BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — With a roster of proven talent and some welcomed surprises, the McAllen Memorial Mustangs are perched atop the team standings after the first day of competition Thursday at the District 30-6A track meet at La Joya ISD Stadium.
During an afternoon of gusty winds and unrelenting sunshine, teams competed in finals for all field events and the 3200-meter run. Track finals will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at the same location. The top four finishers in all events qualify for area competition in Laredo on April 24 and 25.
Junior Michael Boltie led the way for the Mustangs by winning gold twice. His first victory came during the boys pole vault with a jump of 14 feet before earning top prize once more in the long jump with a mark of 21-10 1/2, more than a foot better than the runner-up.
“I really was hoping to do better today (in the pole vault),” Boltie said. “It was really windy today, but first is first. The wind made it harder to jump, but I’m pretty happy with how I did at the end of the day.”
Boltie contributed 20 points to the Mustangs’ 92-point haul. Though Memorial coach Marcus Kauffman expected the strong showing, he was surprised by his team’s path to a first-day lead.
“D.J. Johnson came through for us,” Kauffman said. “We weren’t sure what we were going to get out of him.”
Johnson, who competed in his first track meet since regional competition a season ago, placed second in the high jump by judge’s decision with a height of 6-0. Johnson would later place fourth in the long jump with a distance of 20-7 1/2.
The Mustangs’ strong showing continued in the throwing events, where they swept the podium in the discus. Lucas Rios won with a throw of 159-00. Teammates Edward Pequeno and Anthony Esparza finished second and third, respectively.
Though Memorial leads the competition by a 56-point margin, the team’s quest to repeat as district champs will have to wait until Saturday’s track finals, where the La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies look to make up ground.
The Huskies will enter Saturday tied with La Joya Palmview for second in points with 36. Though Juarez-Lincoln sports perhaps the district’s most formidable relay rotations, the team made due during field events, taking points where they could.
Carlos Barrera won the team’s only gold medal during the boys triple jump with a distance of 43-06. After each jump, Barrera grimaced and held his lower back, the result of competing through a slipped disc which occurred during hurdles practice.
“(The back) is bothering me, but it’s something I have to suck up and do for the team,” Barrera said. “I want to go to regional and try to qualify for state.”
Though Barrera entered Thursday banged up, Misison High’s Jose Garcia left with an ice pack taped to his left wrist, the result of scary incident during the boys pole vault. While attempting a 14-foot jump, Garcia missed the landing matt and landed on the track surface with a concerning thud. Garcia got up under his own power and removed himself competition, finishing second. The injury did not appear to be serious.
“I think the wind got to my head,” Garcia said. “I started going up and I felt the wind get me, and I was like, ‘Yeah I’m going to fall.’ I just let my body go limp so I could land safely.”
In the girls competition, the McAllen High Lady Bulldogs lead the La Joya Palmview Lady Lobos, 55-54. Though Palmview were in front early thanks to a first place showing from Brianna Robles in the girls 3200-meter run with a time of 11 minutes, 44.90 seconds, McHi collected the bulk of their points when they swept the high jump. Freshman Sydney Pemelton and Sarah Killian tied for first with a mark of 5-02.
The McAllen Rowe Lady Warriors performed well in jumping events, as teammates Mayda Garcia and Jovanni Solis placed first and second, respectively, in the girls triple jump. Garcia’s gold-medal attempt was a personal best 34-11 1/2, and Solis’ second-place effort measured 34.07.