Socorro distance runner Eric Araiza signs to run at NMSU

Eric Araiza and others joked today that when he arrived at Socorro High as a freshman, he was one of the slowest runners on the team.

Now, he’s a college athlete at the D-1 level.

Araiza, a star for the Socorro cross country and track teams, signed a letter of intent to continue running at New Mexico State.

Araiza inked his name at the Bulldog Cafe Wednesday afternoon, surrounded by coaches, friends, family, and fellow students.

He said today that this all happened because he never gave up.

“Don’t quit. There’s a lot of moments in my life where I wanted to quit, but I didn’t,” he said. “And now I’m able to say that I will run for a D-1 university.”

He finished in first place at the Coronado Boys Invitation in February and had two season records. One was at the Americas Invitational, where he ran the 1600 meters in 4:35.10. For his 3200-meter race at the Texas Distance Festival, the senior finished with a time of 9:55.24.