NATHANIEL MATA | STAFF WRITER
SAN ANTONIO — The Valley shined bright in distance events for the second day in a row during the Region IV track meet Saturday at Alamo Stadium.
On Friday, RGV athletes took three out of four gold medals in the 3,200-meter run. On Saturday, in the 1,600, the Valley went a perfect four for four.
The difference Saturday was the Class 5A girls run. Sharyland High senior Valeria Diaz avenged a painful third-place finish after leading in the two-mile Friday to win a gold medal in the mile Saturday. Her time of 5 minutes, 14.21 seconds set the pace.
“Yesterday, I had some family issues, and I started too fast on the first lap. That was my mistake. It affected my whole race,” Diaz said. “Now, I tried to run my pace and then give it all at the end, and that was the outcome. I used those thoughts and put it into this race, and I prayed, and God, he helped me to do better. Also, my coach.”
Diaz, a University of Texas at Arlington commit, has seen major improvement from her sophomore year, when she said she needed 19 minutes to run two miles and hadn’t run a 5K. She qualified for her first state track meet, building on a strong school year during which she qualified for her first state cross country meet in November.
Brianna Robles, Cruz Gomez and Dominic Cavazos doubled up on their gold medals from Friday to repeat as champions. Robles finished in 4:59.25, Cavazos ran a 4:20.07, and Gomez took gold in 4:15.91.
The 6A boys race took a big twist when a runner from San Antonio Brandeis in the lead group wiped out and took runners with him, including Edinburg North’s Tristan Peña.
“I felt good throughout the whole race, and I felt like something like that was going to happen, because everyone was so bunched up, and I kept getting kicked on my heel,” Peña said. “I said, ‘Let me go up to the front so I can get out of trouble.’ But I guess moving to the front made it worse. As soon as I got back up, I felt this loss of energy where I couldn’t even move my legs. I did everything I could to catch up, and I got fifth.”
The fall opened the door for another strong miler, Evan Williams of McAllen Memorial, who dug deep to catch Austin Westlake’s Matt Kearney and take silver in 4:19.56
“I just told myself, ‘Believe, you hang with those guys.’ And look what happened,” Williams said before commenting on the strength of his peers from the Valley. “I came into the sport with those guys being my mentors. I always looked up to them. I look up to them, and I know they look at me. It helps you progress throughout the season and helps you prepare for these larger meets.”
EMOTIONAL HURLDES
Even after Los Fresnos hurdler Brianna Alex crossed the finish line and was handed the second-place badge by meet officials, she was skeptical. The top four finishers in the girls 100 hurdles were only separated by 11 hundredths of a second. Even a replay left questions about which two would advance to the state track meet.
“They gave me the little plaque thingy, but he was like, ‘It’s not official.’ So I was trying not to get my hopes up. But in my head, I was really hoping it was me,” Alex said. “When they put it on the board is when I knew officially, and I was like, ‘OK, I did it.’”
The junior said she was racing with a heavy heart because her mother is battling cancer. Even though her family couldn’t be in attendance, she felt the constant support.
“My dad had to work, and my mom has been texting me, calling me,” Alex said. “She’s in Houston right now. She has cancer, and she’s at MD Anderson (Cancer Center), but she said she would try to make it up there for state.”
CORDOVA KEEPS IT GOING
Mission High’s Alex Cordova is used to winning the 400 dash, but when he and the runner in the next lane made contact, he was thrown off.
“I was supposed to make a move there, but I bumped into the guy in the inside lane, and it caused me to slow down a little bit,” Cordova said. “I wasn’t going to give up, so I gave everything I had left to try to catch the guy in the end, but I didn’t have enough.”
Cordova finished second in 49.10.
“I for sure would have (caught him), but I can get that guy at state. That’s what it comes to,” Cordova said. “I’m very excited, and I can’t wait for the opportunity to go against state competitors. I should be at my perfect shape and stage of my life, and I’m going to go get it.”
RELAY JUBILATION
Eleanor Arndt, who already earned hardware on Friday with a long jump gold, was a major factor in helping Weslaco High advance in the 1,600 relay with a 3:53.08. She received the baton from Victoria Nguyen and took off with tons of speed, giving her team an edge for a qualifying spot with a split time of 57.9, as timed by her coach.
Lisamarie Sanchez (58.5) and Amity Ebard (57.4) finished strong, and the Panthers earned the silver.
