BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
The Edinburg Economedes boys track and field team entered the Hudson Relays at La Feria last week with lingering injuries, but still managed to post some of the fastest times in the Valley during the early part of the season.
Junior Bony Rios won gold in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.64 seconds, setting the season’s second-fastest time in the event behind McAllen High’s Joshua McGowen. Rios, a regional qualifier in the hurdles last year, is working his way back from a left knee sprain suffered during a preseason workout. Despite the setback, Rios was given the green light by trainers to resume competition.
“He’s not 100 percent yet, so for him to be hitting the times he’s hitting, I’m pretty excited about it,” Econ boys coach Brandon Solis said. “I feel like he’s going to improve quite a bit more. … The injury is healed enough. It still bothers him a little bit, some days he’ll limp a little. But he’s got to get over it at some point.”
Rios’ teammate Charlie Vela is dealing with a nagging injury as well in the form of a tender hamstring. At less than full strength, however, Vela’s fourth-place time of 11.14 in the 100 dash is still the fifth fastest time in the Valley. Vela won gold in the 100 at the District 31-6A meet a season ago and looks to contend for back-to-back titles when fully healthy.
Solis says Vela will likely sit out of Saturday’s action at the McAllen ISD Invitational at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Aside from individual events, Econ demonstrated its team speed in the 400-meter relay, winning gold and setting a new Valley’s best in 43.21. Every member of the relay team, including Vela, Jesse Gonzalez, Michael Medellin and Pete Segura, were members of the Econ football team.
“We have a lot of kids that play a lot of other sports, and we sell them on track by telling them it will make them faster in all of their other activities,” Solis said. “It’s getting harder and harder to recruit kids in track and keep them there, so that’s one thing we do that’s really working for us.”
THROW SOME MORE
A season ago, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln was defined by its boys relay teams and the middle distance running of state qualifier, Yariel Matute. This year, it’s the Lady Huskies who may possess the team’s best chances of advancing to the UIL state meet in Austin.
When Juarez-Lincoln competes Saturday at the McAllen ISD Invitational, the team will bring along two throwers who rank in the Valley’s best for girls shot put and discus. Junior Felicita Saenz will enter with the sixth-best shot put throw of 35 feet 6 inches, while teammate Karen Guerra, a senior, holds the Valley’s best distance in the discus with a mark of 131-04.
For Saenz, who got a late start on the season due to girls basketball, the season-long goal is to improve her throwing speed. To do so, Juarez-Lincoln throwing coach Edrick Alvarez is emphasizing a style of throwing that requires full body rotation.
“The type of throws she’s doing now is only going to get her so far,” Alvarez said. “She’s still a little shaky. Full body rotation has a lot of the same movements as discus. We’re working with her to get her rotation down and building confidence with her.”
As for Guerra, a more polished and experienced thrower, her workout routine includes putting in time at the gym, working with weights and doing hip exercises.
“We’ve been trying to strengthen her lower body,” Alvarez said. “We got her some new throwing shoes that are some of the better ones you can find on the market. They made her ankles shake like a baby lamb learning to walk. We’ve done a bit more balancing work, and she doesn’t shake anymore. She can balance and land in the correct position. That’ll help her killer instinct a lot.”