By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
Several Metro-area track & field athletes have worked to get to this moment this season, and hopefully for them, one more step toward state.
Starting today and continuing through Saturday, schools will compete in regional track meets across the state. The Region IV-6A and Region IV-5A regional meet will be at the Alamo Stadium in San Antonio and the Region IV-4A meet will take place at Javelina Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The top two in each event advance to the UIL state track & field meet May 14 and 16 at Mike A. Meyers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin.
In Class 6A, Rivera has six athletes competing at the regional. Angel Espinoza in the discus event, and Jonathan Herrera, Anthony Garza, and Christian Machuca in the 3,200-meter run. Edward Velasquez will compete in the 110 hurdles and Sammy Orive qualified in the triple jump. Garza also will compete in the 400, and Machuca will run in the 1,600.
“We qualified six of the seven from area, so I’m really happy about that,” Rivera coach Omar Gonzalez said. “We missed out on the quarter miler by 100th of a second. When you cross the finish line, you should be at your fastest, not your slowest. Sometimes those bad habits that we pick up come back to bite us.”
Gonzalez said Espinoza comes into the regional with the top throw, and his two-mile runners are close in times.
“We’re excited,” Gonzalez said. “Angel is our best chance to move ahead. The two milers aren’t very far off. If they run fast there is a chance, but they’ll have to PR (personal record).”
The Rivera coach was confident ahead of the regional meet.
“The good thing about these track meets is it’s not what you’ve done in the past, it’s what you do that day,” he said. “Anything can happen. We’re going with a good frame of mind, a positive attitude, and let’s see where the chips fall.”
Los Fresnos qualified in five boys events. Christian Parales in the 100 and 200, Pete Perez in the triple jump, and the 400 and 1,600 relay teams all qualified.
Brownsville Veterans Memorial qualified in three boys events, with Eddie Guzman in the 400 and 800, and Felipe Flores in the long jump.
Lopez will compete in two boys events, Darren Gonzalez in the high jump and Brandon Frausto in the long jump. And the lone representative from Hanna is Alex Herrera in the high jump.
For the girls, Los Fresnos has qualified in 11 events. Jaleah Calvillo will compete in three events, the triple jump, 100 hurdles and the high jump. Also competing will be Alyssa Salazar in the 100 and 300 hurdles, Valeria Granados in the shot put and discus, Alondra Escobar in the long jump, and Jackie Kingsbury in the high jump. The relay teams for the 400 and 800 will compete, too.
Brownsville Veterans will compete in eight girls events, with Clarissa Chavez in the discus and shot put, Krista Lopez in the 200, Haley Allen in the 400 and Rachel Ysaguirre in the 800. Michaela Artega qualified in the 300 hurdles, as did the relay teams in the 800 and 1,600.
Lopez and Hanna each qualified in two girls events. For the Lady Lobos, Reyna Medrano will compete in the 400, and Samantha Hernandez will run in the 1,600. For Lady Eagles, Sofia Salinas will run in the 800 and Mariana Sanchez in the 3,200. Brandy Endsley will represent Rivera in the triple jump.
In Class 5A, Pace qualified three girls in four events, with Maria Avila in the high jump and 100 hurdles, Getrudis Ruiz-Balli in the discus and Hope Ngo in the 1,600.
“We had a extra week to prepare, so that was great,” Pace coach Sergio Sandoval said. “Last week we were here for four days, twice a day, working hard, but this week has been light. The girls have focused on their events and I think we’re ready to compete.
“They are ready to go and they’re excited.”
Anthony Gonzalez of Porter also qualified in three events, the 100, 200 and long jump.
In Class 4A, a pair of seniors and past state qualifiers are leading the way for Port Isabel.
Daniella Murchison, the two-time state champion in the shot put; will compete in that event and in the discus. Gabby Torres will compete in five events: the long jump, high jump, 100 hurdles and as a part of the 800 and 1,600 relay teams.
Also competing for the Lady Tarpons are Simone Harry in the triple jump, 400, and 800, Natalie Garza in the 400, and Alexandria Martinez in the pole vault. Harry, Garza, Ava Gomez and Amaya Lampkin will compete on the relay teams.
Omar Silva is the lone Tarpons boys athlete to advance in the 110 and 300 hurdles.
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @andrewmcrum.