BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
RIO GRANDE CITY — Track and field teams from District 31-5A demonstrated their various strengths during the first day of their district meet Tuesday afternoon at Joe R. Sanchez stadium.
The Sharyland Pioneer Lady Diamondbacks collected three gold medals, including two from senior Nora Monie, who was victorious in the girls shot put (40 feet, 6 3/4 inches) and discus throw (135-06). Senior Lizette Chapa won the 3200-meter run with a mark of 12 minutes, 3.46 seconds.
“It was a good race for me,” Chapa said. “It wasn’t my best time, but it was the goal I wanted, which was to be district champion.
Track finals will be held on Friday at the same location. The top-two finishers in each event automatically qualify for regional competition which will take place next month in San Antonio.
Chapa’s male contemporary in the 3200 was Mission Veteran’s G.J. Reyna, who won the boys two-mile race in 9:35.82.
“I was a little bit nervous before the race,” Reyna said. “It’s my senior year. I want to go out there and win. I think the race unfolded well. I just wanted to hang out around, and somewhere around the last 800 meters I just took off. It was do or die.”
Reyna’s teammate Jordan De Leon won gold in the boys discuss throw with a distance of 153-10, while fellow Patriot Luis Trujillo took first in the pole vault (12-06).
The biggest upset of the day occurred during the boys long jump when Edinburg Vela’s Tristan Flores (22-02) beat Sharyland High’s Sean Landez (21-01.5) by more than a foot. Landez entered as the Valley’s best in the event.
“On every single jump, I worked on improving,” Flores said. “It was a mindset. My coach kept asking me, ‘Do you really want this?’ And when I did the jump, I felt the explosion. I felt the intensity.”
That’s not to say Sharyland didn’t collect gold on the day. Aylin Alvarez won the girls high jump with a height of 4-10. Vela’s Brandon Rivera placed first in the boys high jump (6-08).
Other notable performances from Tuesday include Roma’s Kassy Rocha, who brought home a pair of gold medals for the Lady Gladiators. Rocha won the triple jump (36-11.5) and the long jump (16-11). Valley View’s Robert Rosales placed first in the boys triple jump (41-09) and won the silver medal in the high jump (6-02). The only gold won by Rio Grande City came courtesy of Alejandre Clarke, who won the girls pole vault with a height of 9-00.