BY JON R. LAFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
LA JOYA — The second day of the District 30-6A track and field meet was a showcase of speed for two La Joya programs that earned the title of district champions for the first time.
The La Joya Palmview Lady Lobos and La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies dominated much of Saturday’s action at La Joya ISD Stadium, scoring 175 and 168 team-points, respectively. Through 20 events, both programs combined for 11 gold medals and 19 podium finishes.
Athletes and relay teams that placed fourth or better in their event qualify for the Class 6A area meet in Laredo on April 24 and 25.
Palmview, who entered the day with 54 points and trailed McAllen High by one, succeeded at every level of competition. Be it sprints, relays, middle or long distance, a Lady Lobo was likely among the top finishers. The 400-meter dash was the only race in which Palmview did not place in the top three.
“It feels amazing,” Palmview girls coach Claudia Bazan said. “This has eluded us for seven years. This is something we’ve been working for since day one. For some reason, (the trophy) never wanted to come home with us. But, today, it’s taking the bus ride home.”
Brianna Robles was one of three individual athletes to win gold for the Lady Lobos. The freshman distance runner placed first in the 1600-meter run with a time of 5 minutes, 22.28 seconds. It was Robles’ second victory, the first coming on Thursday in the 3200-meter run (11:44.90).
“Usually, on the last lap, I take off,” Robles said. “But then in the last (200 meters) I explode. It’s hard sometimes. But it’s all something I really want. It’s basically my heart.”
Mia Hinojosa took first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.56, a new personal record and third-fastest time among her Valley-girl competitors. Alyssa Garza was the final Lady Lobo to medal individually, earning gold in the 100-meter dash (13.02).
Though the Juarez Lincoln Huskies were 56 points behind the McAllen Memorial Mustangs after Thursday’s field event finals, coach Horacio Garza seemed unfazed and repeated a team mantra throughout the meet.
“We just have to do what we’ve been doing all year,” he said.
What the Huskies have been doing is controlling relays from start to finish. No matter the distance, Juarez-Lincoln relay teams have been unencumbered by the competition. On Saturday, the Huskies swept all three relays, gaining 60 points and easily making up ground against Memorial in the standings.
“These guys have been working hard all season,” Garza said. “We had a goal for today, and they ran their (butts) off. They did a hell of a job.”
Juarez-Lincoln didn’t eclipse Memorial until the final race of the day, the 4×400-meter relay. Both teams entered with 148 points, but the Huskies took the lead on the first leg thanks to Robert Gonzalez. By the time anchor Yariel Matute, a senior, crossed the finish victorious, Memorial fell to fifth, 10 seconds behind.
“We had so many kids qualify for area, we might as well go up to Laredo and see if we just can’t win the whole thing there, too,” Garza said. “Why not?”