“It’s my senior year, so it’s bittersweet, but I’m just glad that it happened this year and that everything fell into place,” Arndt said. “Qualifying for this event my freshman year and my senior year is full circle, and it just feels so good to do it with these girls who are young and going to be back next year. I know I’m leaving a sound legacy and a sound team behind.”
Advancing a week before her 18th birthday, Arndt said, “This is the icing on top. I don’t even need a cake now.”
In the final race of the day, the boys 1,600 relay, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln qualified with some drama. The Huskies entered the race with the top preliminary time, but meet champions Converse Judson showed their stuff in the finals for gold. Huskies anchor Kenneth Gonzalez was in second place but got caught in the last 100 meters by New Braunfels Canyon.
However, after an appeal and a delay, a Canyon runner was deemed to have cut off another athlete on a baton exchange. Canyon was disqualified, giving Juarez-Lincoln its first state relay berth.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Elias Gutierrez, who runs the lead lap, said. “We all thought we had a chance in the beginning, but Judson, they’re just a different breed. We ran as strong as we could, but it didn’t turn out to be our best race. It’s the best feeling for us, because we’ve never done it for our school. We’re trying to set the foundation for our younger kids, and it’s a blessing, honestly.”
WHEELING AND DEALING
Weslaco High senior Joe Solis and McAllen Memorial freshman Suzannah Swanson put on a strong display in the wheelchair division. Swanson, a freshman, set meet records in the 400 (1:35.04) and 100 (24.63) dashes.
Solis will make a fourth trip to the state meet. He finished the 400 in 1:03.42 and the 100 in 20.63.
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VALLEY HS TRACK AND FIELD RESULTS
UIL Region IV Meet
April 27-28
At Alamo Stadium, San Antonio
Class 5A Finals
Girls
Running Events
400-meter relay – 1, Austin LBJ, 47.28; 2, Boerne Champion, 48.51; 3, Victoria West, 49.03; 4, S.A. Sam Houston, 49.19; 5, S.A. Harlan, 49.19; 6, Austin Crockett, 49.49
800-meter run – 1, Bailey Goggans, Marble Falls, 2:10.01; 2, Brooke Barrington, C.C. Calallen, 2:14.12; 3, Ife Chris-Rotimi, Richmond Foster, 2:15.52; 4, Chlore Pena, Kerrville Tivy, 2:19.15; 5, Vanessa Cerda, Edcouch-Elsa, 2:22.30; 6, Zara Richardson, C.C. Veterans Memorial, 2:22.74
100-meter hurdles – 1, Ryleigh Redding, Victoria West, 15.41; 2, Hannah Biggs, Drippings Springs, 15.57; 3, Sarah Cauble, Marble Falls, 15.65; 4, Amber Jones, C.C. Vets, 15.72; 5, Idani Garza, Rio Grande City, 16.07; 6, Alexia Engel, Boerne Champion, 16.41
100-meter dash – 1, Xavia Thompson, Lockhart, 12.59; 2, Taylor Hill, Lamar Fulshear, 12.63; 3, Aniah Marshall, Austin Crockett, 12.65; 4, Zarrey Sams, Rosenberg Terry, 12.70; 5, Meosha Erving, Floresville, 12.73; 6, Rachel Horowitz, Austin LBJ, 12.83
800-meter relay – 1, Austin LBJ, 1:40.15; 2, Victoria West, 1:42.57; 3, Boerne Champion, 1:42.63; 4, Austin Crockett, 1:43.90; 5, Marble Falls, 1:44.15; 6, C.C. Flour Bluff, 1:44.84
