San Antonio News and Notes

Feb 27, 2024

Olivia Riedl of O'Connor competes in the pole vault at the Central Catholic Invitational

It was a great week of track and field action around San Antonio with another week of beautiful weather. With February quickly turning into March we will start seeing the teams figure out what their rosters will look like for the championship season. For some teams, this was already their fourth meet of the year while others had their first meet of the season this past week.

The Best Thing I Saw

Saturday was my first time attending a track meet at Central Catholic's Bob Benson '66 Stadium and it turned out to be a great day. The meet ran quite well starting at 9 a.m. and was done by 2:30 p.m. despite having 14 or 15 teams. In addition, there were some star performances put on by Warren's Nick Ross and Taft's Malik White.

The best thing I saw was Harlan's Iyanna Webb. I have written about her many times over the past two seasons and she posted a pair of super performances to start the day by winning the triple jump with a leap of 41-0.5 (current #2 in Texas) and the 100mH with a nice time of 14.69. However, it was the 300mH that showed what type of competitor she is. At the first hurdle she did not get her lead leg fully extended before hitting the hurdle with the front of her ankle which sent her sprawling forward. After falling down, she rolled over onto her back before getting back up and running from well behind the rest of the heat. She got back in the race and passed five girls to move all the way up into third place with a time of 49.27.

She Runs This

Isabella Dagrosa has been accumulating awards at a rapid rate ever since she stepped onto the track for the Reagan Rattlers starting in 2021. This weekend, Dagrosa and the rest of her team traveled to the Bubba Fife Relays in Katy. She sent ripples across the State with her performance. She opened the meet with a second-place finish in the long jump with a distance of 18-8.5. She followed that by running the fastest times in the State in both the 100mH and 300mH. She ran 14.04 in the 100mH and edged out Madison Caesar of Houston Cypress Fair who ran a 14.20. In the 300's, she ran a time of 42.14 and won by close to a second of Kalen Goodman of George Ranch. In her final event of the day, she ran the leadoff leg of the 4x400m relay team that finished in second place with a time of 3:55.51. For her efforts, she was named the Bubba Fife Most Outstanding Athlete.

Midseason Form

The Randolph boys and girls teams opened their season this week at the Canyon Lake Hawk Relays. Both teams won the meet despite being the smallest school there. The Ro-Hawk girls have won back-to-back 3A State team titles and appear to be the heavy favorites for a third straight. They are led by Sophia Bendet and Taylor Nunez who own a combined 11 State titles between them. Bendet won the 800m in 2:15.39 and the 1600m in 4:56.93 which are both #1 in the State in 3A. Nunez won the 100m by over a half second in 11.79 and she leaped 18-11.5 to win the long jump which puts her #1 in 3A in both events. Then, Bendet and Nunez teamed with Jaela Smith and Ariela Munoz to win the 4x400m relay in 3:53.03, another top 3A time.

The Randolph boys showed their strength in the relays. The 4x100m relay team of Cody Howard, Austin Young, Lee McMooain and Aaron Davis ran a 42.86 which is #1 in 3A. The 4x200m team traded out Howard for Braylen Brown but still had the same result, the #1 time in 3A this year, 1:28.93. In the 4x400m relay Brown and McMooain teamed with Messiah Miller and Naszier White to run 3:32.54 which is currently #3 in the State.

Clearing New Heights

Reagan's Samuel Abati and Johnson's Thomas Bucks have gotten off to flying starts this season in the pole vault. Abati opened the season by clearing 17-1 and this week he bettered that mark with a height of 17-6 at the Bubba Fife Relays. Bucks has now broken the Johnson school record in back-to-back weeks. He went 16-0 for the first time ever at the New Braunfels Unicorn Invitational. The two were the Region IV 6A representatives at last year's State meet and appear to be headed that way again. They are two of only six 6A vaulters who have cleared 16-feet this year.

Hoping for More

Last year, Dilley's Dorian Aranda finished fourth or better in four different individual events at the Region IV-3A meet but did not qualify for the State meet in any event. That could change this year. He surpassed his previous personal records in both the 100m and triple jump at his season-opening meet at Lytle. In addition, he ran a strong 400m and nearly matched his personal best in the long jump.

School Records

In this section, I want to highlight the new school records that were set during the week. I need coaches to please let me know when you have a new record set. Either email me at shanemeling@gmail.com or message at me @ShaneMeling on X (Twitter).

Julie Cernoch, Incarnate Word, 1600m, 5:34.70

Sophia Grinstead, Bracken Christian, Shot Put, 45-3

Thomas Bucks, Johnson, Pole Vault, 16-0

Samuel Abati, Reagan, Pole Vault, 17-6

Cornerstone boys 4x100m relay, 43.25

Johnson girls DMR, 12:53.19

Around the City

The East Central Invitational may have been a preview of the District 27-6A championships. The Clemens boys won with 173 points while the Steele girls topped Judson by 16 points. In the boys meet, the Clemens sprint relay teams won the 4x100m and 4x200m relays. They ran 41.97 in the 4x100 as they edged out Steele (42.36) and Judson (42.41). In the 4x200, they became only the second team in the city to go under 1:28 with a time of 1:27.91. Damien Robinson, Joshua Jackson and Cameron Owens were on both relays. East Central's Deanthony Anderson became the first athlete to eclipse 45-feet in the triple jump this year. LEE's Arlo Gonzalez won both the 1600m and 3200m.

