WESLACO — Entering the final race of the day — the 4×400 relay — Edinburg Economedes needed a top-two finish in order towin the 31/32 Area track and field girls team championship.
Anchor Dianett Garcia received the baton with the Jaguars in fourth place entering the final lap, but it didn’t last long. Garcia passed Edinburg Vela, San Benito and Weslaco High’s relay teams over the last 200 meters to propel the Jaguars to a first-place finish and a time of 4:04.20.
“Usually I’m more laid back and just ready to run and bring my team up there. This one, I knew I really had to go,” Garcia said.“The first 200, I thought, ‘Hopefully, I’ll catch up.’ The last 200, I did really feel like giving in, but then I realized what was atstake and I had to really push, not just for myself, for my team and my coaches that have sacrificed so much for us. That’s whatreally pushed me for that last part.”
The Jaguars girls team posted 103 points to win the area title after earning a second-place team finish last season. Weslaco Highearned second with 85 points, with Harlingen High taking third with 76. The top four finishers in each event qualified for the Region IV-6A meet next Friday and Saturday at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
“We’ve worked really hard for this. We didn’t know it was going to happen today. We left it in God’s hands and let him take thewheel,” Economedes girls track head coach Brenda Lozano. “They (the team) just thought about those countless hours that wewere putting in in November. We started early for this reason, to work and be able to be this strong this far into the season.”
Economedes’ 4×200 relay team of Marcela Herrera, Jasmine Loredo, Francesca Alvarado and Herminia Corado gave the Jaguars their second relay win of the day. Garcia also won gold in the 400- and 800-meter runs with times of 59.10 and 2:19.74, respectively.
Alvarado and Herrera also took first in the triple and long jump. Alvarado’s first jump of 37-02.50 broke an area meet record.
“That boosted my confidence coming into regionals next week, especially because I had been hitting 35s and bumping up to a37 again felt great,” she said.
Harlingen High took home the boys area team title with 133 points, 72 more than the second-place team. The Cardinals posted either first or second-place finishes in 10 of 17 events to run away with the area team championship.
Edinburg North sophomore San Juanita Leal won both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. She led both distance races from start to finish and broke the previous area record in the 3,200, clocking in at 11:25.89.
“I never imagined myself hitting this time because last year I was barely hitting 11 (minutes). It’s a confidence booster and I hopethat I can PR (personal record) in the mile,” Leal said after winning the 3,200-meter run during the morning.
Leal ended her day at the area meet by doing precisely what she set out to — hitting a personal record of 4:58.47 in the 1,600. Leal qualified for regionals in the 1,600 as a freshman. Now, she’s headed to the regional meet to compete in both her events.
Harlingen High sophomore Faith Franklin won two gold medals and broke a pair of records in the 100- and 200-meter dash.
Weslaco High’s Jon Garcia ran a 11.20 in the 100-meter dash to give Weslaco some gold. He narrowly beat Harlingen High’s Alberto Garcia and San Benito’s Jarrid Lopez by one and two-tenths of a second. Garcia, a sophomore sprinter for the Panthers, will be making his second trip to regionals.
“I felt like I took off really fast. That was probably my best start of the whole season. After 30 meters, I just kept driving my knees to the end and had to lean,” he said.
PSJA High’s Jaime Lopez held off Edinburg North’s Keyshawn Garcia to become the boys area champion in the 200. Lopez, a sophomore who quarterbacks the Bears’ football team, finished fourth at last year’s area meet.
“We’re dual-threat athletes and it feels good to represent quarterbacks like that,” he said.
Harlingen South’s Julian Hill and Harlingen High’s Jazmine Thompson swept the boys and girls throwing events atthe 31/32-6A Area Track and Field Meet on Thursday at Bobby Lackey Stadium.
“That was my standard coming in here. I wanted to take first and first and that’s what I did,” Hill said.
The Hawks’ senior thrower hit a personal record with a shot put of 56-08.50, five feet farther than second place. In discus, Hillbeat out Edinburg North’s Daniel Rodriguez for a first-place finish by nine inches with a throw of 161-02 to win a pair of areachampionships.
“I tried my hardest. I could have done better, obviously, but I’m going to work on it this week, drill everyday and try to get first atregionals,” Hill said.
District 32-6A’s area qualifiers — Hill, Harlingen High’s Nathan Huerta and Izaiah Bell and Los Fresnos’ Gerry Garcia — claimed places 1-4 in the shot put to all earn spots at next week’s regional meet.
Harlingen High’s sophomore thrower Thompson cleaned up in both the discus and shot put Thursday. Her shot put of 41-07.25 put her over the top of Harlingen South’s Jasmine Ortiz and set a new area record. The previous 31/32 area shot put record, 41-02.25, was held by Los Fresnos’ Corina Cox set in 2013.
“This has been in the making since Day 1. It’s really special because Harlingen is known for its sports, so the fact that I can contribute to that makes me happy,” Thompson said after putting her name in the record book.
She won first in discus with a throw of 129-11, earning a spot at next week’s regional meet in both throwing events. It’ll be the sophomore’s first trip after her freshman season ended at the area meet.
PSJA North’s Hector Solis, a Texas commit, also broke a record in the 1,600 by clocking in at 4:16.54. Solis won bronze in the 3,200 run earlier in the day.
