Three students from Pebble Hills signed a letter of intent for the University Our lady of the Lake Monday afternoon Jan. 8 in the cafeteria.

Izaiah Ramirez, Patrick Duncan, and Herman Duncan will be continuing their education and athletic career at the university with a scholarship for cross country.

This was never part of Ramirez’s plan, until his sophomore year, before that, his vision was to pursue scholarship opportunities in baseball, which changed after meeting cross country coach Monika Hayes.

“My dream was always baseball until my sophomore year Mrs. Hayes forced me to join the team and I found my love for running,” Ramirez said. “I built a bond with my coach and teammates which was the main reason I stuck to it.”

Teammates, Patrick and Herman have a different story.

Being told to join the cross country team alongside his brother has benefited Patrick.

According to Patrick, one day he was looking for  his brother after school, they had recently moved to El Paso so they asked a friend who directed him to the kindergarten classroom, which was where the cross country class was. Inside, his brother, already a member of the team, persuaded him to join.

The Duncan brothers were trained by their father, who was a runner for Gateway High School in Colorado.

Herman was influenced by a friend to join and ever since then shared a love as well as his brother and teammates did.

Despite the trials and hardships, all three runners will be ready to run as Saints in the upcoming fall season.