PHARR — The Rio Grande Valley’s top track and field athletes convened at PSJA Stadium in Pharr on Saturday with hopes of earning the title of Valley’s best in their respective events.
The 2024 rendition of the event wasn’t short of any fireworks, with a handful of RGV and meet records falling during the meet.
Here’s a look at some of the top performances from Saturday’s RGVCA Meet of Champions. For full results from Saturday’s final, click here.
Jaime Lopez, Senior, PSJA High: Lopez earned the title of Valley’s fastest male athlete for the 2024 season during Saturday’s finals, taking home the gold in the 100- and 200-meter dash. The senior sprinter set personal bests in both events during the meet. He was the lone athlete to finish under 11 seconds during the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 10.91 for first. He came just short of breaking the sub-22 second mark during the 200-meter dash, recording a time of 22.03.
Hector Suarez, Senior, PSJA Memorial: After a pair of silver medal finishes in the 110- and 300-meter hurdles last year, Suarez swept the same events during his final Meet of Champs appearance this year. The Wolverines’ hurdler edged out McAllen Memorial’s Masyn Vela for the sweep, finishing less than half a second faster than him in both events. Suarez finished the day with a PR during the 300-meter hurdles, clocking in at 38.35, while finishing in 14.90 during the 100-meter hurdles.
Dante Barrera, Senior, Rio Grande City: The Rattlers have a long history of success when it comes to throwers. Barrera is doing his part in continuing that tradition this year, taking home the gold in both of the boys throwing events during Saturday’s finals. Barrera kicked off his day by edging Edinburg Vela’s Kristopher Perez for first in the shot put by 1.5 inches. The senior thrower won the event with a mark of 52 feet, 2.25 inches. The victory was just the start of a dominant showing by Barrera, capping his morning with a throw of 177-06 during the discus throw for the win. The mark was nearly 15 feet further than the next closest competitor and over 12 feet further than his previous best.
La Feria Boys Distance Runners: It was a wave of maroon and gold at the podium following the boys 3,200-meter run Saturday, with the La Feria Lions sweeping the top three spots during the event. Twin siblings Anthony and Armando Morales finished in first and second, respectively, with Evan Torres coming in third. Anthony clocked in at 9 minutes, 20.50 seconds. Armando finished in 9:22.43 and Torres recorded a time of 9:34.78. The trio’s performance against the Valley’s best further establishes them as arguably the top distance group in the area this year.
Sharyland Pioneer Boys Relay Teams: Sharyland Pioneer dominated the boys relay events Saturday, taking home the gold in two of the three races of its kind. The Diamondbacks came within .18 seconds of the meet record during the 4×100 relay, finishing in 42.72 for the win. They added their second gold during the 4×400 relay, winning the event with a time of 3:24.32. Pioneer came just short of three podium finishes during the relays, coming in fourth during the 4×200 behind La Joya Palmview by just .37 seconds.
Zia Casas, Junior, Edinburg Vela: Casas finished fifth during last year’s 100-meter dash at the Meet of Champs, while not competing in the 200-meter dash at all. This year was a different story, with the Sabercats speedster taking the top spot in both events during Saturday’s finals. The junior sprinter pushed past Harlingen High freshman during the 100-meter dash to secure her first gold of the day, winning the event with a time of 12.43. She added her second gold with a time of 25.15 during the 200-meter dash, beating out Mercedes’ Jaymie Gonzalez (25.39) for first.
Faith Franklin, Senior, Harlingen High: All eyes were on Harlingen High’s Faith Franklin coming into Saturday’s Meet of Champs, with fans all waiting to see what the Vanderbilt signee would do. The Cardinals senior did not disappoint, blazing past the competition en route to a new meet record during the 400-meter dash. Franklin, who had broken the 24-year-old meet record during Friday’s prelims, clocked in at 53.53 during the finals to set a new mark less than 24 hours later. Franklin also helped the Cardinals’ 4×400 relay team put on a record-setting performance.
San Juanita Leal, Senior, Edinburg North: Leal held nearly every possible RGV girls distance running record heading into Saturday’s finals. The only records missing were the RGVCA Meet of Champs records. The Texas A&M signee made breaking those records look easy Saturday, shattering a 25-year-old record in the 1,600-meter run and a eight-year-old record in the 3,200-meter run. Leal ran well ahead of the competition during the latter race, finishing nearly one lap ahead of every competitor with a time of 10:24.30. Her run during the 1,600-meter run was nearly as dominant, going sub-5 minutes with a time of 4:52.79 for the win.
Dariana Luna, Junior, McAllen High: Luna jumped her way to a pair of gold medals during Saturday’s finals, opening her morning with a win during the girls long jump, while adding a gold in the 100-meter hurdles during the evening. The junior athlete waited until her final attempt during the long jump to secure the gold, vaulting Edinburg North’s Melissa Kotzur for first with a mark of 17-05.5. She cruised to victory during the 100-meter hurdles in the evening, clocking in at 14.68 seconds for the gold. Luna also added a bronze medal during the tightly contested 300-meter hurdles.
Brownsville St. Joseph Athletes: The Bloodhounds sent only two athletes to Saturday’s finals. Those two athletes made the most of their appearances, however, each securing gold medals in their respective events. In the pole vault, sophomore Nicole Richer outlasted McAllen High’s Molly Blackwell for the victory, coming in first with a vault of 10-09. Blackwell came in second with a mark of 10-06. Meanwhile, senior Alondra Loya took home the gold during the discus throw, beating out Lasara’s Xiomara Rodriguez with a mark of 140-10 during her final throw.
McAllen High’s 4×200 Girls Relay Team: The Bulldogs are loaded with speed this season and it was on full display during the 4×200 relay. Led by a team of Vanessa Rocha, Katelyn Vaden, Ava Barreda and Yaneli Rocha, the McHi relay team blazed its way into the RGVCA history books, setting a new meet record with a time of 1:43.06. The time was also just .10 seconds away from the Valley record. With championship season approaching, expect the Bulldogs to push for the Valley record and a possible state meet run.
Harlingen High’s 4×400 Girls Relay Team: The Cardinals 4×400 relay team made it five meet records to fall during the final race of the evening, finishing in 3:53.90 to break the previous best set by Weslaco High in 2016. Harlingen High’s record breaking team consisted of Laila Cerda, Alana Rouquette, Julianna Garcia and Faith Franklin, with Franklin serving as the team’s anchor.
