WESLACO — Let it all out.
That was the message Harlingen High head coach Hickel Woolery had for Jazmine Thompson as she competed in the shot put Wednesday.
Thompson did just that.
On her fifth attempt of the day, the junior thrower let out a fierce battle cry as the shot flew out of her hands, pouring it all into the throw.
The emotional throw led to a personal-best mark of 45 feet, 3.25 inches, securing the gold during the area 31/32-6A track and field championships at Bobby Lackey Stadium in Weslaco.
Thompson’s throw also set a new area meet and school record.
“It was very stressful,” Thompson said. “I had a really rough week with learning reverse shot and trying to get my discus form down. Today, I don’t know what happened. My coach told me to use my emotions, and that really helped. Apparently, I had a lot of them. I just tapped into everything I’ve ever felt in that moment.”
Thompson’s gold-medal performance in the shot put was the second of the day for the junior. She opened her afternoon with a first-place finish in the discus with a mark of 149-1.
Her pair of gold medals mark back-to-back area titles for the Cardinals’ thrower, sending her back to the Region IV-6A track and field championships for a second straight year.
The Region IV-6A championships are scheduled for April 28-29 at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
“It is a really big deal getting back to regionals, but this was the plan from the beginning,” Thompson said. “We’ve been on go mode all year. Everything before were all practice meets. Now it is the big time. We’re looking to peak. It is time to go. I’m trying to put my name out there and put the Valley on the map.”
Thompson will be joined at the regional meet by Los Fresnos’ Karina Alvarez. The senior thrower was unsure where she’d be this time of the year after tearing her ACL during the summer.
Alvarez battled back from the ACL tear, getting back in the ring in late December to gear up for the 2023 season. After a sixth-place finish to open the season, Alvarez has been on a tear, finishing top two in eight of nine meets since.
She added another top-two finish Wednesday, claiming the silver with a personal-best and school-record throw of 42-7.25. The regional berth marks the second straight for Alvarez.
“There were some big moments leading up to this where I felt I wasn’t going to be able to make it out here,” Alvarez said. “I thought I wasn’t going to be able to make it back in time. I’d see the other girls throwing, and see them getting better and better. I just kept asking myself why I couldn’t just throw already. Finally, being cleared in December and now doing this, it just feels really good.”
Edinburg North swept the top spot in the podium during the meet’s lone running event of the day, the 3,200-meter run.
Junior San Juanita Leal captured the gold in the girls race, her fifth-straight victory in the event this season. Senior Alexis Rodriguez took home first in the boys race, marking the third time this year he has won in the event.
Official times from the 3,200-meter run were unavailable as of press time Wednesday.
The area 31/32-6A track and field championships conclude with the running event finals at 6 p.m. today at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.
For full results from Day 1 of the meet, visit RGVSports.com.
