NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
PHARR — By the second relay of the afternoon, the Edinburg Economedes Jaguars knew they had done enough to leave the field behind for their first district championship in school history.
Senior Kimberly Talamantes ran the lead leg of the 400- and 800-meter relays, which were both gold-medal finishes.
“It’s incredible. We worked so hard for this,” Talamantes said with tears in her eyes. “Our coach pushes us to our limits every time, and it’s worth it. We’ve always been the underdogs. This year, we’re bringing it home. This is for our own, for Edinburg, for Economedes. We’re always underestimated, and this is where we show who we are.”
Economedes comfortably claimed the girls team title, finishing 32 points ahead of second-place Edinburg Vela in the District 31-6A championships on Saturday at PSJA Stadium.
Edinburg Vela’s boys used a strong day of field events Thursday and a plethora of podium finishes on Saturday to win the team title with 139 points. PSJA High finished second with 118.
Talamantes earned a silver medal in the 200 in 27.04 seconds, behind the long legs and quick pace of Edinburg Vela’s Sophia Ramirez (25.88).
The Econ girls nearly completed a relay sweep, but in the 1,600 relay Vela’s Ramirez caught up to Econ’s 300 hurdle champion, Monique Rodriguez.
Econ’s Kyle Marroquin easily won the 110 hurdles with a time of 15.23, but on the final jump his ankle made contact with the hurdle, leaving him limping after the finish. With two races to go, the injury could have jeopardized his ability to perform in the longer hurdles and anchor Econ’s 1,600 relay, but the senior found the strength to continue.
“In the 110s, I rarely clip the hurdles, so it was an amazement to me that I did,” Marroquin said. “At the end of the race, I felt pain in my left ankle, and it was immense. I couldn’t walk on it. But I told myself, ‘If my brothers were here, if my mom were here, they would told me ‘Pull through it, you’ve gone through way worse than this,’’ and that gave me the courage to push on to the 300 hurdles.”
In the 300 hurdles, Marroquin held a lead for most of the race until Nathan Sanchez of PSJA High made up ground heading into the final 100 meters.
“The guy was right next to me, and I told myself, ‘This is now or never. You’re going to have to push it.’ So in the last 50 meters, that’s when I actually kicked it in and pulled off the win,” Marroquin said. “It’s an amazing feeling knowing you swept the hurdle events. I’m just thankful to God.”
In the boys 400 dash, Vela’s Eddie Guzman and PSJA High’s Jose Andrade stayed neck and neck the whole lap around the track.
Andrade stayed in front and held on to win the race in 51.15 seconds, just ahead of Guzman’s silver time of 51.21.
“He’s a great runner. It feels great running against other great runners and great competition. It was a great race,” Andrade said. “It pushes me more, but it feels good to come out on top.”
PEÑA NOT BACKING DOWN
The rivalry between the top boys runners in District 31-6A was back on this week. After alternating district championships during the past two seasons, Tristan Peña and Cruz Gomez went head-to-head in a mile race that didn’t disappoint.
North’s Peña got stronger with time in the 1,600, staying next to Gomez and not letting him pull away in the final turn — the spot where he usually likes to create separation.
Last season, as a sophomore, Gomez took gold in the 1,600 and 3,200 runs, but Peña says he put in the work to keep up with the outstanding Wolverines athlete.
“My plan was just to stay with him, as close as I can to his shoulder,” Peña said. “Normally, he tends to take off on me, and I don’t really have the confidence to go after him. But this time, I’ve been putting in the work, and I’ve been praying every day. I stayed next to him, and I got the win.”
Peña and Gomez both finished inside the top seven at the state track meet last season.
On Saturday, Gomez won 31-6A gold in the 800 run with a time of 1:59.16.
MEMORIAL SPRINTS HARD
PSJA Memorial’s Tavis Sain won the 100 dash with an 11.06. He said he was glad he could take the race as the top seed and keep his season going.
“Honestly, it felt great just to know that you have the experience and the ability to be at the top,” Sain said before turning his focus to advancing out of the area meet in two weeks. “All I have to do is make sure I work harder, get good rest and make sure I’m on top of everything.”
In the same race for the girls, the Wolverines were victorious again behind the 12.76 of Alexis Cruz, who held off Vela sophomore Danya Selber (13.15).
Top four finishers in each event will look to keep their seasons going in two weeks when 32-6A and 31-6A battle for regional qualification.