15.
Bocanegra and Delgadillo received medals for their performances.
For the girl’s two-mile district race, Jesenia Navarro finished in 25th place with a time of 14:51. Taytum Young was 26th at 14:57. Alize Llanas placed 29th at 15:22. Tatiana Olivares placed 34th at 16:21 and Katia Hernandez finished 35th at 19:10. The girls placed fifth as a team.
As the meet concluded, Coach Meuth express how proud she was of the effort both teams gave.
“I’m so impressed with the boys district placing, but not surprised,” Meuth said. “They have been talking about these goals all season. The future is bright for this group. The girls finished the year as a team which is what we wanted from the beginning. They worked hard, ran their best and set several PRs (personal records) along the way. Now that we have a team built up, we can continue to grow and build for next year.”
Bocanegra and Delgadillo will compete in the Regional Meet in Huntsville on Nov. 9.
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