By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
The conditions weren’t ideal for a track meet, but two teams managed to beat the wind and everyone else Friday in La Feria.
The Lyford Bulldogs clinched the boys team title and the Mission Veterans Memorial Lady Patriots claimed the top prize for the girls in the Jim Hudson Relays at Lions Stadium.
Lyford swept the relays and received strong performances from its jumpers, including a personal-record 20-11.50 long jump by Justin Vela to win the event, to get the gold. Mission Veterans and La Feria finished second and third, respectively.
The Bulldogs and Patriots went toe-to-toe in the boys 1,600-meter relay to close the meet on a thrilling note. Mission Veterans’ Jaythen Barrera was in the lead coming out of the final curve, but Lyford’s Mathew Sanchez turned on the jets in the final 50 meters to track him down and get his team the win by a hair.
“These boys fight every day, regardless of the circumstance. Whether it’s the wind or the other schools that are larger than them, they just compete,” Lyford coach Jaime Guerra said. “(The 1,600-meter) relay is what our track team is built on, everything funnels down from that. But on our team everyone knows their role and has a part, and understands they’re a piece of this puzzle.”
The Lady Patriots also leaned on their relays to claim the girls title and had a good day in field events. San Benito and La Feria finished second and third in the girls division, respectively.
Thrower Charlee Salinas got the day started with wins in the girls shot put and discus. The Mission Veterans girls won the 400- and 800-meter relays, and finished second in the 1,600-meter relay.
“A lot of (our field event girls) had personal bests today, so I was really happy with them opening up like that and with Charlee’s efforts today,” Mission Veterans coach Kathy Howell said. “It’s been tough because I have a lot of key kids who also play soccer and softball, but they did really well this week.”
San Benito squashed the Lady Patriots’ dreams of a sweep by taking gold in the 1,600-meter relay to seal its second place finish. Nala Hernandez was the top distance runner of the meet, as she finished first in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs to help the Lady Greyhounds.
“We had girls get on the medal stand and that doesn’t happen for everyone, so that’s a good thing,” San Benito coach Joel Padilla said. “We have some girls that are injured, so it’s tough battling through that and the win, but you can’t deny they competed.”
Other top performers were Mission Veterans thrower Alex Galvan, who won the boys shot put and discus events, and Raymondville’s Miranda Hernandez, as she took gold in the girls 100- and 300-meter hurdles.