Lopez, Gomez, Mujica, Scotello, Ortega, & Cook pace Lady Pirates to Islander Splash team championship

1st Place Lady Pirates- 6th Marissa Lopez 12:48, 8th Moriah Gomez 12:54, 11th Samantha Mujica 13:01, 26th Frances Scotello 13:37, 46th Dezmarie Ortega 14:15, 77th Klayre Cook 14:51.

Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
The Lady Pirate Cross Country team continued its fabulous 2022 season capturing the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Saturday in Corpus Christi. Lytle held off a valiant challenge from runner-up Sinton as the Lady Pirates scored 93 points to their Lady Pirate counterpart 101 points.
There were 33 complete teams in the varsity girls’ race with 260 competitors.
Marissa Lopez, Moriah Gomez, and Samantha Mujica all came in the top 11 as Lopez placed 6th, Gomez 8th, and Mujica 11th.
Frances Scotello was barely out of the top 25 coming in at 26th place. Dezmarie Ortega came in 46th and Klaryre Cook was 77th.
“These are a great group of kids who are very coachable, “ said Head Coach Gilbert Ruiz. “They never take anything personally and always seem to rise to the occasion.”
The Lady Pirates had to run in some of the more uncomfortable situations as far as the hottest and most humid part of the day according to Ruiz.
Congratulations to the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Team Champion Lady Pirates.
Team ranking
1st Lytle 93, 2nd Sinton 101, 3rd CC Tuloso-Midway 125, 4th Beeville Jones 133, 5th Pleasanton 157, 6th Pharr IDEA 180, 7th Devine 209, 8th La Vernia 236, 9th Robstown 246, 10th, Carrizo Springs 367.
Lady Pirates
6th Marissa Lopez 12:48, 8th Moriah Gomez 12:54, 11th Samantha Mujica 13:01, 26th Frances Scotello 13:37, 46th Dezmarie Ortega 14:15, 77th Klayre Cook 14:51.
Up next
The Lady Pirates travel to Round Rock Friday to compete in the State venue of Old Settlers Park.

Pirate XC dominates TAMU-CC Islander Splash

1st place Pirates- 3rd Abel Sanchez 17:47, 6th Johnny Rey ALvarez 18:08, 10th Brandon Obando 18:21, 11th Yandel Esquivez 18:31, 13th Luke Estrada 18:41, 70th Robert Wagner 20:52.

Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer
Wow! Abel Sanchez, Johnny Rey Alvarez, Branson Obando, Yandel Esquivez, Luke Estrada, and Robert Wagner had quite the day in Corpus Christi last Saturday as they crushed their competition winning the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Invitational scoring 38 points in the process. Runner up La Vernia tallied 104 points.
Sanchez, Alvarez, Obando, Esquivez, and Estrada all crossed the finish line in the top 15 in securing the 38 points. Sanchez was 3rd, only five seconds behind the individual runner up from Sinton.
Alvarez came in 6th, Obando was 10th, Esquivez finished 11th, and Estrada in 13th place. Wagner came in 70th place.
Lytle Head Coach Gilbert Ruiz was obviously extremely satisfied with what his crew was able to accomplish saying, “I was so proud of their effort after having to wake up early in the morning after a football game against our rivals. A lot of them are in band, dance, cheer or even played in the football game (Luke Estrada). Then, we had to run in one of the last races of the day, which is the hottest, most humid time. They are a great group of kids that are very coachable. They never take anything personal and always seem to understand and rise to the occasion.
Running in the heat of the day, after many of the runners had Friday night responsibilities as well, says a lot about the entire team.
“I do want to highlight one student/athlete, Luke Estrada,” continued Ruiz. “He played hard in the football game the night before and when he got to the gym in the morning, I could tell he was struggling, but he said he was fine. During the race Robert Wagner was having a hard time so now Luke became our 5th guy which means where he finishes, the TEAM finishes. He found strength to push through and pick up for his fellow brother to finish 13th. It was a valiant effort and goes to show that everyone on that team is important and at any time you might be expected to step up. And if we prepare enough, then there is nothing that we can’t achieve.”
Congratulations to the TAMU-CC Islander Splash Team Champion Lytle Pirates.
Team ranking
1st Lytle 38, 2nd La Vernia 104, 3rd Premont 229, 4th Devine 232, 5th Dilley 246, 6th Gonzales 269, 7th CC Tuloso-Midway 280, 8th Pleasanton 287, 9th Wallis Brazos 297, 10th Weslaco IDEA 322.
Pirates
3rd Abel Sanchez 17:47, 6th Johnny Rey ALvarez 18:08, 10th Brandon Obando 18:21, 11th Yandel Esquivez 18:31, 13th Luke Estrada 18:41, 70th Robert Wagner 20:52.
Up next
The Pirates travel to Round Rock Friday to compete at Old Settlers Park, which also happens to be the State site later in the season.

Pirate XC JV Team Champs in CC

Bryan Montes-Rodriguez led the Lytle JV Pirate Cross Country team to a team championship with his own individual championship at the TAMU-CC Islander Splash in Corpus Christi this past Saturday. Diego Reyna, Lucas Salazar, Daniel Mercado, and Donaovan Cortez all placed in the top 11 to solidify their low 28-point total over runner up Laredo Martin’s 46 point performance.Montes-Rodriguez’s championship performance came in a field of 108 competitors. Reyna came in 4th, Salazar 5th, Mercado 7th, and Cortez 11th.
The JV Lady Pirates had a fabulous day as well, placing second as a team against 21 other teams. Lytle scored a very respectable 103 points, while team champion La Feria tallied 16.
Nivea Sanchez led the Lady Pirates with her 7th place finish out of 191 competitors. Isabella Sewell came in the top 25 at 24th place, Kimora Sanchez was not too far behind at 26th, Jadyn Bojorquez was 28th, Fatima Montes placed 58th, and Annika Robles came in at 93rd.
Team boy ranking
1st Lytle 28, 2nd Laredo Martin 46, 3rd Corpus Christi Carroll 92, 4th Gregory-Portland 98, 5th Agua Dulce 136, 6th McAllen Rowe 153, 7th Laredo Cigarroa 174, 8th College Station 189, 9th Harlingen South 213, 10th IDEA Pharr 241, 11th Port Lavaca Calhoun 294.
JV Pirates
1st Bryan Montes-Rodriguez 11:31, 4th Diego Reyna 11:45, 5th Lucas Salazar 11:48, 7th Daniel Mercado 11:59, 11th Donovan Cortez 12:26, 68th Aaron Martinez 14:47.
Team girl ranking
1st La Feria 16, 2nd Lytle 103, 3rd College Station 113, 4th Harlingen South 124, 5th Laredo United South 162, 6th Brownsville Hanna 166, 7th Gregory Portland 221, 8th Laredo Cigarroa 258, 9th George West 300, 10th Edinburg 322.
JV Lady Pirates
7th Nivea Sanchez 14:00, 24th Isabella Sewell 15:20, 26th Kimora Sanchez 15:22, 4th Jadyn Bojorquez 15:28, 58th Fatima Montes 16:35, 93rd Annika Robles 17:52.