SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- The preview on the discus is the ninth in the series of preview articles for the San Antonio Metro area. Compared to the running events, there are not nearly as many top returning discus throwers. Despite this, I am looking forward to what some of the very top throwers in the area will be able to do this year. There are three or four boys who can compete for a State title at the UIL 5A or 6A levels.
6A Boys
Region IV was dominated by seniors last year but that does not mean there are not a bunch of quality returning throwers. The best discus thrower is Brandeis' Rafe Clendenin who went over 170-feet at five different meets last year including a season best of 180-7 at the Regional meet where he finished second. Michael Pinones of East Central is a nationally ranked shot putter and is the #2 returner in the discus. He did not advance past the Area round last year but did throw 173-7 at the AAU Junior Olympics.
After Clendenin and Pinones, it is Steele High School that will be getting a lot of points at meets this year in the discus. They have Abdon Mata (166-5) and Makai Williams (160-11) who have both thrown over 160-feet and then they have Marshall Johnson who should be throwing over 140-feet this year. Clark's Ben Gibson is the final member of the elite returning group in the area having tossed 158-4 last year.
6A Girls
In a similar manner to the 6A boys, the 6A girls are shallow in terms of depth. Unlike the boys, they do not have the top-level talent but they do have four or five that should compete to be the best in the area. Judson's Gia Booth and Violetta Bilotto provide a nice 1-2 punch for the Rockets as both have thrown over 125-feet. Booth had the furthest throw of the year but it was Bilotto who had the best finish at the Regional meet, fifth.
Churchill's Karmyn Vann is the only other returner who has thrown over 120-feet and Harlan's Alexis Owens is knocking on the door of that distance as well. Stepping back another 10 feet and only Emmilly Ozuna (Warren) and Madison Wright (LEE) make the grade. I think this means that it will be wide open in the area and I would not be surprised to see a newcomer move up this rankings quickly.
5A Boys
There are only six returners to mention in the 5A boys, but they bring top-notch quality. Boerne Champion's Connor Warzecha and Smithson Valley's Jaxson Maynard are the top two returners in the entire region and both showed immense improvement last year. Prior to last year Warzecha's personal record was 130-11 and Maynard's was 117-1. One year later and Warzecha boasts a 170-foot throw and Maynard has gone over 165-feet.
There are two other returners knocking on the door of 150-feet. Landon Ashpaugh of Pieper and Riley Wampler from Boerne Champion could be in line for big improvements. Of the top four returners, only Warzecha is a senior. The final two to mention are Aidan Peddycoart (Canyon) and Evrin Contreras (Seguin) who have both thrown 129-feet.
5A Girls
The fact that all the big school divisions do not have many of the top returning discus throwers tells me that there is a lot of talent coming out of the Rio Grande Valley. Misari Seoane of Highlands is the best returner in the area by quite a bit, but it would be surprising to see her competing for a chance to go to the State meet. She threw it 121-7 last year but was 16th at the Regional meet.
After Seoane, there are two returners at 101-feet, Josslyn Abel (Canyon) and Mia Trujillo (Veterans Memorial). Canyon has two more returners just under 100-feet, Lindsey Molina and Peyton Wilson. There is one wildcard in the whole group, Smithson Valley's Sky Sells who improved by leaps and bounds for the Rangers last year and has big throw potential.
4A Boys
There is only one returner among the 4A boys who qualified for the Regional meet last year, Pearsall's Gavino Gutierrez. Gutierrez had a top throw of 131-4.5 last year which is the second best on our list. The top returner in terms of best throw is Boerne's Kaiden Fischer who tossed the implement 137-1 and finished one spot out of making it to the Regional meet.There are a solid group of returning throwers who have eclipsed 122-feet. Wimberley's Ridge Barker is the youngest of the group. He will be a junior this year and tossed 127-10 as a sophomore. Another one I am looking at is Canyon Lake's Helijah Johnson who had a fantastic year on the football field for the Hawks and is a great athlete.
4A Girls
The 4A girls are the first group that is both strong at the top and deep throughout the area. At the top sits Boerne's Tori Adams and Fredericksburg's Zoe Aldrich. Adams was the Regional champion but struggled at the State meet while Aldrich was fourth in the Region. It should be an amazing Regional meet this year with the top six girls all returning this year.There are a total of 15 quality returners in the area. After the top two, the next best throwers are Boerne's Avery Aaron (113-1), Uvalde's Celeste Sandoval (108-4.5) and Fredericksburg's Reese Sagebiel (103-6). Fredericksburg and Wimberley each have at least two other returners who have thrown at least 87-feet. Keep your eye on Sagebiel and Davenport's Zae Limmer who were both freshmen last year and could be in line to make a big improvement.
3A Boys
Marion has a pair of athletes who have a chance to compete for a berth in the State meet. Kade Murdoch is rated as the third best returning thrower in the Region while Michael Purcell is fifth. The duo ranks as the top two in the area and are the only 3A boys to have eclipsed 130-feet. Overall, Marion dominates the event with four of the top-10 returners in the area.
The rest of the top five returners all have tosses over 116-feet heading into the season. Lytle's Alex Medina has thrown the discus 122-6 while Poth's Larson Dziuk and Randolph's Samuel Oakland round out the top five. Both Dziuk and Oakland have teammates among the top-10 returners.
3A Girls
The 3A girls are similar to most of the other classifications in that there is not a lot of top returners in the area. Elsie Keizer of Great Hearts Northern Oaks is the lone athlete to have thrown over 100-feet and should be one of the top discus throwers in the entire Region. She qualified to throw at the Regional meet but did not compete.
The rest of the best begins with Marion's Sarah Cook who has thrown 97-6. Poth has a pair of athletes who have thrown between 85 and 90 feet in Amelia Lyssy and Emily McClure. Lyssy was just a freshman last year and should be one of the top contenders in the area for the next few years.
Other Boys
I am combining the private schools, smaller public schools and home school athletes into one group. The top discus throwers come from all three types of schools. FEAST's Michael Estrada is the top returner and has thrown 147-1. Nick Hughes from Central Catholic is next on the list and has thrown 136-10.
The next four throwers all have thrown more than 120-feet. Ian Reyes of D'Hanis is the top returner in UIL Region IV-1A. He has a best throw of 123-feet. Holy Cross and Antonian each have a pair of athletes who are among the top 10 returning in the area. In all, there are 11 from the group who have exceeded 110-feet.
Other Girls
Bracken Christian has two of the top five returning girls in the group, Sophia Grinstead and Jillian Land. Grinstead has thrown 112-5 while Land has thrown 105-1. Three others have marks between those two. Emily Easton (Cornerstone), Leavy McDonald (Antonian) and Ava Welch (San Antonio Christian) are ranked second, third and fourth in the area, respectively.
Senior Tindel Dziuk of Falls City is the top public-school thrower. She has a best throw of over 100 feet. Utopia's Taya Bohannan is the best UIL 1A discus thrower in the area.
* Please note that all times are taken from the
MileSplit website. There is always a possibility that someone I mentioned no
longer competes for the school they did last year or that they are even
competing in track and field anymore. These articles are just a very early
preview of the upcoming season.
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- The preview on the discus is the ninth in the series of preview articles for the San Antonio Metro area. Compared to the running events, there are not nearly as many top returning discus throwers. Despite this, I am looking forward to what some of the very top throwers in the area will be able to do this year. There are three or four boys who can compete for a State title at the UIL 5A or 6A levels.
6A Boys