SAN ANTONIO — Sharyland High’s Chukwubueze Ikondu set a goal for himself of 180 feet in the discus throw heading into the 2023 campaign.
During last week’s area 31/32-5A track and field championships, Ikondu came up just short of the mark by an inch, recording a throw of 179 feet, 11 inches.
Ikondu wasted no time securing his goal and then some during Friday’s Region IV-5A track and field championships at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
On his first throw of the day, Ikondu recorded a mark of 193-2 to claim the Region IV-5A discus crown and secure a spot at the Class 5A state track and field championships in two weeks.
“The first throw just sealed it,” Ikondu said. “This morning I was praying to God that if it was his will, to let me break the regional record. It didn’t happen, but God gave me that 190. It feels good. I’m speechless. I just want to thank God, my coaches and my family for supporting me throughout this whole journey. As I said before, though, thanks to God because he sent my disc out.”
Ikondu had a good feeling heading into Friday’s regional meet, telling his coaches at breakfast he was coming for the regional record of 199-0 set by Beeville Jones’ Derek Randall in 2002.
The Rattlers’ senior fell just short, hitting the 193 mark on his first three throws. Still, Ikondu leaves the regional meet with the school record, breaking the previous mark of 188-5 set by Richard Cervantes in 2014.
Ikondu isn’t done yet, however, already setting his sights on his next goals: hitting the 200 mark and bringing home the gold.
“Coming from a small town and being that kind of underdog rising, that is what God has given me and I am so grateful,” Ikondu said. “The next goal is 200. There is nothing else. It is about the next mark. Hopefully, with God’s grace, we seal that and a gold, and maybe even break Stephen Saenz’s record.”
Ikondu’s record-setting performance highlighted a big day by the Valley’s throwers at the regional meet, with six athletes punching their tickets to state in the events. The top two finishers from each final advance to the state meet.
Sharyland Pioneer’s Evan Thompson captured the Region IV-5A shot put title with a mark of 60-1.5. The victory secured the first regional championship of his career and his second straight state berth.
“We’ve always been pretty good at throwing in the Valley for a while,” Thompson said. “We’re kind of sprouting now and getting better. I feel blessed. God is good. It is a great feeling to get to go back. My goal for state now is to hit 65 feet and win state. I’ve been looking at that the whole year. God willing, I can hit that mark and take home the gold medal.”
On the girls side, Harlingen High’s Jazmine Thompson set the tone for the day, earning state meet bids in the shot put and discus with a pair of second-place finishes in Region IV-6A.
PSJA Southwest’s Marcela Trevino and PSJA North’s Jaylah Martinez followed it up by taking home the gold and silver, respectively, in the Region IV-5A discus, advancing both to the state meet.
Trevino won the regional title with a personal-best mark of 147-10, with Martinez coming in second with a throw of 130-10.
Rio Grande City’s Serina Ramirez rounded out the day for the RGV’s throwers, capturing the Region IV-5A shot put crown, giving the Valley four regional champions in the throwing events. Ramirez’s victory also gave the RGV a clean sweep of the Region IV-5A throwing events.
“Honestly, the Valley is very overlooked,” Ramirez said. “We have so much talent down here. It is just so great that us four regional champs can go up there and represent the Valley and our little cities. I’m just super grateful we have this opportunity to go up there and show them we are great in the Valley.”
Throwers weren’t the only ones to earn state berths Friday. Brownsville Veterans’ Gerry Gomez finished second in the Region IV-5A triple jump to secure his first state bid. His mark of 46-1.75 finished less than three inches behind Boerne Champion’s Joshua Hierholzer (46-4).
Edinburg Vela’s Jacob Trevino joins Gomez in qualifying in a jumping event, finishing second in the long jump with a mark of 22-05.5.
The Valley’s distance runners also delivered big performances during the only running final of the day, with three of the eight available state bids in the 3,200-meter run earned by RGV runners.
McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Granados and Edinburg North’s San Juanita Leal both repeated as regional champs in the event, with Granados coming in first in the 5A boys division with a time of 9 minutes, 13.96 seconds and Leal winning the 6A girls race with a mark of 10:31.54.
McAllen High sophomore Dana Rojas Vazquez was the third RGV distance runner to earn a spot at state, coming in second in the 5A girls run with a time of 11:06.82.
Day 1 of the Region IV-5A/6A championships also featured the prelims for both classifications’ running events.
Weslaco East’s Gael Romo was one of the top performers of the day, earning the top seed in the boys 5A 100 and 200 heading into today’s finals.
Harlingen High’s Faith Franklin also shined during the prelims, securing a spot in the finals in the 100, 200 and 400.
The Region IV-5A/6A track and field championships continue with the running finals beginning at 12:30 p.m. at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
For full results from Friday’s Region IV-5A/6A field event finals and running event prelims, visit RGVSports.com.