400-meter dash – 1, Bailey Goggans, Marble Falls, 55.55; 2, Tia Murray, Rosenberg Lamar, 56.44; 3, Jasmine Henry, S.A. Harlan, 57.11; 4, Avery Kalsu, Dripping Springs, 57.91; 5, Mariana Velasquez, Victoria West, 59.48; 6, Ivrael Wardy, Austin Lanier, 59.56
300-meter hurdles – 1, Ryleigh Redding, Victoria West, 44.46; 2, Criselda Cruz, Alice, 45.32; 3, Alexis Mendoza, C.C. Ray, 45.82; 4, Ariel Bustamante, C.C. Vets, 46.46; 5, Brittyne La Mothe, Richmond Foster, 47.06; 6, Lightsey Puryear, Dripping Springs, 47.19
200-meter dash – 1, Sarah Porter, Austin LBJ, 24.94; 2, Layne Bolli, Boerne Champion, 25.42; 3, Zarrey Sams, Rosenberg Terry, 25.43; 4, Angela Wilder, C.C. Moody, 25.95; 5, Abby Barnett, Victoria East, 26.36; 6, Daniella Muniz, Rio Grande City, 26.38
1600-meter run – 1, Valeria Diaz, Sharyland High, 5:14.21; 2, Alex Rodriguez, Laredo Nixon, 5:15.87; 3, Emme Odonnell, Port Lavaca Calhoun, 5:21.02; 4, Ana Hernandez, Sharyland Pioneer, 5:21.46; 5, Ambrie Lizcano, Marble Falls, 5:26.22; 6, Haley Villalpando, Edcouch-Elsa, 5:28.35
1600-meter relay – 1, Boerne Champion, 3:53.13; 2, Austin LBJ, 3:53.25; 3, Richmond Foster, 3:57.78; 3, Dripping Springs, 4:00.42; 5, C.C. Carroll, 4:01.83; 6, C.C. Tuloso-Midway, 4:04.07
Wheelchair Division:
100-meter dash: Joe Solis, Weslaco High, 19.70
400-meter dash: Joe Solis, 1:08.08
Boys
Running Events
400-meter relay – 1, Angleton, 41.08; 2, Richmond Foster, 41.39; 3, Austin LBJ, 42.26; 4, C.C. Vets, 42.37; 5, Brownsville Vets, 42.73; 6, Alice, 43.08
800-meter run – 1, Bryce Kalsu, Dripping Springs, 1:53.27; 2, Christopher Wise, 1:53.78; 3, Collin Williams, Richmond Foster, 1:54.46; 4, Max Carmona, Brownsville Vets, 1:54.99; 5, Miguel Escamilla, Laredo Martin, 1:55.85; 6, Cosme Ibarra, Donna High, 1:55.99
100-meter hurdles – 1, Justin Wright, Dripping Springs, 14.93; 2, Daniel Anomneze, Rosenberg Lamar, 15.22; 3, Kenny Whitehurst, C.C. Flour Bluff, 15.42; 4, Justice McClure, C.C. Calallen, 15.45; 5, Ruslan Sultanov, C.C. Calallen, 15.45; 6, Bowen Fjord, Boerne Champion, 16.04
100-meter dash – 1, Wesley Asenuga, Richmond Foster, 10.65; 2, Jaleel Scott, Austin LBJ, 10.92; 3, Brailon Sanders, C.C. Moody, 10.94; 4, Logan Masters, Medina Valley, 11.13; 5, Davis Horne, C.C. Vets, 11.18; 6, Cameron Harris, Rosenberg Lamar, 11.31
800-meter relay – 1, Angleton, 1:26.84; 2, Alice, 1:27.93; 3, Austin LBJ, 1:27.97; 4, S.A. Sam Houston, 1:29.21; 5, Seguin, 1:29.47; 6, C.C. Ray, 1:29.89
400-meter dash – 1, Tolulope Badmus, Richmond Foster, 48.16; 2, William Greene, Angleton, 48.17; 3, Mariano Hernandez, Eagle Pass Winn, 48.89; 4, Cosme Ibarra, Donna High, 50.14; 5, Braden Sherron, C.C. Flour Bluff, 50.28; 6, Bryce Kalsu, Dripping Springs, 50.38
300-meter hurdles – 1, Donte Bourgeois, Austin LBJ, 38.78; 2, Bowen Fjord, Boerne Champion, 38.95; 3, Justin Wright, Dripping Springs, 38.96; 4, T.J. Stickler, Kerrville Tivy, 39.23; 5, Ross My’Kell, Angelton, 39.79; 6, Daniel Anomneze, Rosenberg Lamar, 40.05
