Thank you, Coach Gilbert Ruiz for sharing your thoughts on our Varsity Boys Cross Country State Championship finish!
SUCCESS IS NEVER OWNED, IT IS RENTED AND THE RENT IS DUE EVERY DAY.
That is the mentality that I try to instill in all the kids I come in contact with. If you show up to work every day and you work hard, you will eventually get what you deserve and be rewarded. So much so that after I came home for a bit and celebrated a little, I got back to work to see what our chances are to achieve this difficult feat again. I will be honest...this Sunday was a lot easier to wake up in the morning then it was 365 days ago when we were the 2023 3A State Runner-Ups. We addressed the problems we had last year and hoped that we did enough to correct it and this Saturday was our TEST!!!
REDEMPTION
Your Lytle Pirate Boys XC team captured it's second (2024 & 2022) UIL 3A State XC Championship in three years and third (2013) in our history. It also marks the 8th time out of 10 State appearances that the team has finished on the awards podium(1st-3rd.)
We waited 365 days to get another opportunity to redeem ourselves, and that we did! We were aggressive from the start and took the lead as a team leading through all 3 mile marks and never let up. They held off a late charge from the #1 team in the State, Holliday, which has the #1 (Noah Strohman) and #3 runners (Ryder Strohman) in the State in 3A - both are juniors. Noah is a 3-time Individual champion and one of the top 10 in the whole State and his twin-brother is not far behind. It took all of our kids to overcome what they brought to the table and hold off the rest of their fellow athletes. Unlike last year, we were able to have a stronger finish and claim the 2024 3A State Championship. Johnny Rey Alvarez (8th) led the way like he has all year finishing in the top 10 with ALL STATE HONORS. He gave us the jolt we needed, this after throwing up in the morning 4 times before we got on the bus to head to the course and me wondering if he would have the energy to finish strong that last mile. But he found strength and helped pace Lucas Salazar (16th) and the rest of the group to victory. Johnny finishes his XC career with 6 State XC medals - 4 team (2024 1st, 2023 2nd, 2022 1st, 2021 3rd) and 2 Individual (2024 8th, 2022 9th) - the most of any athlete to come through Lytle XC. Johnny now only trails one of our best runners, Brandon Lacy, Class of 2011, who finished with 7 State Medals (3 XC and 4 in Track) in total STATE MEDALS.
This team was tested more than any group I have ever had, and they competed against 182 schools through every classification and lost to ONLY 2 (6A Schertz Clemens & 5A Boerne) and split with the Boerne Greyhounds who were the 2024 5A State Runner-Ups. Though it wasn't always a smooth year, I am very proud of how they finished and handled all the adversity. This was a way for us to show that we do not rebuild but reload and that we are not just one team with one great year but a PROGRAM that is constantly searching and reaching for EXCELLENCE!
Individual Results:
(8th) Johnny Rey Alvarez 12th
(16th) Lucas Salazar 11th
(24th) Diego Reyna 11th
(35th) Bryan Montes-Rodriguez 11th
(50th) Adrian Reyna 9th
(69th) Yandel Esquivez 12th
(76th) Nathan Garza 10th
Out of 149 Runners
Official Results link below:
Photos by Mrs. Deborah Wagner: https://photos.app.goo.gl/FKH872KfRaJ2168k8
Photos by Mrs. Nina Garza: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Foq1gGKgKUGk6fnR6
Photos by Mrs. Lorrianne Migura: https://photos.app.goo.gl/MBmuXpHR66f5YtT28