Arlington Sam Houston senior makes school history at UIL cross country state meet
.jpeg "Arlington Sam Houston senior Jeremiah Barrera (left) and head cross country coach Jaime Vasquez. (Courtesy)")
Jeremiah Barrera dug down deep during the final mile of the Class 6A Region 1 cross country meet in Lubbock on Oct. 25.
He pushed through the mental pain.
The Arlington Sam Houston senior runner would finish in 22nd place and clinch a spot in the UIL state meet, making school history.
Barrera became the first cross country runner from Sam Houston to compete at state. He came in 63rd place out of 150 runners on Friday at Old Settler’s Park in Round Rock.
Barrera finished with a time of 16:40.
“History was made. I was in tears of joy when I found out I made state,” said Barrera. “The consistency paid off.”
“My thoughts were to go out strong and set on a pace,” Barrera added about regional. “Looking in front of me and seeing what place I was.”
Barrera has been running at Sam Houston for all four years.
He was district champ this season and last, but didn’t qualify as a junior after coming in 49th place.
“I was being more consistent and focus than I was last year,” he said. “It’s a big responsibility for me and an inspiration for my young cross country teammates and my school.”
Sam Houston coach Jaime Vasquez has been with Barrera throughout his entire high school career.
“It’s been fun watching Jeremiah improve on his understanding of the sport of cross country and long distance running,” Vasquez said. “He has been blessed with a great running gift and this year he has taken a serious hold of that gift. Jeremiah has a tremendous future in running and I look forward to seeing him compete at the next level.”
Barrera’s history making season was also special for Vasquez.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be the coach at Sam Houston at the time a cross country runner becomes the first one to qualify for state. I am blessed to be at the right place at the right time for his historical occasion for Sam Houston High School.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 3:52 PM.