200-meter dash – 1, Scott Jaleel, Austin LBJ, 21.98; 2, Tyron McDonald, Austin LBJ, 22.09; 3, Christian Young, Richmond Foster, 22.24; 4, Chris Bowie, Angleton, 22.39; 5, Brailon Sanders, C.C. Moody, 22.74; 6, Logan Masters, Medina Valley, 22.75
1600-meter run – 1, Dominic Cavazos, Mercedes, 4:20.07; 2, Bobby Holt, Dripping Springs, 4:22.14; 3, Ace Castillo, C.C. Tuloso-Midway, 4:23.40; 4, Cameron Kleiman, Austin LBJ, 4:24.49; 5, Juan Salinas, Laredo Nixon, 4:26.89; 6, River Bailey, Lockhart, 4:27.89
1600-meter relay – 1, Boerne Champion, 3:53.13; 2, Austin LBJ, 3:53.25; 3, Richmond Foster, 3:57.78; 4, Dripping Springs, 4:00.42; 5, C.C. Carroll, 4:01.83; 6, C.C. Tuloso-Midway, 4:04.07
Wheelchair Division:
100-meter dash: Joe Solis, Weslaco High, 19.70
400-meter dash: Joe Solis, 1:08.08
Class 6A Finals
Girls
Running Events
400-meter relay – 1, S.A. Reagan, 47.45; 2, Cibolo Steele, 47.65; 3, Converse Judson, 47.72; 4, Kyle Lehman, 47.92; 5, S.A. Clark, 48.42; 6, S.A. Johnson, 49.19
800-meter run – 1, Gabriela Bosquez, Buda Hays, 2:14.47; 2, Ashton Foytik, NB Canyon, 2:14.92; 3, Elina Mettaelae, Austin Westlake, 2:16.03; 4, Taigen Galvan, S.A. Brandeis, 2:16.17; 5, Lily Howe, Austin Westlake, 2:16.98; 6, Bailey Villalon, La Joya Palmview, 2:18.68
100-meter hurdles – 1, Janae Phoenix, S.A. Warren, 14.95; 2, Brianna Alex, Los Fresnos, 14.97; 3, Myesha Clack, S.A. East Central, 15.01; 4, Bailey Barnett, Del Rio, 15.05; 5, Kathia Nitsch, McAllen Memorial, 15.26; 6, Priscilla Jones, Austin Westlake, 15.35
100-meter dash – 1, Bria Arrant, Kyle Lehman, 12.09; 2, Cynthia Emeremnu, Laredo Alexander, 12.15; 3, Zskaira Williams, S.A. Reagan, 12.34; 4, Jasmine Montgomery, S.A. Reagan, 12.38; 5, Jade Neal, S.A. Taft, 12.61; 6, Luisa Cruz, Los Fresnos, 12.69
800-meter relay – 1, S.A. Reagan, 1:40.61; 2, S.A. East Central, 1:41.84; 3, Weslaco High, 1:43.12; 4, S.A. Health Careers, 1:43.21; 5, Los Fresnos, 1:44.36; 6, S.A. Johnson, 1:44.51
400-meter dash – 1, Jada Fleming, Cibolo Steele, 55.71; 2, Elizabeth Roca, Leander, 56.64; 3, Taylor Rioux, Austin Lake Travis, 56.74; 4, Alanna Robertson, S.A. Madison, 57.02; 5, Yazmine Martinez, Harlingen High, 57.71; 6, Atiana Hawkins, S.A. Taft, 58.94
300-meter hurdles – 1, Janae Phoenix, S.A. Warren, 43.07; 2, Kaycee Brown, Converse Judson, 43.82; 3, Kyndal Gladson, Del Rio, 45.17; 4, Jasmyn Tulloach, Harlingen High, 45.58; 5, Dania Turner, Converse Judson, 45.80; 6, Cameron McFadden, Buda Hays, 45.83
200-meter dash – 1, Brianna Rhodes, Clark, 24.95; 2, Jasmine Montgomery, S.A. Reagan, 25.19; 3, Alanna Robertson, S.A. Madison, 25.28; 4, Luis Cruz, Los Fresnos, 25.80; 5, Ashlan Cannon, S.A. East Central, 25.82; 6, Jourdann Evans Bledsoe, S.A. Reagan, 25.82
1600-meter run – 1, Brianna Robles, La Joya Palmview, 4:59.25; 2, Jordan Mathis, Austin Vandegrift, 5:02.32; 3, Monica Rivera, Eagle Pass, 5:06.42; 4, Andrea De La Rosa, 5:13.00; 5, Gemma Goddard, Austin Vandegrift, 5:13.67; 6, Sarah Wuest, New Braunsfels, 5:14.18
1600-meter relay – 1, Austin Westlake, 3:51.96; 2, Weslaco High, 3:53.08; 3, Comal Smithson Valley, 3:55.01; 4, S.A. Warren, 3:57.05; 5, Leander, 3:57.22; 6, Cibolo Steele, 3:59.55
