By MARK MOLINA
Staff Writer
HARLINGEN — Over the last couple of weeks, Harlingen’s Travis Barnes has set personal records in the shot put and propelled himself to the Valley’s second-best mark.
He not only continued that streak during Thursday afternoon’s Harlingen Relays at Boggus Stadium, but he nearly wrote his name in the Harlingen High record books.
Barnes’ winning throw of 55-11 earned him gold and was a half inch short of tying the Harlingen High school record (held by Chris Dahlen) of 55-11.5. But don’t look for the senior to top out at that mark.
“I’ve been practicing more lately and while people were out partying at Spring Break, I didn’t leave anywhere except to Sharyland to practice with another coach,” Barnes said. “With hard work, you’ll get the gold. I feel like I have 60 (feet) in me, just give it a couple of weeks.”
Barnes set the tone and his teammates closed, as the Cardinal boys walked away as the top team, racking up 96 points on the day, ousting Harlingen South (78 points) and McAllen (72 points).
Aside from Barnes, Harlingen’s Chris Rosales won gold in the 400-meter dash (49.78), while Devin Rosas won the high jump, clearing 6-02.
Head coach Efrain Ambriz was happy with his team’s performance at a meet loaded with talent from all across the Valley. But the home setting was the cherry on top of a solid day.
“It was great to see the kids perform at home in front of their friends and family,” Ambriz said. “That’s a rewarding experience for the guys. This meet was a boost of confidence. This was top-notch competition and for us to come out on top says a lot.”
Over on the girls side, Weslaco dominated the field, scoring 120 points.
Weslaco’s relay teams were dominant and swept all three relays.
Weslaco’s Stephanie Sauceda finished first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.78.
Over in the field events, Weslaco’s Eleanor Arndt captured the gold in the long jump (17-00.50) and teammate Sydney Salinas won the pole vault, clearing 11-07.
“Our main focus today was to get through the meet injury free since we’re close to the Meet of Champions next week and the district meet after that,” said Weslaco girls head coach Pablo Almaguer. “I wanted the girls to come out here and be consistent and improve on what we worked on week in and week out.
“We knew it would be a big test, but we came out and did what we do and not so much worry about anyone else.”
While Weslaco won the meet as a team, Harlingen South’s Nicole Gonzalez had another big day winning the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes.
Windy conditions early resulted in slower times for the South senior, but she’ll take the hardware.
“The wind was a factor and I didn’t hit my best times, but three gold medals is very rewarding,” Gonzalez said. “Going into meets that count more, I’ll feel better prepared and confident when trying to hit my personal records.”
CHANGE IT UP
McAllen’s Joshua McGowen is the Valley’s best athlete when it comes to both the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, but he competed in neither on Thursday.
Instead, McGowen tried his hand in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and did well.
McGowen finished third in the 100-meter dash with an 11.22, falling to Harlingen’s Rosales and Los Fresnos’ Chris Perales (11.13) in one of the day’s more exciting races.
In the 200-meter dash he placed second with a time of 22.22, falling to Perales once again, but defeated McAllen memorial’s Michael Boltie.
Boltie came into Thursday as the Valley’s best in the race, but finished third with a 22.24.
Boltie did win the pole vault, clearing 14-06.