![\"2013_11_07jenzapata\"](\"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/2013_11_07jenzapata.jpg\")
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by Audrey Urbis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n For senior cross country runner Jennifer Zapata, qualifying for the Texas UIL Class 5A Cross Country State Championships was once only a distant ambition.<\/p>\n After two years of rigorous training and remarkable commitment, running at the state meet is now a thrilling reality.<\/p>\n Zapata placed 9th out of the 230 girls who ran the 5A Region IV Cross Country Championships in San Antonio Nov. 2, guaranteeing her a highly-coveted spot \u2013 one of only 10 runners from Region IV \u2013 in the state race Saturday at Settler\u2019s Park in Round Rock.<\/p>\n Finishing the hilly 5-kilometer course with a personal record time of 18 minutes, 15 seconds was a feat that left Zapata grateful for the \u201cincredible support of her teammates, coaches, and her entire Falcon family.\u201d She attributes such success to the guidance and encouragement that she has consistently received from her head coach Jennifer Gantt and assistant coach Frank Falcon.<\/p>\n Zapata vividly recalled hearing her coaches passionately yelling during the last 500 meters of the race. \u201cIt was their voices that motivated me all the way to the finish.\u201d<\/p>\n Several girls were bunched up in the ninth place position with 500 meters to go. Since only 10 from regional qualified for state, the finish was a furious one.<\/p>\n \u201cThe course was very challenging and the dry weather conditions definitely affected my breathing,\u201d Zapata said. Despite running in a setting that resembled such a stark contrast to the flat streets in Los Fresnos with typical humidity, Zapata resolved to end the season with no regrets.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my senior year and I wasn\u2019t going to leave any \u2018what ifs\u2019 out on the regional course,\u201d Zapata said. She also felt that mental toughness was a key component of her race. \u201cI just kept repeating to myself that I wasn\u2019t tired.\u201d<\/p>\n Zapata\u2019s impressive discipline and demonstrated ability will undoubtedly provide her with future opportunities to run in college. Currently, she is considering pursuing a cross country scholarship at The University of Texas-San Antonio or entering the United States Marine Corps.<\/p>\n Anticipating the state championship Saturday, Zapata is now convinced that her commitment to training \u2013 including all the 6 a.m. morning practices, 13-mile long runs, and grueling mile repeats \u2013 has paid off.<\/p>\n Zapata recognizes that the race will be \u201cextremely competitive\u201d but is eager to embrace the challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Audrey Urbis For senior cross country runner Jennifer Zapata, qualifying for the Texas UIL Class 5A Cross Country State Championships was once only a distant ambition. After two years of rigorous training and remarkable commitment, running at the state meet is now a thrilling reality. Zapata placed 9th out of the 230 girls who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2091,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2090"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2092,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2090\/revisions\/2092"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/losfresnosnews.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}