By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The 65th annual Sams Relays took place on a cool and overcast Saturday at Sams Memorial Stadium.
Two teams stood out above the rest and ran away with dominant team title victories.
The Harlingen High Cardinals finished with 159 points to win the boys trophy, despite some poor handoffs and a dropped baton in the 800-meter relay. Edinburg Vela’s boys took second place with 98 points, and Brownsville Rivera tallied 62 to finish third.
“I was happy with the results overall. There were a few hiccups, we had some bad exchanges, but other than that you can’t be too unhappy with a win like this,” Harlingen High coach Efrain Ambriz said. “(This early win) establishes our core values and how we’re training, and sets us up for the rest of the season.”
The Cardinals tabbed four individual wins in the morning field events to secure an early lead. Hayden Mann won gold in the shot put, and Samuel Lerma took bronze. Nathan Gutierrez won the high jump, and Eric Quilantan and Pedro Luna took first and third in the long jump. Quilantan also earned a bronze medal in the triple jump.
Harlingen High claimed the top three spots in the pole vault as Ethan Reyes took gold with a clearance of 13-01, with Ethan Esquivel and Nathan Lopez following.
The Cardinals found success on the track as well with good performances from the sprinters and hurdlers.
“Our field events really carried us today,” Ambriz said. “Our throwers had an outstanding day in shot put, and our long and triple jump, too. Our pole vaulters went one, two and three so that made me really happy.”
On the girls side, the Edinburg Vela Lady Sabercats racked up 171 points to earn a long-awaited team title with big performances on the track and in field events. Los Fresnos finished second with 121 points, and Harlingen High took third with 116.
Dayanne Ramos won the long jump and was followed by teammates Delicia Drain and Monica Garza to sweep the event. Ramos and Drain also found the podium with second- and third-place finishes in the triple jump. Isabella Villarreal tied for first with Penny Alanis of Los Fresnos in the high jump, and Teresa Moreno took third in the discus throw.
The Lady Sabercats cleaned up on the track as well, finishing first and second in the 300-meter hurdles and using clean handoffs to support four solid legs to claim gold in the 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays. This title is the first Vela has won in the three years Iris Garza has been the coach.
“The girls have really been putting a lot of work into the skill and their technique, and they’ve put in more hours than we have in the past and it showed today,” Garza said. “This feels good. It’ll give us the confidence boost that we need, that we’re just as good and can compete against anyone.”