If track meets were run on paper, on the two dimensions of form charts, there wouldn’t be much to notice about Canutillo High.
The Eagles managed to get a 4×400 relay team to the Class 5A UIL State Track and Field Championships without getting an individual to Austin, they came in seeded fifth in the nine-team field and needed a school record at regionals just to get that.
Lined up next to titans of Class 5A like Port Arthur Memorial and Texas City, they don’t look like likely medalists, and indeed, Canutillo had never sent a relay to the state meet. They sure didn’t look like medalists sitting seventh heading into the last half of the race.
What Canutillo brought to Austin on Friday night was a mountain full of fight and grit to go with a refusal to back down. That was enough to earn the underdogs a bronze medal, and perhaps some statewide respect that is well-earned.
“It’s not what was expected, we were supposed to get sixth,” anchor David Rivas said after turning back several charges from teams behind him in the final 150 meters. “But we came out and showed up.
“It was about trusting in our training and believing in our teammates. I’ve never been in a stadium like this, the crowd was roaring, the lights were bright. But we competed. It’s kind of unreal. We never thought we’d be here.”
Their coach John Erfort was one of the people who saw this coming.
“About the week before district they started to show something extra,” he said. “They’ve been getting better and better every week. The moment wasn’t too big for them, they looked good.
“They weren’t nervous, they always feel like underdogs because no one knows who we are, they’ve never heard of us, they say our name wrong. That’s fine, whatever. We’re thrilled the boys were able to go out and run like that.”
The team of Giovannia Vaquera, Adrian Lopez, Shane Christiansen and Rivas stayed in contention early but was in seventh when Christiansen got the baton and charged through the field and into third. That set up Rivas, who didn’t back down under heavy fire from behind.
“I was in sixth or seventh, but I knew I had it in me, I knew I could get there,” Christiansen said. “It’s going to take me a long time (to soak this in), and I’m so grateful, I’m grateful for my brothers, my teammates, that we made it this far.”
The team had a full appreciation for what it accomplished.
“This was a big moment for us,” Vaquera said. “The first time we’ve been to state since 2016 (the last time the Eagles had a qualifier). This is a feeling of appreciation, appreciation for family and friends and everyone there when I needed it the most.”
Said Lopez: “It was amazing, I give the glory to my teammates, God and my family. It was believing in each other, we all love one another, it’s like a family. It gave me confidence.”
That added up to an unlikely bronze medal from a stubborn team that never quit believing.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached, bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Canutillo relay upends expectations to win bronze medal at UIL state
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
