Dec. 1, 2005

Fort Worth North Side High School runner Armando Saldivar signed a National Letter of Intent to run cross country and track at The University of Texas at Arlington for the 2006 fall season, it was announced Monday.

"Armando is one of the top Texas distance recruits," said UTA Cross Country Coach John Sauerhage said. "He was highly recruited by some of the top cross country programs in the state. He is going to come in and make an immediate contribution to our team."

Saldivar earned all-state honors by the Cross Country Coaches Association of Texas in 2004 and 2005.

He was the top runner on the North Side High team that won its first state cross country championship with 62 total points in Class 4A boys state meet at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, Texas, on Nov. 13. He placed second at the state meet with a 15-minutes, 52.80-seconds time over the 5,000-meter course.

Saldivar won the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region I Meet in Lubbock by more than 30 seconds with a time of 15:52.80.

As a junior, Saldivar finished 12th at the state meet with a 15:55.20 while North Side finished third in the state with 99 total points.