PHARR — Coming around the final corner for the 4×400-meter relay, Sharyland Pioneer’s Joseph Graham held a slight advantage over McAllen Memorial’s Sebastian Salinas. With the area title on the line, Salinas knew it was time to make his move.
“I was just focusing on Pioneer because that’s who we needed to beat to be area champions,” Salinas said. “I saw him start to fade out at about the 150-meter mark. I told myself it was now or never.”
Salinas kicked it into another gear, overtaking Graham over the final 50 meters to rally past the Diamondbacks for a third-place finish in the event.
The Mustangs’ 0.5-second victory over the Diamondbacks vaulted them into first in the team standings, with McAllen Memorial edging Sharyland Pioneer 95-92 for the 31/32-5A Area boys team championship Wednesday at PSJA Stadium.
“Honestly, I was debating whether I was mentally strong enough to do it,” said Salinas, who had just finished competing in the 1,600-meter run prior to the relay. “Once I got the baton, I just decided to give everything I had in my body left. … I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. This was one of my last races of my high school career, so I just wanted to put everything I had left out there.”
REPEAT BULLDOGS
The McAllen High Bulldogs secured back-to-back area championships in the girls division, dominating the competition with 146 points.
The Bulldogs claimed gold medals in six of 17 possible events, including winning two of the three relay events. McAllen High also dominated in the hurdles, with freshman Dariana Luna and senior Abbigail Villafranca coming in first in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with times of 15.57 and 46.19 seconds, respectively.
McAllen High sends a total of nine individuals and all three relay teams to the Region IV-5A track and field championships April 29-30 at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
CLEARING HURDLES
Sharyland High’s Lisandro Lopez missed out on the regional meet during the 110-meter hurdles last season, finishing fifth at the area meet after knocking a hurdle with his back foot. The junior hurdler spent the offseason perfect his form, hoping to correct his error from last year and get to the next level.
Lopez’s offseason work paid its dividends, coming in first in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles to punch his ticket to the regional meet. Lopez finished the 110-meter hurdles in 15.25 seconds for first, while setting a personal record in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 38.52 seconds.
“I was kind of nervous going into the 110,” Lopez said. “I remember how I fell last year. I was feeling it yesterday and today. … But I feel pretty good now though. I worked on my form and how I threw my arms. Now, I hope I can make it to state. It starts with prelims next week.”
Lopez ranks No. 2 and 3 in region in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles, respectively, going into next week’s regional meet.
RECORD BREAKERS
Area meet records fell early and often during Wednesday’s area meet, with seven records broken.
McAllen Memorial junior Ayden Granados clocked in a 9:16.96 during the 3,200-meter run to set a meet record, breaking PSJA Memorial’s William Macias’ record of 9:22.65 set last year.
“It feels good,” Granados said. “It’s crazy thinking about going from freshman year and not having a season, to last year barely making it in both of my events. Coming out on top is a pretty crazy feeling. Honestly, it’s just about the determination and motivation from those around me.”
McAllen High’s girls team set four records during the meet. Sabrina Garza, Dariana Luna, and Abbigail Villafranca each etched their name into the meet’s record book, with the Bulldogs’ 4×100-meter relay team consisting of Natalie Garcia, Mallory Henderson, Leslie Sequera and Villafranca also breaking a record.
Garza ranks No. 1 in the 800-meter in area meet history with a time of 2:18.10. Luna and Villafranca broke the meet record in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, respectively. McAllen Memorial’s Sebastian Salinas kicked off his strong area meet performance with a record-setting time of 1:56.73 during the 800-meter run. Salinas broke Francisco Solis’ eight-year record by .05 seconds.
Sharyland High’s Lisandro Lopez broke the meet’s seventh record of the afternoon during the 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 38.52 seconds, more than one second faster than the previous record set by Angel Davila in 2017.
