By ANDREW CRUM, Staff Writer
The Los Fresnos Lady Falcons put forth a triumphant effort to win their own Falcon Relays on Thursday at Leo Aguilar Memorial Stadium in Los Fresnos.
The annual event served as a tuneup for the Lady Falcons, who will compete in the District 32-6A meet in two weeks.
Los Fresnos won six events to score 158 points, outdistancing second-place finisher McAllen Memorial (126 points). Mercedes was third with 117.
“It’s great to win the meet, but overall I don’t think that we go out to win meets. We go out to get better every meet,” Los Fresnos coach Johvonne Howard said. “I think we are ready for district.”
Jaleah Calvillo led the Lady Falcons with wins in the high jump (5 feet, 5 inches) and the 100-meter hurdles (15.95 seconds). Valeria Granados took the shot put with a throw of 34-2 1/2, and Alyssa Salazar (50.76) won the 300 hurdles. The Lady Falcons’ relay teams of Christiana Garza, Alondra Escobar, Andrea Rodriguez and Sandy Estrada took the 400 (50.97) and 800 relays (1:49.58).
McAllen Memorial took four events. Elizabeth St. Clair (8-6) won the pole vault, Taylor Marburger (1:01.29) took the 400 dash, Victoria Izaguirre (5:35.93) won the 1,600 run and the Lady Mustangs relay team won the 1,600 relay (4:14.18).
Mercedes won three events, including two by Jacklynn Flores in the triple jump (35-9 1/2) and the long jump (17-1/2). Karina Prado (2:28.53) also finished first in the 800.
PSJA High also won three events. Anna Sanchez (12:46.05) took the 3,200, Ashley Tapia (105-0) won the discus and Valerie Mancha (27.24) was first in the 200.
Also winning on the girlsside was Ashley Cantu of Lopez, who took the 100 in 13.06.
With the meet victory, Howard feels confident as her Lady Falcons squad heads to district.
“The girls are going to do well. We have a lot of faith, and we believe in ourselves that we can go back there and give everyone a run for their money again,” she said. “But it’s going to be a battle and they know that. It’s not going to come easy, nobody is going to lay down for us. I’m excited to see the competitors on our side come out and show what they’ve been working for all season.”
Mercedes took the boys title with 160 points, followed by Los Fresnos with 133 and PSJA High with 70.
Mercedes won eight events, paced by Manuel Gonzalez, who won both the 800 (2:02.68) and 1,600 (4:40.04). Jonathan Reyes (10:04.44) won the 3,200 run, Roel Garcia (21-6) took the long jump, Robert Little (16.37) was first in the 110 hurdles, Fabricio Quintanilla (52.72) took the 400, Joel Gomez (42.04) won the 300 hurdles and the Tigers’ relay team (1:31.40) won the 800 relay.
The Falcons took three events and had two runner-up finishes, Pete Perez won the triple jump with a leap of 43-1/4, and Los Fresnos won the 400 and 1,600 relays. Jose Hernandez, Christian Parales, Raul Lopez and Jordan Rojas, took the 400 relay in 43.05, and Hernandez, Parales, Christian Campos and Rojas won the 1,600 relay (3:29.08).
“It’s always disappointing when you don’t win,” Los Fresnos coachWill Littleton said. “We didn’t necessarily have everyone in the events to win today, but I felt like the kids gave a great effort. It’s a hard turnaround after the Meet of Champions.”
McAllen Memorial won four events, led by Michael Boltie. He took both the pole vault (14-0) and the 200 (22.54), Anthony Esparza (54-8) won the shot put, and Lucas Rios (151-5) was first in the discus.
Also winning on the boysside was Darren Gonzalez of Lopez, who took the high jump with a leap of 6-0.
Littleton wasn’t discouraged. He had confidence in his squad as it prepares for the district meet.
“I feel like we’re coming along. We’re young and lacking a little bit of experience, but I feel we are peaking at the right time,” he said. “In two weeks at the district meet, I feel like we’re really going to make a push to be district champions.
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.