By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
The Lopez Lady Lobos’ track & field team had its sights set on sending several girls beyond the District 32-5A meet to postseason success.
“This year was going to be one of our stronger years, for sure,” Lopez coach Jesus Artiaga said.
Artiaga said several of his athletes would have had a good shot at advancing past district, had the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic not put their season on pause following the BISD City Meet on March 13.
Freshman standouts for the Lady Lobos included Star Martinez, a freshman who placed first in the shot put with a throw of 28 feet, 4 inches, and Kassandra Aguirre, a long jumper.
Sophomore Keyla Hernandez-Olguin excelled in the discus, and junior Brenda Savariego thrived in the 800-meter run and the 1,600, winning both events at the junior varsity level at the city meet.
Other top performers were junior Katherin Rodriguez in the discus (third place in the discus at the city meet with a throw of 97 feet, 11 inches), and seniors Alexis Zepeda in the 100 (with a fifth-place finish and time of 13.79 at the city meet) and Kenya Gonzalez in the 400. Gonzalez (1:07.67) was fifth in the 400 at the city meet.
“I enjoyed spending time with the team on and off the track,” Aguirre said. “There was really good chemistry within the team, there were a lot of laughs, and we talked a lot about our events and supported each other throughout the season.”
Aguirre and Hernandez-Olguin were among those who Artiaga believes had the best chance at advancing to the UIL Region IV-5A meet.
“When you look at their numbers compared to the rest of the district, they definitely had a shot at going into the next round,” Artiaga said.
Hernandez-Olguin won the discus event at the city meet, setting a personal-best throw of 119-10.
Aguirre made her debut at the freshman level during the Bobby Morrow Relays on Feb. 7 in San Benito and competed at the city meet, one day after pulling her hamstring. She had been slated to move up to the varsity level for the district meet.
At the Bobby Morrow Relays, Aguirre turned in her best performance, sweeping the 100, 200, long jump and triple jump, and she also competed in the 400 relay.
She said Savariego was a mentor for her, showing her stretches she could use to help prevent future hamstring injuries, and giving her moral support and guidance for handling nerves and anxiety prior to competitions.
“(Savariego) did help a lot,” Aguirre said. “While she would be warming up, she would give me tips and advice about how to compete, and it helped me a lot as a freshman.”
At the city meet, Aguirre won the 100 with a time of 13.77 seconds and was the runner-up in the 200, clocking in at 29.34. She placed second in the long jump with a mark of 13-11 and recorded a triple jump of 28-2 1/12 — good for fourth place.
“It was a good meet, but I didn’t really do as well as I expected because I had just come back from the injury,” Aguirre said. “It was a little difficult, I was a little scared coming back and jumping, but I tried my best to forget about it and give it my all, and pull through to perform my best.”
She also played volleyball and basketball for Lopez, and participated in five track & field events — in the long jump, Aguirre set a personal record with a long jump of 16-10.
“One of the things I tell the girls is, ‘The race you’re going to remember is your last race,’” Artiaga said. “So it meant a lot. There’s a lot of emphasis on varsity sports, but our program is super young, and my freshman team ended up placing third at the city meet and my JV team ended up placing third, and I was really proud of them for that.”
Lopez will look to build off of its shortened 2020 season and hopes to become a strong postseason contender with its young core.
“We’re very excited,” Artiaga said. “We had a lot of girls and parents who had expressed interest in doing summer track. … With this younger group coming in, I think the support of the parents is what will end up helping the program tremendously.”