SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - With Spring
Break this past week most teams were also on break with only a few in action at
the Texas Southern Relays, Fredericksburg AJ Loth Meet or at the Texas Distance
Festival. I will be using this week to highlight the top performers of the year
at this point in the season.
The Best of the Best
Steele's Kenneth Lott is a perfect first athlete to highlight since he is almost a team all by himself. He is so good and so well-rounded it will be difficult for his coaches to decide what to put him in at the District 27-6A meet. He has broken 15 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and 42 seconds in the 300-meter hurdles. He is also the top high jumper (6-6) and second-best long jumper (22-8.75) in the district. He has triple jumped over 41 feet and is also a 12-6 pole vaulter. That gives him at least six individual events that he could score in without looking at any relays.
Gerardo Mejia of Central Catholic is the top hurdler in the area. He has run 13.97 in the 110 hurdles and 38.20 in the 300 hurdles this year. He is ranked #1 in the San Antonio Metro area in both events. He is also the #3 high jumper this year with a top clearance of 6-4 and he has long jumped over 21-feet for good measure.
Reagan's Ikenna Opara has been the best sprinter in San Antonio this year. He owns the top 200-meter time with a mark of 21.86 at the Clemens Invitational and he is #2 in the 100-meters with a top time of 10.79. In addition, he runs on the best 4x100-meter relay team and the second-best 4x200-meter relay team in the area.
Michael Pinones of East Central is putting together a phenomenal season. He has thrown over 63-feet on at least three occasions and he is currently #1 in the nation with his toss of 63-9.5 at the Clemens Invitational. In addition, he has thrown the best high school season discus of his career, 170-6 at a home meet on March 8. He was the 6A State Runner-Up last year in the shot put so I am sure he is on a mission to fix that this year.
Brandeis junior Hayden Scott has been the best distance runner in San Antonio this year and he solidified that with his victory in the mile at the Alamo City Mile and Steeplechase a week ago. He struggled at the Cross Country State Championships this year, but it seems he has used that to fuel his Spring season. He ran a 4:13 in the 1600 meters at Alamo City and has also run 9:28.40 in the 3200 meters already this year. Both marks are #1 in San Antonio.
Boerne's Tori Adams starts off the list of the best girls this year. She has been #1 all year long in the Metro area in both the shot put and discus. She threw the shot put 44-9 at back-to-back meets this month at Davenport and her own home meet. She is two feet better than anyone else in the area and she is even more dominant in the discus. Her throw of 141-2 is over 16-feet farther than anyone else.
I have written about Reagan's Isabella Dagrosa many times already this season so it makes sense that she is on this list. She is currently #1 in the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles and is #2 in the long jump. She I over a half second faster than anyone in the 100 hurdles (14.36) and nearly 2.5 seconds faster in the 300's (42.57). She jumped a personal record of 19-2 in the long jump at the Smithson Valley Ranger Relays and will be counted on to run a strong leg in the 4x400 relay for the Rattlers.
Alyssa Jones of Smithson Valley is a great sprinter and long jumper who is not afraid to step up and run the lead leg of the top 4x400-meter relay team in 5A. She is ranked #1 in the 100 meters (11.80) and 200 meters (24.39) and she has gone 18-11 in the long jump. She will only run the 100 or the 200 at the district meet since she is also on the top 4x200-meter relay team in 5A as well.
Boerne Champion's Elizabeth Leachman is the lone freshman to appear on this list. She is well deserving as the best long distance runner in San Antonio. She ran a 10:52.18 two-mile at the Boerne Greyhound Relays at the beginning of March and has already broken five minutes in the 1600 meters.
Brennan's Caila Lyons has been one of the top runners in the nation so far this year in the 800 and 1600 meters and she is also #2 in San Antonio in the 400 meters. She has run times of 56.82 in the 400 meters, 2:11.30 in the 800 meters and she ran 4:56 in the 1600 meters at the Alamo City Mile. Lyons has run the 400 and 800 at every meet save the Alamo City meet and I would assume that is what she will focus on as the season progresses.
Taylor Nunez of Randolph is the final athlete I am highlighting, but she is likely the most well known in the State after her unworldly performance last year at the State meet where won titles in the 100 meters, 200 meters, long jump and 4x100-meter relay. After a busy indoor season she is slowly moving into the outdoor season but has still posted outstanding results. She ran 11.94 in the 100-meter at the Ron Faught Relays and also went 20-3 in the long jump, #1 in San Antonio.
Honorable Mention Boys:
Armando Acevedo, Brennan
Ben Blomqvist, Boerne Champion
Leo Bowen, Alamo Heights
AJ Breault, Smithson Valley
Rafe Clendenin, Brandeis
Farrin Mangelson, FEAST
Connor Warzecha, Boerne Champion
Honorable Mention Girls:
Sophia Bendet, Randolph
Mackenzie Dagrosa, Reagan
Alexis Jessie, Judson
Alencia Lentz, Canyon Lake
Caroline Peterson, Pieper
Daisha Shular, Seguin
Jazmyn Singh, Smithson Valley
School Records
I am on Twitter @ShaneMeling or you can email me at shanemeling@gmail.com with any new school records.
Leo Bowen, Alamo Heights, Pole Vault, 16-6 at NISD Meet #4
Maddie Reagan, Davenport, 3200 Meters, 11:24.78 at Texas Distance Festival
Fredericksburg Girls, Sprint Medley Relay, 4:34.30 at Fredericksburg AJ Loth Relays (Cameran Whiting, Elizabeth Erlandson, Rilyn Grona, Anna Munoz)
Fredericksburg Girls, 4x800 Relay, 10:01.90 at Fredericksburg AJ Loth Relays (Anna Munoz, Rilyn Grona, Ann Claire Cop, Taylor Grona)
Fredericksburg Girls, Distance Medley Relay, 13:13.87 at Fredericksburg AJ Loth Relays (Ann Claire Cop, Ava Stuewe, Rilyn Grona, Taylor Grona)
Previewing the Week
Right now I have not chosen a meet to go to this week but there are a number of quality ones out there. Judson's Candy Tanner Relays and Harlandale have meets on Wednesday while Cornerstone, Edgewood, Medina Valley, Alamo Heights and Randolph host meets on Thursday. On Saturday, the only meet I see scheduled is at Seguin. Once again, I would ask that coaches can feel free to send me results and school records to shanemeling@gmail.com.