MISSION — Mission High’s Rogelio Aguirre, Mission Veterans’ Daniel Alamilla, and McAllen Memorial’s Sebastian Salinas and Ayden Granados were all smiles prior to the start of the 1,600-meter run Friday.
Each held a Top 25 time in their respective class according to Athletic.net, setting up for a potential photo finish.
From start to finish, the athletes ran side-by-side, with a new leader emerging after each lap. Mission High’s Rogelio Aguirre, who ranks No. 25 in Class 5A with a time of 4 minutes, 27.31 seconds, according to athletic.net, held the top spot after one lap.
The second lap featured Mission Veterans’ Daniel Alamilla, ranked No. 14 in Class 5A (4:28.44), and McAllen Memorial’s Ayden Granados, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A (4:24.31), neck and neck for the top spot. By the third lap, it became a three-man race, with Aguirre, Granados and McAllen Memorial’s Sebastian Salinas, who holds Class 5A’s third fastest time this season (4:24.17), jockeying for the gold.
“It was a very competitive field,” Salinas said. “I was really excited for it. … I planned to run a tactical race. Roy took the lead in the beginning. As the second lap unfolded, Danny took the pace then Ayden. I just went with them. I thought Ayden was going to slow down a bit, but he powered through it.”
Granados edged his opponents for first, finishing with a time of 4:29.75 on Friday at the Sharyland ISD Steve Stark Relays at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission. Salinas earned second place with a time of 4:30.47 seconds, holding off a late push by Aguirre, who clocked in at 4:30.88 for third.
“It’s a really good feeling because a lot of us are really close friends,” Granados said. “It’s a friendly competition but it’s a good drive to get us all faster and hopefully get us all to state.”
Elsewhere, Rio Grande City’s Serina Ramirez, who holds Top 5 marks in the state in the discus throw and shot puts, dominated the competition en route to a pair of gold medals. During the discus throw, Ramirez tallied a mark of 125 feet, 1 inch, more than 13 feet further than Sharyland Pioneer’s Natalie Reyes, who finished second with a throw of 112-00.
She was equally dominant in the shot put, recording a throw of 43-07 for first. McAllen High’s Celina Saenz finished second with a mark of 34-11.
“I’m very proud of myself and where I’m at right now,” Ramirez said. “Compared to last year, when I threw at Sharyland last year I threw around the 36 feet mark (in the shot put) and like 130 feet (in the discus). So, I’m very happy of where I’m at right now.”
While Granados and Ramirez earned individual gold, McAllen High took the overall team championship in both the boys and the girls divisions, marking the fourth straight meet the Bulldogs have swept.
The girls team finished first with 164.5 points, far ahead of Sharyland High and Edinburg Economedes with 96 and 90 points, respectively.
McAllen High hurdler Abbigail Villafranca was among the team’s top performers, earning a pair of individual gold medals in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, while helping the 4×100-meter relay team claim first.
The boys team earned the championship with 90 points, with Edinburg Economedes (76.5) and Edinburg Vela (76) coming in second and third, respectively.
Michael Gower earned a pair of silver medals for McAllen High in the 400-meter dash and 800-meter run, while anchoring the 4×400-meter relay team to third.
