BY JON R. LaFOLLETTE | STAFF WRITER
McAllen — As the Weslaco High Lady Panthers track team sprinted into first place during the girls competition at Saturday’s McAllen ISD Invitational track and field meet at McAllen Rowe High School, girls coach Pablo Almaguer was more preoccupied with the weather.
Overcast skies, light precipitation and chilly temperatures forced the meet to forego preliminary races and skip to finals heats.
“You get a day like (Saturday), and the first thing on your mind is everyone’s safety,” Almaguer said.
Athletes in attendance avoided serious injury, and the Lady Panthers posted a meet-high 111.5 points despite conditions that were less than ideal. The bulk of Weslaco’s points came in each of the four relay events, during which the team placed no worse than second. The Lady Panthers won gold in both 4×200-meter relay and 4×800-meter relay.
“We were happy with the results,” Almaguer said. “We’ve had a tough time trying to build this team up. We’re just happy to come out of there with a win.”
Weslaco fielded 18 girls, six more than the team took to last week’s relays in Brownsville, where it finished sixth. One reason for the increased attendance was the addition of basketball players Angela Villarreal and Brianna Pena. Another is a growing contingent of healthy bodies.
“We haven’t had some of our girls, Almaguer said. “We’ve been bringing them along slowly.”
One particular runner on the mend for the Lady Panthers is senior Alyssa De Leon, who placed second in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 50.24 seconds. Almaguer says De Leon has been dealing with cramps since December.
“I didn’t even let her run in the finals at Brownsville,” he said. “She only ran in the prelims. We’re trying to progress her slowly so she’s fully healthy at the end of the season. She did drop her time from Brownsville, however, by about two seconds.”
While the Lady Panthers cruised on the track, freshman in Eleanor Arndt excelled during field events, collecting gold in the high jump with a mark of 5-foot-0, and silver in the long jump with a distance of 15-5 1/2
“She’s going to be a special one for us,” Almaguer said. “She’s such a young talent, and she’s already mentally sound. We’re very happy to have her on our team.”
The Sharyland Pioneer Lady Diamondbacks placed second during girls competition with a score of 78. Pioneer saw podium finishes in seven events despite only having nine athletes in attendance. Nora Monie won gold in the shot put with a distance of 38-7 before taking first once more during the discus throw (111-9).
Alexandria Cruz of Edinburg High placed first in the 800-meter run (5:04.54) and 1600-meter run (5:04.54).
The boys competition was held at McAllen Memorial High School and was dominated by the La Joya Juarez-Lincoln Huskies who placed first with 148 points behind 13 podium finishes. Saturday marked the team’s third consecutive first-place finish.
“I’m really proud of the way the kids competed,” boys coach Horacio Garza said. “Even though the weather wasn’t that great, they were soldiers. They went out there and went for it.”
The Huskies’ performance during relay events mirrored the Lady Panthers’, as Juarez-Lincoln finished no worse than second and earned gold in the 4×200-meter relay and 4×800-meter relay.
Individual gold-medal finishes came from Anthony Mora, who won the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.85, and senior Carlos Barrera, who placed first in the triple jump with a distance of 40-9 1/2