Wheelchair Division:
100-meter dash: 1, Suzannah Swanson, McAllen Memorial, 24.63; 2, Melanie Peters, S.A. Alamo Heights, 28.45
400-meter dash: 1, Suzannah Swanson, McAllen Memorial, 1:35.04; 2, Melanie Peters, S.A. Alamo Heights, 1:48.72
Boys
Running Events
400-meter relay – 1, Converse Judson, 41.28; 2, Laredo United, 42.08; 3, S.A. Warren, 42.09; 4, Schertz Clemens, 42.26; 5, S.A. Johnson, 42.39; 6, Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 42.61
800-meter run – 1, Brendan Hebert, Austin Lake Travis, 1:54.20; 2, Victor Zuniga, S.A. Johnson, 1:54.47; 3, Carlos Rodriguez, S.A. Warren, 1:54.56; 4, Paco Rodriguez, McAllen High, 1:55.84; 5, Ryan Yost, S.A. Taft, 1:56.51; 6, Robbie Woodworth, Buda Hays, 1:57.65
110-meter hurdles – 1, Kenny Broadnax, Cibolo Steele, 14.03; 2, Tre’Bien Gilbert, Converse Judson, 14.29; 3, Dashawn Jones, Converse Judson, 14.37; 4, Kyle Marroquin, Edinburg Economedes, 14.82; 5, Logan Fraley, S.A. Brandeis, 14.83; 6, Sean Skaugen, McAllen Memorial, 14.90
100-meter dash – 1, Morgan Kenyon, Converse Judson, 10.87; 2, Alex Tirado, Laredo United, 11.12; 3, Devin Walker, Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 11.15; 4, Malik Robinson, S.A. Taft, 11.19; 5, Gabriel Plenty, Converse Judson, 11.22; 6, Nazzio Jack Hohn, S.A. Roosevelt, 11.23; 7, Gunnar Henderson, McAllen High, 11.24
800-meter relay – 1, Converse Judson, 1:24.95; 2, S.A. Johnson, 1:26.54; 3, New Braunsfels, 1:27.93; 4, PSJA High, 1:29.45; 5, San Benito, 1:29.71; 6, Weslaco High, 1:30.39
400-meter dash – 1, Gavin Davis, Leander, 48.94; 2, Alex Cordova, Mission High, 49.10; 3, Jacob Zuber, Comal Smithson Valley, 49.38; 4, Tyle Moore, Cibolo Steele, 50.05; 5, D’Carlo Calderon, Laredo United, 50.09; 6, Alejandro Rodriguez, McAllen High
300-meter hurdles – 1, Tre’Bien Gilbert, Converse Judson, 36.39; 2, Dashawn Jones, Converse Judson, 37.74; 3, Mason Mangum, Austin Westlake, 38.14; 4, Kenny Broadnax, Cibolo Steele, 38.35; 5, Roel Renterria, Harlingen High, 38.74; 6, Dante Heaganns, S.A. Madison, 38.97
200-meter dash – 1, Richard Kuykendoll, Judson, 21.78; Tristyn Wooley, SA Johnson, 21.87; 3, Dre-Quan Crawford, Judson, 21.98; 4, Alex Tirado, Laredo United, 22.18; 5, Ezrael Powell, Marshall, 22.44; Nazzio Jack John, Roosevelt, 22.47
1600-meter run – 1, Cruz Gomez, PSJA Memorial, 4:15.91; 2, Evan Williams, McAllen Memorial, 4:19.56; 3, Matthew Kearney, Austin Westlake, 4:19.62; 4, Max Smith, Del Rio, 4:20.24; 5, Tristan Pena, Edinburg North, 4:22.43; 6, Trevor Williams, McAllen Memorial, 4:22.95
1600-meter relay – 1, Converse Judson, 3:17.97; 2, La Joya Juarez-Lincoln, 3:20.73; 3, S.A. Johnson, 3:21.47; 4, S.A. Madison, 3:21.69; 5, New Braunfels, 3:22.72; 6, Austin Vandegrift, 3:22.72
Wheelchair Division:
100-meter dash: 1, Joe Solis, Weslaco High, 20.63; 2, Derek Funk, Converse Judson, 24.01; 3, Sam Derousse, S.A. Clark, 30.68
400-meter dash: 1, Joe Solis, 1:03.42; 2, Derek Funk, Converse Judson, 1:25.57; 3, Sam Derousse, S.A. Clark, 1:53.29