After starting the 2017 season off with an impressive second-place finish in their own meet, the San Benito Lady Greyhounds track & field team has continued to make impressive strides.
Most recently, the Lady ’Hounds competed in the Patriot Relays at Mission two weeks ago. And while the team didn’t finish in the top five, there were plenty of bright spots including Lauren Rodriguez, who took second in the 3200 run, Angie Valle, who won bronze in the 800 run, and Alenjandra Bernal, who took home a silver medal in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.96.
“We’ve been blessed this season with very good long-distance runners as well as some speedsters, and it’s been a solid season so far,” said Lady ’Hounds head coach Axle Valle. “I’m very optimistic about the remainder of the season. Right now we are working on moving girls around to help accommodate some of our athletes who are in softball so that we can still remain competitive where we need to be. It’s interesting seeing how it all works out, but we’re getting the job done.”
Up next for the Lady ’Hounds is the annual Meet of Champions, which begins Friday. The preliminary round for the Class 6A girls will be held at McAllen Memorial Stadium on Friday before the finals shift to Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco on Saturday.
IN CARDINAL COUNTRY: Just like the Lady Greyhounds, the Harlingen Cardinals boys team also kicked off the season on a high note by taking bronze in the Bobby Morrow Relays.
Since then the team has continued to progress in the right direction and has head coach Efran Ambriz feeling good about his team’s chances in its next few meets.
“Thanks to guys like Devin Rosas, Edward Ramos and Art Benavides, we’re doing well as we prepare to enter the final leg of the season,” Ambriz said. “We’ll be at the Meet of Champions this weekend and that will go a long way in seeing how ready we are for the district meet, which is just a few short weeks away.”
At the Mid-Valley Relays in Weslaco two weeks ago, the Cards took third and now hope that momentum carries over to the Meet of Champions this weekend. Boys 6A preliminaries for the MOC will begin Friday at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco and the finals are set for Saturday afternoon, also at Weslaco High.
After this week’s meet, the Cards are entered in the Raymondville Relays. However, both Ramos and Benavides will instead take part in the annual Texas Relays in Austin where the duo will compete in the steeplechase.
“It’s a good chance for them to compete against some of the best athletes in the state,” Ambriz said.
