All-San Antonio Girls Team

With that being said, I wanted to put together an All-San Antonio team with a few rules to follow. The first rule is that athletes can only be chosen for one individual event and one relay. The second rule is that selections will be based upon best results, consistency, and performance in the post season. The final rule is that an athlete must either compete in the actual relay or in the individual event during the season. For each event I will list my choice along with a little information and others that were considered.

Photo by Casey Chancellor/TX MileSplit

100m - Daisha Shular, Soph., Seguin

Daisha Shular may be a surprise choice for some people, but when you look at her season it is harder to argue. She broke 12 seconds on nine different occasions while winning District, Area and Regional titles with a season best time of 11.44. She grabbed the silver medal at the UIL 5A State meet, only the second time all year she did not win her 100m race.

Others: Taylor Nunez (Randolph), Vanesa Gonzalez (Boerne Champion), Caydence Jackson (Steele)

Photo by Casey Chancellor/TX MileSplit

200m - Alyssa Jones, Soph., Smithson Valley

Alyssa Jones excelled in many events and was the main reason the Rangers won the State title with a meet best 28 points. However, the 200m has become her best event. Prior to the post-season, she only ran the 200m one time during the regular season. She blitzed her way through April and May while dominating the Regional and State meets. She never ran slower than 24.88 and capped off her season with a State title when she went by everyone with a final kick to win in 23.59.

Others: Taylor Nunez (Randolph), Alexis Waller (Judson), Mariela Gonzalez (Boerne Champion), Skyla Lovett (Stevens), Ariana Sutton (Clemens)

Photo by Casey Chancellor/TX MileSplit

400m - Jazmyn Singh, Jr., Smithson Valley

Jazmyn Singh edges out a strong group of 400m runners, but this really could have gone to about three or four others. She has proven to be a remarkably consistent runner throughout her entire career. She has scored at the State meet in this event for three straight years and ran the fastest time in San Antonio when she posted a 54.94 at the Canyon Cougar Relays. She was perfect on the season until taking fifth at the State meet where she went out hard and just could not hold on at the end.

Others: Ariana Sutton (Clemens), Mackenzie Dagrosa (Reagan), Harmoniey Rector (Wagner), Treasure Vallerie (Kennedy), Caila Lyons (Brennan)

100mH - Cameran Whiting, Sr., Fredericksburg

This may have been my toughest decision due to the rules that an athlete can only be named in one individual event. I decided on Cameran Whiting because she was good week after week while she kept lowering her times. She was set to compete for a medal at the State meet when an illness held her out. She won the Area and Regional meets by running faster than 14.70 and was ready to go even faster at the State meet.

Others: Isabella Dagrosa (Reagan), Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Mya Robinson (Taft), Zada Zimmerman (Smithson Valley), Emily Kate Hampton (Universal City First Baptist)

Photo by Jolivette/TX MileSplit

300mH - Isabella Dagrosa, Jr., Reagan

It was difficult to pick the 100mH winner, but the 300mH choice is an easy one with Dagrosa as easily the top hurdler in San Antonio. She had a strong early season and then took seventh at the Texas Relays to put the rest of the State on notice. She ran a 42.18 at the Regional meet and then bettered that with her runner-up finish in 41.80, a new city record, at the UIL 6A State meet.

Others: Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Kendall Fallon (Boerne Champion), Addison Hankins (Boerne Champion), Cameran Whiting (Fredericksburg), Kaliya Jones (Antonian)

Photo by Jolivette/TX MileSplit

800m - Caila Lyons, Soph., Brennan

In a close group of challengers, Lyons separated herself by her performance at the State meet. She might be the runner who best combines speed and distance. She finished second in the Region with a time of 2:13.55, but then went low at the 6A State meet where she unleashed a massive kick to run 2:09.82 to take the silver medal and become one of the few San Antonio athletes to ever break 2:10.

Others: Mia Perez (Smithson Valley), Sophia Bendet (Randolph), Alma Lazo Cazares (O'Connor), Taylor Grona (Fredericksburg), Micaela Villarreal (Antonian)

Photo by Casey Chancellor/TX MileSplit

1600m - Sophia Bendet, Soph., Randolph

Bendet put together a great season and then capped it off with a pair of individual UIL 3A State titles in both the 800m and 1600m. She also ran the 4x400 at the State meet and was one of the main reasons that Randolph was able to repeat as State champs. She only lost one 1600m race during the season and raced to a 5:07.56 gold medal in Austin.

Others: Elizabeth Leachman (Boerne Champion), Mia Perez (Smithson Valley), Jadelyn Malesich (Brandeis), Micaela Villarreal (Antonian), Lesli Salas (Cornerstone)

Photo By Chris Langford/TX MileSplit

3200m - Elizabeth Leachman, Fr., Boerne Champion

Leachman was recently named the top freshman distance runner in the State and it was not a surprise if you have seen her. While she unfortunately did not qualify for the State meet when she collapsed with about 120m remaining in the Regional race she did more than enough throughout the year to earn this spot. At the Area meet she ran a time of 10:17.81 which is nearly 30 seconds faster than any other San Antonio athlete. She was also the UIL 5A State champion in the 1600m.

