Ayden Granados (4432) and Alexis Rodriguez (2450) finish 1-2 at the Hoka McNeil Inv.
Photo Credit: Christine Langford/MileSplit TX
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The Rio Grande Valley Cross Country Coaches Association (RGVCCCA) Meet of Champions always defines who the top individuals and teams are in the area.
The races will consist of teams from private schools to UIL 6A schools. If you think you want the smoke, then you can register for the race you want. You also might think you know who is who and what is going to happen, but you could be in for a rude awakening.
Both, Sharyland and La Feria teams look strong on each of the girls and boys sides this year. The question still remains, can they win the Meet of Champs? Only time will tell, but the MileSplit virtual meets gives us a picture of how things could play out based on data collected from this season.
The Sharyland girls appear to have some wiggle room between them and La Feria with Harlingen South, Harlingen High, and IDEA Pharr rounding out the top five teams, based on the data.
The individual race could see San Juanita Leal repeat as the "Valley Champ", as the Edinburg North junior is not only one of the top runners in South Texas, but she has proven to be one of the best in all of Texas. She'll have some other state meet level runners on her heels with the likes Liana Navarro (La Feria), Cecilia Cavazos (Sharyland), Kenzi Ramirez (McAllen), and more.
You definitely won't want to miss the boys race because as out data shows in the team scores, the race will be hot and heavy! Our virtual meet says Sharyland edging McAllen High by 3 points to take the Meet of Champs title, however, the race must be run and Mac High could have other intentions.
La Feria, McAllen Memorial, and Donna North are all very talented teams who can get in the mix and Harlingen High could be a sleeper in all of this.
| girls | boys |
|---|---|
| Team Scores | Team Scores |
| Individual Race Results | Individual Race Results |
The individual race, on the boys side could be one of the deepest and most talented races the Valley has seen in a couple of years.
Ayden Granados is a legit national level star; as we saw during the track season, his light shines the brightest when it counts the most. He is the most decorated and most well known runner in the field, but that won't guarantee him the Valley title.
Other seniors in the area have put in the time and effort to get to the top of the Valley totem pole like Diego DeLeon (McAllen Memorial), Valdemar Meza (Sharyland), Dominic Luna (Harlingen) and they aren't going to let Granados just run away easily. DeLeon, Meza, Luna, and other seniors have all developed into extremely talented runners and will end their Meet of Champions career with a bang.
Alexis Rodriguez (Edinburg North) is perhaps running as well as anyone in the state. He should have a lot of confidence coming out of last week's Hoka/McNeil Invitational where he was runner-up in the 6A race only seconds behind Granados. This weekend could be the junior's statement performance of his career - - if last weekend wasn't already it.
Finally, despite the upperclassmen who are legit studs, there is a group of young and talented freshmen who will compete in their first Meet of Champions and they will have a huge impact on the outcome.
Jacksen Ahlman (McAllen), Nathan Salinas (Sharyland), Aaron Nava (Weslaco East), Armando Morales (La Feria), Juan Manuel Aguinaga Jr. (Edcouch-Elsa), Anthony Morales (La Feria), and Sean Smith (McAllen) have all run 16:40 or better this season and will be key to not only to the individual race this weekend, but also in the team score outcome.