Our HS XC teams competed at district yesterday, and they had so many great moments. Every week the Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas votes on state rankings based on depth, results, and individual times. Our district, district 7-2A has 4 state ranked teams in it, and is voted out of region 1 as the most competitive district in the entire region. I love that and I love how it has pushed our mindset and standards in XC the last 2 years. We have seen a huge shift in the XC kids in 2 years in their mental perspectives, and while we are deep in the thick of competition it is hard to remember to pick up our heads and look at the huge growth we’ve made in two years. I love data because numbers don’t lie, so I went back through about 5 years of archives on cross country results online to look over how past years had done, and the team of kids we have both the boys and the girls is the best program Ozona has had since 2018! Our district and the level that XC as a whole has raised up to is just so high that it is encouraging to see OUR kids fighting and standing out in a district and region like we have.
All of that being said, our athletes had success yesterday in so many quantifiable and intangible ways! Our girls fought hard to advance out in 3rd place, with Cameran Ochoa being our top medalist in 8th place. Christoval was 1st, Sonora 2nd, and Ozona was third, edging out a tough Eldorado team. Our JV Girls placed 3rd- Sonora and Christoval are deep and talented groups in the JV division. Aaliyah Renteria was our top medalist and Ayumi Hernandez has been working so hard and giving her all every day, and it showed! She was our next top runner for JV girls.
Our varsity boys ended up 5th, which is not what we hoped would happen. The boys have dealt with a lot the last week or so, and Coach Youngblood and I are very proud of them for NOT laying down and giving up! Moses Ramirez has been steadily improving and ended up 8th in our district which again given the toughness of the top 10 in our district, this is a HUGE accomplishment. He will be our lone boy advancing out, but I want to recognize our seniors Ryan an Kaden for their efforts and leadership all season. Our JV boys were district runners up and we had Tino Castillo and Josh Loscano medal. They have been working SO hard and committing to the process of growth and as new runners I am very proud of them!
PLEASE Congratulate these kids on their ability and efforts! They choose to do HARD things in cross country.
~~Coaches L Taylor and Z Youngblood