Ruiz had to overcome several obstacles including hurdling a runner who had passed him earlier and had him in the 13th position way out of State qualification, but OJ powered through it and when this runner from Brownsville Hannah fell, Ruiz had to literally jump over him and in the final 100 meters, the sprinter turned cross country runner sprinted his way into the top ten catapulting him into what is considered as hallowed ground. District Champion Margarito Benavides also suffered from the difficulty of the course and the intense competition and fell behind failing to qualify.
Austin Vandergrift’s Kevin Sanchez won the race with an incredible 15:14.84 on a very difficult course.
“It was hard, faster than usual. The winner set a course record,” said Ruiz, “ It was hilly, hot, humid, ugly. The competition was stacked, the best it’s been in a while. I feel good about my chances, I have to run a good race and I have a good week of training to prepare.”