Photo of Aiden Martinez (Lane 9) from 2023 UIL 3A State Meet
The San Antonio area has been blessed to have outstanding hurdlers over the past few years and it should be no different this year. There are multiple athletes who should challenge for State titles this year and it will be a lot of fun to watch.
6A Boys
If there is only one name you remember from this article it should be Malik White of Taft. The senior is the top returning 110mH by over a second. He went under 14s on three times during the season and two more times over the summer. There was a three-way battle between Gerardo Mejia (Central Catholic), Kyree Wilson (Brennan) and White all season long, but this year it will be a surprise if there is anyone locally who can challenge him. He was the Region IV champion in 2023 and will be looking to build upon that this year.
After White, there is a group of five hurdlers who all posted times between 14.81 and 15.06 last year. Madison's Jordan Clay is likely to be the one to make the biggest step forward after running a 14.81 as a freshman. Superstar defensive back Paul Mencke leads an always strong contingent from Clemens as he ran 14.84 last year and teammates Jackson Jones and Caleb Martinez are also in the top-10 returners. The rest of the top group include Jake Grullon (O'Connor), Jason Grant (LEE) and Derek Davisson (Reagan). It would not be a surprise to see any one of these hurdlers advancing to the State meet along with White at the end of the year.
6A Girls
This is the first time mentioning Vanderbilt signee Isabella Dagrosa, but it certainly will not be the last time in the preview series. The Reagan senior was the dominant hurdler in the area last year and ended up as the Regional champion after running a wind-aided 13.89 in the Regional finals. Her season best came the week before at the Area meet where she clocked a 13.84. While Dagrosa is a great 100mH, it might not even be her best event as she also excels at the 300mH and long jump.
It is a great group of 6A girls that include a few that could lay claim to the title as best overall athlete in the area. One of those is Harlan's Iyanna Webb who is among the five best returners in four different events. She slots in third in the 100mH after running a best time of 14.58 last year. Taft's Mya Robinson (14.48) and Warren's Syenna Lara (14.99) are two others who have broke 15 seconds while Aziza Clark of Holmes is knocking on the door after running 15.13 in 2023.
5A Boys
Many of the top 5A boys hurdlers from 2023 graduated leaving a gaping hole that needs to be filled. The only returning hurdler who qualified for the Regional meet is sophomore Jack Hollimon of Alamo Heights who ran a season best of 16.50. The returner with the best returning time is another sophomore, Luke Bell of Canyon who ran 15.75.
It should be fun to watch who ends up being the best hurdler this year with so many around the same time. The rest of the top five returners are Kai Brown (Veterans Memorial), Isaiah Francis (Veterans Memorial), Elegant Thompson (South San) and Brandon Karbowski (Boerne Champion). In a rare instance, none of the top five returning 110mH rank in the top five for returning 300mH.
5A Girls
The 5A girls 100mH seems to be an all-Valley event with five of the top seven returners attending either Medina Valley or Smithson Valley. SV's Maycee Moody is the overall top returner after running 14.95 last year and she should be one of the top contenders to go to the State meet this year. Her teammates, Kirsten Hampton (16.08) and Erika Arzu (16.82), give the Rangers a strong group. Medina Valley is led by sophomore Kiyana Perez and Tristan Moreno who each broke 16 seconds last year and qualified for the Regional meet.
A pair of sophomores could be in line for big seasons. Maia Aldrich of Canyon has a top time of 15.85 while Lockhart's Bailey O'Keefe ran 16.45 last year.
4A Boys
Boerne's McCoy Bruce is easily the top returning 4A boys 110mH, but with six of the top eight returning in the Region it will still be difficult for him to grab an elusive State meet bid. He finished in fifth place last year with a 15.03 time. He has a top time of over a second faster than anyone else in the area including his teammate and brother Hudson Bruce who ran 16.50 as a freshman last year.
Davenport's Clayton Williams is the only other local to qualify for the Regional meet and he has a best time of 16.05. Two others to watch closely are Raishaun Conaway of YMLA and Troy Heugly of Wimberley who are both close to breaking 16 seconds.
4A Girls
Wimberley will be tough to beat in the 100mH this year with Baylee Gold and Mariah McCoy entering the season as the top two girls in the area. Gold earned the Wild Card bid into the State meet where she ran her best time of the season, 15.29. She is also one of the better horizontal jumpers in 4A. McCoy finished one spot out of the Regional finals as a freshman last year and has a top time of 16.02.
Trying to challenge the Wimberley duo will be a trio of solid Canyon Lake hurdlers; Brilee Eaton, Shana Cutrer and Lydia Ross. Eaton is the best of the bunch having run 16.33 last year while Cutrer and Ross were both around 17.3s. Fredericksburg's Minot Frantzen is the lone hurdler to rank in the top five in both the 100mH and 300mH. She has a best time of 16.86.
3A Boys
Aiden Martinez of Great Hearts Monte Vista missed out on winning the Regional title last year by less than .01, but he heads into this season as the clear favorite. The junior took sixth at the State meet and has a top time of 14.56 and he should compete for a podium spot at this year's State meet.
Apart from Martinez, there are only three other returners who qualified for the Regional meet: Poth's Colin Ramzinski and Jourdanton's Samuel Hillman and Matthew Hicks. Ramzinski has a top time of 15.97 while Hillman and Hicks are in the high 16's. Randolph has a deep group of hurdlers this year including Jordan Alexander who ran 15.61 but did not make the Regional meet. The Ro-Hawks will pick up big points at meets thanks to Zachary Hayden, Collin Stucki and Samuel Finley as well.
3A Girls
It does not look like there will be a dominant 100mH at the 3A level this year, but it is a young group that could improve quickly. Heading into the season Poth's Adisen Magill has the best returning time of 17.20 and is the only returning Regional finalist in the area. However, there are three sophomores who all qualified for Regionals last year that should be in line to make a jump this year: Poth's Berklie Urbanczyk, Destynee Sourignavong of Randolph and Klarissa Frain of Cole.
Two others that could move up the rankings are Abigail Levings of Cole and Sophia Castillo of Jourdanton. Levings has a faster personal best than her Frain, but it was Frain who edged her out by .07 at the Area meet to advance.
Private and Homeschool Boys
I am combining the private schools, smaller public schools and home school athletes into one group. The group is led by three hurdlers who placed at the TAPPS State meet in different classifications. Antonian's Giovanni Okpala took fifth place at the 6A level and comes in with the fastest returning time of 15.53. Josiah Wentrcek (Castle Hills), who is one of the top overall athletes in this group, finished fourth in 3A and has a best time of 15.94. He also placed in 300mH, high jump and triple jump. Finally, Kaleb Mitchell (UC First Baptist Academy) was the bronze medalist in 2A last year.
TMI has a pair of quality hurdlers in Beau Bregman and Cass Clowney who are both only sophomores. As usual, Holy Cross (Gino Villa) and Central Catholic (Avin Houston) have solid performers in the event.
Private and Homeschool Girls
Universal City First Baptist Academy senior Emily Kate Jones was the TAPPS 2A State champion in the 100mH last year with a time of 16.08 and will be the heavy favorite to repeat this year. Jones has three teammates who could also be in the running for a bid to the State meet: Meredith Quinn, Breezy Hall and Brianna Hall.
Incarnate Word's Chloe Hawkins and Jones are the only returners who ran faster than 17s last year. Addalyn Erps (Castle Hills) ran a 17.04 last year and is also highly regarded in the long and triple jump.
* 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.