HARLINGEN — Harlingen Marine Military Academy’s track and field team came, saw and conquered the TCSAAL state meet in San Marcos on Saturday.
The Leathernecks came home with plenty of medals, state champions and an overall team title from the meet. Other athletes in the TCSAAL from the Rio Grande Valley also had success in Houston, but the day belonged to the Marine Military Academy.
“The way they performed was remarkable for our school,” head track and field coach Rick Lucio said. “The talent at state was great. There is so many speedy guys out of the Fort Worth and Houston area, so being able to compete against them and win, made it that much nicer for us.”
Leatherneck senior William Webb won his third straight discus state championship with a throw of 158 feet, beating second by 38 feet. Webb plans on attending Texas A&M, while under scholarship from the Marine Corps and hopes to become an infantry officer.
Webb is happy about winning again, being competitive is always important, he said. But, the state champion has been focusing on preparing for life in college and a future in the military.
“Overall, it feels pretty good,” Webb said. “I have been working at it for awhile now. Three years in a row always feels nice.”
Webb was the state champion in shot put last year but was beaten this year by teammate Mehkhi Blue. The junior’s throw of 41 feet, 10.25 inches was more than enough to win state. Webb said Blue could be throwing over 50 feet next season.
Lucio said he needed the field event athletes and the track athletes to pick up the necessary points to win the title. The Leathernecks finished with a total of 94 points, second had 66 points. The field events came through and so did the runners.
The Leathernecks 4×100 team of Alexis Duffy, Ben Smith, Jose Tijerina and Gilberto Flores Gamboa won gold and then silver in the 4×200. The 4×400 relay team also came in second place.
“We have been working on this for two years now,” Smith said. “Last year we came in second and the year before that we got third, so we had to go for the top this year.”
Marine Military Academy’s Ubaldo Flores finished third in 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs to also help contribute to the state title. Scott Ford’s bronze in triple jump also picked up points.
IDEA Weslaco’s Jonathan Cavazos finished second in the 200-meter dash and third in the 100-meter dash. IDEA McAllen’s Enrique Perez came in third in the 800.
The Valley has two state champions from the girls events. IDEA Weslaco’s Lynzie Zapata won the 800 and IDEA McAllen’s Julia Trevino won gold in the 1600.