JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
MORE: Complete results from the first day of the District 30-6A meet
McALLEN — Joshua McGowen spent Tuesday morning attempting just five jumps — a light workout for the McAllen High standout. But each of his tries in the triple jump and long jump carried implications that transcended the confines of the District 30-6A meet.
In his first outing since winning a pair of silver medals at the Texas Relays earlier this month, the McHi senior began the march to the state meet at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium in splendid fashion. On his second go in the triple jump, McGowen easily earned gold with a distance of 47 feet, 5 3/4 inches, setting a new Valley record to boot.
McGowen breaks the previous record of 47-05 1/2 set in 1995 by Weslaco High’s Javier Villarreal. The feat is the latest in a season-long string of personal and school records set by McGowen, who also threatens to break Valley records in the 110 and 300-meter hurdles.
“To come out and jump that, it was definitely shocking,” McGowen said. “It was also a good feeling because of all the work we put in when we’re on the track during practice and no one is out here watching.”
With a district championship assured, McGowen rested his legs for the long jump, wherein he won with a mark of 23-03. McGowen, and all of the top four finishers in each event, automatically qualify for the area meet April 22 and 23.
While McGowen’s dominating performance in the sandpit was expected, some of the morning’s action set up what looks to be a close finish during Thursday’s track finals for the girls district crown between La Joya Palmview and McAllen Memorial. The Lady Lobos and Lady Mustangs each won a pair of gold medals Tuesday, showing well in events that have been strengths all season.
Palmview scored first during the girls 3,200 run when sophomore Brianna Robles took first in 11 minutes, 26.69 seconds. Mirna Tamez notched the Lady Lobo’s second first-place showing in the long jump with a try of 18-00, setting a new personal record and Valley’s Best.
The Lady Mustangs showed well in the throwing events thanks to junior Eloisa Martinez, who placed second in the discus (118-02) and first in the shot put (38-00). Martinez competed well despite sporting a right ankle the size of a softball — the remnant of a severe injury suffered during the preseason.
“I’m really happy with my distances today especially because I threw with some newer techniques,” Martinez said. “I’m been using a quarter throw instead of a full throw because it gives me more power when I’m out there. I had never thrown that far before using a quarter.”
Other notable performances in the girls competition include McAllen Rowe’s Jovanni Solis, who won the triple jump in 37-02 1/2, and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln’s Karen Guerra who took home gold in the discuss with a throw of 133-08.
The boys competition was mostly a showcase for McAllen Memorial. The Mustangs medaled in every event, winning three gold, two silver and six bronze. Ricardo Miner won the shot put (49-05 1/2), D.J. Johnson claimed first in the high jump (6-00) and Michael Boltie topped the competition in the pole vault (15-00).
A brief scare befell Boltie on his second attempt at scaling 15-06 when the pole slipped out of Boltie’s hands after an ill-timed plant. The senior vaulter landed feet first on the landing mat, laughing off the mishap. For Boltie, such is the learning curve of transitioning to a 16-foot pole after growing accustomed to a 15-foot pole.
“It’s really hard to get going on those things when you’re at practice and you really don’t have all the adrenaline rushing and stuff like that,” Boltie said. “So I come these meets and I’m like, ‘OK, this is my third time ever jumping on this pole. Let’s see what happens. So just getting prepared for that, attacking the front of the bar, knowing you’re over concrete and just trusting that you’ll know what you’ll need to do and that you’ll be O.K.”