By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Hanna earned the right to boast that its Golden Eagles were the best boys track team in Brownsville in 2020 when it captured the BISD City Meet title with 169 points on March 13.
“We did finish with a bang,” Eagles track coach Armando Rocha said. “If there’s one thing that went right for us, we did finish on a high note. That was something special, and something these guys can still take with them.”
Though they might not have realized in the moment that it was their final competition, the Hanna seniors were satisfied to go out on top. But they later lamented the fact that they did not have the opportunity to continue their success at the District 32-6A meet, area or Region IV-6A meets due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s kind of disappointing, all of these seniors put in three or four years of hard work,” Rocha said. “Then it comes up short (with the early end to the season) and you just feel bad for them, all of their hard work throughout the whole tenure they’re in high school. … It’s hard to swallow.”
Rocha said seniors Sabian Arceneaux, Aaron Amaro and Felipe Parra had exemplary high school careers.
“We were dedicated, we would show up to practice every day and it was a motivated group,” Arceneaux said. “(The possibility that the city meet was our last meet) made us want to win even more, and I’m glad we got to go out together as seniors with the victory.”
Arceneaux, the Coe College-bound high jumper and a standout for the Hanna basketball team, also competed in the 400-meter dash. He won the high jump at the city meet with a leap of 5 feet, 10 inches. He missed qualifying for the 2019 Region IV-6A meet by one spot and joined the track team later than some of his teammates because of his basketball commitments.
“At the beginning of the city meet, we started off rough,” Arceneaux said. “We didn’t know we would have the most points at the end, because (Brownsville Veterans Memorial) has a good track team. … At the end, we had the most for varsity points and overall points.”
Amaro recorded the second-best long jump at the city meet, a personal record of 20-4 1/2, and was the runner-up in the 100, with a time of 11.63 seconds. He was also a part of the Eagles’ 400 and 800 relay teams.
“It meant a lot to me (to place in four of five events and earn two second-place finishes),” Amaro said.
His progress in the long jump was unparalleled, as he continued to set personal bests after each meet having never attempted the event before he arrived at Hanna as a freshman.
“All of those four years of dedication in track paid off in the end,” Amaro said. “I was able to help my team out a lot, actually. I’m thankful for all the coaches, especially Coach Rocha and (coaches Damian Vela and JC Ramirez), who helped me throughout the years of track and always supported me and coached me to my best.”
Parra, a Waldorf University commit, was a distance runner who excelled in both cross country and track.
“We were going to try to reach their goals (of advancing to the area and regional meets) one step at a time,” Rocha said. “But that didn’t happen.”
Hanna’s outlook on the track remains bright, especially with several key sophomores expected to elevate their performance in 2021. Sprinter Esteban Zavala, high jumper Charles Thirlwall and John Abrego, a distance runner, all had impressive years for the Eagles.
“Next year, they should have a good group of seniors, juniors and sophomores,” Arceneaux said. “They should be good for the next couple of years.”
Arceneaux and Parra both have college athletic careers to look forward to, and Arceneaux said he is logging workouts sent to him by his Coe coaches.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Arceneaux said. “I’m going to miss the track team and just competing with them in general, the atmosphere.”