McALLEN — The McAllen High Bulldogs track teams put on a dominating performance with both the boys and girls cruising to first place at the eighth annual McAllen ISD Invitational track meet Saturday at McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Bulldogs senior pole vaulter Olivia Tite came away with gold after clearing a height of 10 feet, 7 inches. With the mark, Tite vaulted into the McAllen High School record books, breaking Sarah Solis’ school record of 10-6 set in 2017.
Tite holds two of the top three spots in the McHi pole vault record books, with her mark of 9-7 from 2018 sitting at No. 3 on the list.
Sharyland Pioneer’s Daisy Monie also stood out in the girls’ field events. While her team did not place in the overall standings, Monie captured first in both the shot put and discus.
Monie, who signed her letter of intent to continue her track and field career at the University of Houston, broke meet records in both of her events, throwing for 134-1 in the discus and 40-6 in the shot put.
On the boys’ side, another Bulldogs competitor claimed the top spot in the pole vault with senior Gavin Britton winning gold after clearing 12-6, tied for his personal best from last year and third in Bulldogs’ history.
On the track, the Bulldogs were no strangers to the podium with the boys’ team, claiming the top spot in the 400- 800- and 1,600-meter relays. The girls fared just as well, taking gold in the 400- and 800-meter relays, while running to second in the 1,600-meter relay behind the Weslaco High Panthers, who placed second overall in both the boys and girls overall team standings.
Individually, the Bulldogs continued their dominating day with Holden Hood and Caleb Killian blazing past the competition to earn gold in the 110-meter and 300-meter hurdles, respectively.
On the day, the Bulldogs took the gold in sixteen events, while also earning eight silver medals and nine bronze medals, on their way to the overall team win, with both teams demolishing the next-closest team by nearly 70 points.
The girls team finished with 204.33 points, with the Weslaco High Panthers coming in second with 136 points and Sharyland High finishing third with 101.16 points. Meanwhile, the boys team came out on top with 189 points. The Panthers finished No. 2 in the overall standings with 118 points, while the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks left with the bronze after scoring 98 points.
With the win, the Bulldogs girls team has now placed first in both of their meets this season, while the boys came away with their first overall team win on the year after placing second at the 14th Annual Bobby Morrow Relays.
The Bulldogs will hit the track again Feb. 27 at the Jacket Invitational at Benny Layton Senior Memorial Stadium in Elsa.