While
there are no meets in San Antonio, we will get to see a few of the top area
schools in action at the Lake Travis Relays on Saturday; Canyon, New Braunfels
and Reagan. This meet is a little different than a normal invitational with
seven different relays and the steeplechase. All of the field events will be
competed as well as each of the hurdle events.
The
Reagan girls team are the headliners at the meet with twins Isabella and
Mackenzie Dagrosa signed up for their best events. Isabella is the top seed in
the 100 hurdles but will be pushed by Sophia Farris of Drippings Springs and
Brooklyn Gowdy-Williams of Austin Bowie. The 300 hurdles should be outstanding
with Isabella and Farris going head-to-head as two of the top runners in the
entire Region. Mackenzie is scheduled to compete in the high jump and she will
be challenged by Ava Williamson of Dripping Springs who has a PR of 5-6.
I
am also intrigued to see how the Reagan relay teams will run. I am sure they
will be mixing and matching their relays with so many different options but I
would still expect to see some quality times from the group.
The
girls pole vault features a pair of big-time competitors in Caressa Vajdos of
New Braunfels and Y'Lan Nguyen from Lake Travis. Obviously, cold and wind could
affect all of the vaulters, but I like that two of the best in the Region will
get to see each other this early in the season.
On
the boys side of the Lake Travis relays, we will get to see Reagan's Derek Davisson
and Canyon's Deuce Adams in the 110 hurdles. The both have PR's under 15.50, but
neither is the favorite in the event. Davisson and his teammate, Liam Lecavalier, will also get a good look at two of the best 300 hurdlers in the Region,
Caleb McQuinn of Round Rock and Gage Groce of Dripping Springs.
The
Reagan boys had a great 4x100 relay team last year and this will be the first
time we get to see who they have running this year. The 4x400 relay should also
be a strong event at the meet and I would expect Canyon, New Braunfels and
Reagan all to put forth strong squads.
New
Braunfels has a pair of jumpers I will be keeping an eye on all year with
Joshua Minton in the high jump and Cole Tavarez in the long jump. Tavarez
jumped over 22-feet as a freshman.
Reagan's
Samuel Abati in the pole vault and Canyon's Aidan Peddycoart in the discus and
shot put are two field athletes who have a chance to post a top mark before
anyone else has a chance.
The
other meet I want to mention is the St. Dominic Savio Early Bird Relays in
Marble Falls. It is a huge meet that has a number of San Antonio area private
schools competing; Cornerstone Christian, Central Catholic, San Antonio Christian,
Incarnate Word, Providence and St. John Paul II. Like the Lake Travis meet, it
will feature a number of extra relays. This will be a good chance to see how
the reigning State Champion Central Catholic team looks.
A
glance at the entries shows that the Buttons have their top athletes scheduled
to compete. Gerardo Mejia will be running the 110 and 300 hurdles and high
jumping, Nathan Morales is the top seed in the 1600 meters and Cristian Villarreal is signed up for the 100 and 200 meters. Meanwhile, Cornerstone
Christian has high hopes for 800-meter runner Christopher Miller-Harris.
On
the girls side of the meet, I want to highlight Emily Easton of Cornerstone who
is the top seed in the shot put and discus.