Menard freshman runner, Danni Ruiz, pulled off a truly remarkable accomplishment Saturday at the State UIL Track and Field Championships in Austin.
Ruiz won both the Class 1A 400 and 800 meter runs, not only earning Gold Medals for herself, but also putting Menard in a three-way tie for 11th place as a team.
The race that stood out and got Ruiz started was the 800 meter where she defeated the defending state champion and shaved seven seconds off her personal best time.
El Paso Times Reporter, Bret Bloomquist, described the win by Ruiz as “incredible.” Bloomquist noted that the person she defeated, Taytum Goodman from Springlake-Earth, may be considered the greatest 1A distance runner in Texas history with eight career gold medals, a bunch of state records and a scholarship to Texas Tech.
In describing the race, reporter Bloomquist, said Ruiz “stalked Goodman for 650 meters, pulled alongside her entering the home stretch, engaged her in a drag race and in the final steps, broke her as a shocked Goodman pulled up and jogged the finals steps.”
Ruiz completed the day by diving for the tape for a win in the 400 meter by just three-tenths of a second.
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