NFL great John Randle and El Campo running back Heath Sherman, who made it to the NFL, are both Kingsville legends, and now another Ricebird, Felix Horta and his 1984 Texas A&M-Kingville Javelina cross county team, will be added to the university’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Feb. 21, in the Student Union Building Ballroom.
Horta and the 1984 men’s team took home the gold medal at the Lone Star Conference championship with 34 points and a whopping 22-point differential.
In his senior season, Horta placed fourth overall at the conference championship, the highest on the team.
The team finished second at the NCAA South-Central Regional meet, missing out on the gold medal by one point. Troy University won the regional meet.
Horta was an all-conference selection.
The former Ricebird graduated from El Campo High School in 1980 after running track for coach Gene Kana. According to Horta, he ran a 4:21.44 in the 1,600-meter race during his time as a Ricebird, a school record. At Kingsville, Horta’s time of 31:35.1 is the third-quickest run in school history in the 10k.
Following El Campo, Horta attended Wharton County Junior College and was coached by Raymond Davidson. While at WCJC, he qualified for nationals both years in the 1500-meters.
Horta then went on to Kingsville and ran three seasons of cross country and was all-conference every season.
In 1983, he was the Lone Star Conference champion in cross country. While he didn’t win the conference again the following season, he did help power the entire to the championship.
Along with Horta, other members of the men’s team being honored are: Doug Erickson from Phoenix, Ariz., who finished fifth at the conference championship; Simon Guerrero from Austin (Travis), was seventh; Tony Parisi from San Antonio (Roosevelt), was eighth; and Stacey Whitt from Alvord came in 10th.
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