LAREDO — Despite having the Laredo Cigarroa Toros and the Mission Veterans Patriots sitting closely behind them in the standings, Rattlers boys track head coach Eladio Bermudez knew his team was moments away from being crowned district champs going into the 1600-meter run.
“After the 200, we had a good idea,” Bermudez said. “We knew going into the mile that we had a really strong runner that would come up with the win for us. Mission Vets were right on the Toros heels. They were both up there on points. But, realistically, right before the mile, we knew that we pretty much had it in the bag.”
Bermudez hit the nail right on the head, with senior long-distance runner Alex Canales posting a personal best 4:35.59 time in the 1,600 to bring home an individual gold medal and the District 30-5A title on Wednesday night at Shirley Field.
Canales, who also earned first in the 1,600 and third in the 800, is one of five seniors who helped carry the Rattlers to their fifth district title in program history.
Seniors Marc Perez, Kevin Rodriguez, Ricky Falcon and Michael Chapa joined Canales at the podium.
Perez, Rodriguez and Falcon made up three of the four spots on the 4×100 and 4×200 relay teams, which took home the gold at the district meet, as well.
The senior trio fared well individually, as well, with Perez, Rodriguez and Falcon taking first place in the 100, 110 hurdles and long jump, respectively.
“It starts with our coaches,” Falcon said. “They’re a big part of our success. They push us everyday both on and off the track. But also, my team and I made sacrifices to be out there everyday, working hard for that district championship.”
While senior leadership helped carry the team, sophomore Victor Cardenas was crucial to the Rattlers’ victory, serving as the first leg of the 4×100 relay team, while also taking second place in the 100 dash with a time of 11.65 seconds, two-hundredths of a second behind Perez.
Cardenas also left his mark during the 200, qualifying for the area meet after finishing fourth. While Cardenas’ success might come as a surprise to others, Bermudez knew going into the season what he was capable of.
“Last year, he was a pretty big part of our team before COVID hit,” Bermudez said. “He was actually part of the 4×100 last year, as well. He’s also a jumper, but he didn’t have as good of a year jumping as we would have liked, but he more than made up for it in the running events. We expected it though.”
Although running events reigned supreme for the Rattlers, pole vaulter Michael Chapa also contributed to their win, taking home first place with a vault of 14 feet, four feet higher than the second-place finisher.
In total, the Rattlers send seven individual athletes and two relay teams to the area meet, with the five seniors accounting for six individual and two relay gold medals.
“They (the seniors) have been extremely important and a big part of the team,” Bermudez said. “In addition to them, you can add sophomore Victor Cardenas to the bunch. They were primarily the ones who did a majority of the scoring for us in bulk and really carried us to the district championship to be honest.”
Roma Gladiators freshman Diego Rodriguez, who took first place in the 20 after posting a personal best time of 23.25 seconds. Meanwhile, Gladiators senior Jose Lopez earned the district crown in the discus throw, beating La Joya Palmview Lobos freshman Ezequiel De Hoyos with a throw of 126 feet, 3 inches.
Finishing in second in the overall standings were the Toros with 133 points, with the Patriots sitting at third place with 132 points. The Lobos came in fourth place, tallying 89 points.
The competitors for the Region IV-5A area meet are set, with the time, date and location yet to be determined.