DOMINANT DUO

REINA, GONZALEZ CLAIM INDIVIDUAL CROSS COUNTRY STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

— Gabe Gonzalez had few equals in cross country this year.

The Springdale High junior won a whopping six races and finished the season by claiming the Class 7A title in a time of 16 minutes, 21.37 seconds.

For his efforts, Gonzalez is the All-Northwest Arkansas Big 6 Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Springdale Har-Ber’s Valerie Reina was equally dominating on the girls’ side of Class 7A, and that makes the sophomore the All-Northwest Arkansas Big 6 Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Gonzalez outdueled Fayetteville’s Austin Simkins and took the lead at the state meet at the 500-meter mark. Gonzalez also bested Simkins with another late kick at the 7A-West Conference meet.

Gonzalez finished 11th in the mile at the Class 7A State Track Championships his sophomore year but gave up basketball to concentrate on cross country and track.

“I had a pretty successful year,” Gonzalez said. “Winning the state championship was great because of all the hard work I put in. I really didn’t think too much about the wins before the state meet because that last one was the important one.”

Springdale coach Seneca Lassiter knew in August that Gonzalez was capable of posting good times, but the former two-time NCAA champion at Arkansas never envisioned the type of year Gonzalez would have.

“But every week, he just kept improving and he took it all the way home,” Lassiter said. “It’s really unheard of to have that much success in one year, winning six times. He is 100 percent committed to cross country and it has paid off big time.”

Lassiter credits some of the success Gonzalez achieved to former Arkansas track and cross country coach John McDonnell. Lassiter won the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 1997 and 1998. Lassiter also ran professionally before becoming a teacher.

“The training I gave to Gabe, I got from my coaches,” Lassiter said. “Training under coach McDonnell, I figured I would use the same formula he gave us. I got the formula from the best.”

Reina finished second at the Class 7A meet with a time of 19:52.32. Conway’s Erika Setzler won the race with a 19:16.43. Reina won the Class 7A state championship as a freshman.

Reina, however, saved her best race for last. At the Arkansas/Oklahoma All-Star Cross Country Challenge, the Har-Ber sophomore ran a sizzling 19:13.99 to beat fellow teammate Maggie Montoya of Rogers High.

That performance helped Arkansas defeat Oklahoma 60-131.

Reina posted the state’s second best time prior to the state meets with a 18:27.90 at the Chile Pepper in Fayetteville.

“I had a good year,” Reina said. “I beat my P.R. (personal record) and won the all-star meet at the end of the year. The course at the state meet was tougher.”

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