Princeton senior Gabriella Trejo approaches the finish line at the District 6-6A cross country meet last Friday at Myers Park in McKinney. Trejo placed eighth with a time of 19:30. Photo by David Wolman / C&S Media
By David Wolman
MCKINNEY – Princeton senior Gabriella Trejo got in plenty of running in the days leading up to the District 6-6A cross country meet.
And it wasn’t just cross country.
Last Thursday, on the eve of the district meet, she was running up and down a soccer field with her club team at one of their two weekly practices.
But she has become accustomed to the grind.
“Honestly, I feel pretty good,” she said. “A little tight, a little sore. But I don’t think into it too much.”
Trejo pushed through the pain to earn her fourth consecutive berth in the regional meet after she placed eighth with a time of 19:30 at last Friday’s district meet at Myers Park.
“I feel grateful that I have the opportunity to run,” she said. “I’m grateful for my coaches. They like to push me. They believe in me. All of my hard work has paid off.”
Trejo attempted to keep up with the lead pack. Although Prosper’s Taylor Peck went on to win the girls’ varsity race with an 18:26, Trejo wasn’t far off Peck’s pace. Trejo remained in the top 10 throughout the race and assured herself of another berth in the regional meet.
“I thought my pace was pretty decent,” Trejo said. “My time was 15 to 20 seconds slower than my PR. It’s not bad.”
Trejo was the only runner from Princeton to advance to regionals.
Evelyn Escamilla turned in the next fastest time for the Lady Panthers, capturing 26th with a 20:48, followed closely by Jillian McCarthy, who was 27th in 20:57.
Marian Valdez (37th, 21:25), Emma Dickerson (49th, 22:27), Samantha Valdez (54th, 22:53) and Elizabeth Fontt Cox (56th, 23:04) also ran at Myers Park.
The highest finish achieved by the Princeton boys was a 25th-place effort from Jose Sanchez, who clocked a time of 17:20. Henery Martinez placed 29th with a 17:36.
Arturo Velez placed 33rd in 17:41, Ashton Long was 40th in 18:04 and Eli Fisher captured 46th place with an 18:35.
Princeton placed seventh in the boys’ standings with 173 points, while the Lady Panthers earned eighth place with a team score of 146.
The Region I-6A meet is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Mae Simmons Park in Lubbock.
Trejo will look to atone for a 49th-place at last year’s regional meet and qualify for the state meet for the third time.
She said that she feels more prepared for the regional course after not running on it until the day prior to last year’s meet.
“We went to the Lubbock course three weeks ago,” Trejo said. “The altitude is the main thing. I ran pretty well. I’m just excited to run in Lubbock. I feel like I’m prepared since I’ve already run there before.”
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