PHARR — McAllen High’s boys and girls 4×100 relay teams turned on the burners to capture a pair of district titles in their respective events at the District 31-5A meet Thursday at PSJA Stadium.
McHi’s girls went on to blow their competition out of the water with 197 points to win the District 31-5A girls team championship. Sharyland High’s girls won second with 97 points, and Edinburg Vela took third with 87 points.
Sophia Flores was part of McHi’s first-place finishing 4×100 and 4×400 relay teams, and also won gold in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.74.
| McAllen’s Sophia Flores crosses the finish line in first place as she competes in the 100 meter dash during the 31-5A/6A District track meet at PSJA Stadium on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Pharr. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Ecklyn Vaden, Flores, Dariana Luna and Katelyn Vaden ran a 49.34 in the 4×100. Flores, Katelyn Vaden, Elizabeth Sandoval and Yaneli Rocha ran a 4.00.60 in the 4×400.
“Our team was really good today. We all worked so hard, and I’m so glad we won district,” Flores said.
Sharyland Pioneer’s boys finished fourth at last year’s district meet and used it as motivation to win this year’s 31-5A boys team championship with 132 points. Edinburg Vela finished second at 108, and McHi was right behind with 103 points.
| Sharyland Pioneer’s Ryan Servantes (1) competes along side McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Grandos (20) and others in the 800 meter run during the 31-5A/6A District tract meet at PSJA Stadium on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Pharr. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
Pioneer’s 4×400 relay team of Gabriel Halbritter, Philip Syer, Leo Espinoza and Austin Saenz needed to finish ahead of Edinburg Vela and McAllen High’s relay teams in order to win the boys team title, and they took care of business by running a 3:25.64 for first place in the meet’s final event.
“We came out of the field events tied with Edinburg Vela and we knew it was going to be a battle, then McHi started creeping up there, but the kids just rallied and came together,” Pioneer boys track head coach Marcelino De la Fuente said. “It came down to the 4×400 like it should and we had the best one coming in, so they stepped up and every kid played a part. It was awesome.”
McHi’s Zachary Hernandez also won district championships in the 100 and 400, as well as in the 4×100 with teammates William Hawk, Leo Salinas and EJ Ramirez to go 3-for-3 in gold medals in his respective events. McHi’s 4×100 relay team finished second during the district prelims Tuesday but turned things up a bit to win first in the finals.
| McAllen High’s Zachary Hernandez (4) competes in the 100 meter dash during the 31-5A/6A District track meet at PSJA Stadium on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Pharr. (Joel Martinez | [email protected]) Joel Martinez |
“Last year, I came out here hoping to strike an individual gold and unfortunately I wasn’t able to, so this year was redemption season,” Hernandez said. “I had to come out here and make up for it, trusted in our practices, in our training and it paid off.”