Others: Micaela Villarreal (Antonian), Mikaela Garza (Brandeis), Melody Espinoza (Brackenridge), Ann Claire Cop (Fredericksburg), Lesli Salas (Cornerstone)

Discus - Brylee Stewart, Sr., Junction

While many of the top girls discus throwers in the area struggled at the end of the season, Brylee Stewart took her game to a new level. She was throwing in the 113-foot range for much of the season but when the lights shined the brightest, she was at her best. She threw 117-1 at the Area meet, then 122-8 at the Regional meet and finally 135-2 to win the State meet.

Others: Tori Adams (Boerne), Cayla Albers (Falls City), Gia Booth (Judson), Zoe Aldrich (Fredericksburg), Violetta Bilotto (Judson)

Photo by Noe Longoria/TX MileSplit

Shot Put - Tori Adams, Sr., Boerne

Adams put together an amazing season end-to-end. She never threw less than 42-feet at a meet all year. She finished third at the Texas Relays with a throw of 45-3.5 and had a season best of 45-6.5 at the Region meet. She placed second at the UIL 4A State meet with another strong mark of 43-4.

Others: Cayla Albers (Falls City), Gia Booth (Judson), Emily Easton (Cornerstone), Alexis Owens (Harlan)

Photo Courtesy of TX MileSplit

High Jump - Caroline Peterson, Soph., Pieper

This was a three-person race but ultimately Caroline Peterson's consistency and runner-up finish at the UIL 5A State meet set her apart. She has been racking up high jump medals in her two years. Many high jumpers struggle with consistency week-to-week but Peterson is reliable at the big meets and the small meets.

Others: Kendall Lemm (Boerne), Mackenzie Dagrosa (Reagan), Victoria Beckerson (Center Point)

Photo by Jolivette/TX MileSplit

Long Jump - Taylor Nunez, Soph., Randolph

I had to hold back on choosing Nunez for an earlier event, but the long jump is her best event. If I were to choose an MVP the choice would be Nunez. She has earned eight gold medals at the State meet in her two-year scoring 35 points each season to lead Randolph to back-to-back UIL 3A State titles. She jumped at least 20-feet in four different meets this year and finished off the season with a 20-8.5 mark at the Regional meet and then she went 20-2.5 to win the State.

Others: Alyssa Jones (Smithson Valley), Daisha Shular (Seguin), Alyssa Rodriguez (Brandeis), Isabella Dagrosa (Reagan), Emily Thames (Wimberley)

Triple Jump - Alexis Waller, Sr., Judson

Waller, formerly Alexis Jessie, bounced back from an injury last year to put together a great season. She hop, skipped and jumped over 40-feet at five meets and was over 39-feet in 10-of-11 meets. She took fourth at the Texas Relays with a 41-3 mark and then nearly won a UIL 6A State title before settling for second with a leap of 40-3.25.

Others: Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Grace Conley (Canyon), Justice Boston (Steele), Madeline Seebeck (John Paul II)

Photo courtesy TX MileSplit

Pole Vault - Alencia Lentz, Sr., Canyon Lake

Alencia Lentz capped off her career with a second straight UIL 4A State title and she set the San Antonio record with her 14-2 vault at the Regional meet. She went over 13-feet at every meet except the first one where the weather was brutally cold and windy. She finished fifth at the Texas Relays and finished off the year with a 13-6 clearance at the State meet.

Others: Ella Vajdos (New Braunfels), Ella Pickron (Smithson Valley), Daniell Cantu (Johnson), Maggie Rudisaile (Marion)

The relay legs are not just based on top times, but also on what I have seen individual athletes do in their relays throughout the year.

4x100m Relay - Daisha Shular (Seguin), Vanesa Gonzalez (Boerne Champion), Darinasia Taylor (Judson), Taylor Nunez (Randolph)

When you start with Shular and close with Nunez you will probably be in good shape no matter who is on the team, but when you add in Gonzalez and Darinasia Taylor who have each broken 12 seconds in the 100m it would be a fun team to watch.

4x200m Relay - Alexis Waller (Judson), Mariela Gonzalez (Boerne Champion), Favour Uduji (Smithson Valley), Alyssa Jones (Smithson Valley)

Waller, Mariela Gonzalez and Jones are no-brainer selections and you always know if you are down heading into the final leg that Jones can run down anyone. Favour Uduji is probably the one leg you might not know much about, but she was part of Smithson Valley's State champion 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams this year and always runs a great relay leg.

4x400m Relay - Isabella Dagrosa (Reagan), Mackenzie Dagrosa (Reagan), Ariana Sutton (Clemens), Jazmyn Singh (Smithson Valley)

This group could potentially break 3:40 if everything went perfectly. Sutton and Singh are both three-time State finalists and went head-to-head for two years before Smithson Valley dropped to 5A. The Dagrosa sisters are big-time competitors and possess the speed needed for this race.