The Steele girl's relay teams were the big winners as they swept all three relays. They ran 47.61 in the 4x100m, 1:42.09 in the 4x200m and 4:01.50 in the 4x400m. Lauren Dobbins, Jadyn Cook and Londyn Johnson were each part of a winning relay and won an individual event. Nyima Williamson of Veterans Memorial had a great meet winning the long jump (19-0.5) and high jump (5-0) while running a strong time in the 200m, 25.31. Finally, the Judson hurdlers were impressive as they went 1-2-3 in the 100mH and 1-2 in the 300mH. Jolene Martinez won both with times of 15.99 and 47.27, respectively.

The Randolph boys and girls won the Canyon Lake Hawks Relays. In the boys meet, the Ro-Hawks scored 130 points while Boerne had 119 and Wimberley had 110. Randolph's 4x100m and 4x200m ran well while Josh Howard won the 1600m in a time of 4:39.58, #1 in the State in 3A. Pieper's Isaiah Champagne (15.23) and Randolph's Jordan Alexander (15.56) ran an exciting 110mH. Pieper also took the top two spots in the triple jump with Rashard Dunbar bounding 42-8.5 and Michael Ajagbe went 42-4.25.

The Randolph girls won the meet with 118 points with Pieper (113) and Canyon Lake (108) right behind them. I have already written a lot about Sophia Bendet, Taylor Nunez and the Randolph 4x400m relay. In addition, Canyon Lake's Cadence Patterson was magnificent again running 11:07.26 in the 3200m and 5:05.30 in the 1600m to win both. The high jump featured a top-level competition with Boerne's Kendall Lemm defeating Pieper's Caroline Peterson. Lemm cleared 5-8 while Peterson went 5-6.

At the Lockhart Lions Relays, it was the host winning the boys meet behind Zeke Sanchez and Ashton Dickens. Sanchez won the 3200m in 9:56.00 and the 1600m in 4:34.01 while Dickens took gold in the long jump with a mark of 21-5.5.

The La Vernia girls edged out Giddings in the other half of the Lockhart meet. LV's Katie Dallas ran personal record times in the 800m (2:26.84) and 1600m (5:36.41) to take runner-up in each event. Lockhart's Jade Selmon swept the hurdle events winning the 100mH in 15.32 and the 300mH in 46.84. La Vernia dominated the field events taking the top three spots in the triple jump and the top two spots in the high jump and pole vault.

The Brennan boys kept up their winning ways at the New Braunfels Unicorn Invitational as they nearly doubled up the second place team. Javyn Dolton led a 1-2-3 sweep in the triple jump for the Bears as he jumped 45-1 and his two teammates both jumped at least 41-11. The Brennan relay teams won the DMR, 4x100m and 4x200m. Stevens freshman Kaleb Ned won the shot put with a throw of 47-0.5 and was second in the discus with a toss of 138-3, both were personal records.

The Johnson girls won a close meet over Smithson Valley in the Unicorn Invitational. Johnson's Taylor Fuentespina won a hotly contested pole vault with a clearance of 12-0. SV's Ella Pickron cleared 11-6 and two others went 11-0. The 800m featured a tight race between Brennan's Caila Lyons and Savanah Moya of New Braunfels. Lyons ran 2:16.31 while Moya ran 2:17.87. Lyons came back and won the 1600m as well in 5:12.22. The Smithson Valley 4x400m relay team won in 4:05.06 despite running without three-time 400m State qualifier Jazmyn Singh.

Seguin and Canyon each competed at the Buda Johnson Big Cat Relays. The Seguin boys showed off a pair of outstanding relays with their 4x100m running 42.70 and their 4x200m ran a 1:28.81. Nikolas Henry posted one of the top 100m times in the city with a second place finish in 10.61 while Ocean Moreno ran 21.57 to take second in the 200m. Seguin's Daisha Shular won the long jump (18-4) and 100m (11.77) while also running a quality 200m (25.55). Canyon was led by Peyton Wilson who won the discus with a personal best throw of 131-5 and Maia Aldrich who won the 100mH in 15.87 and 300mH in 47.52.

At the Bruce Faust Warrior Relays, the Tivy boys won the meet with 155 points while the Bandera girls won the meet with 169 points. Aiden Varwig won the 300mH for Tivy in 40.88 while Blanco's Reggie Johnson swept the throwing events winning the shot put with a throw of 46-11.5 and discus with a throw of 149-5. The Bandera girls won the 4x200m in 1:45.15 and the 4x400m in 4:15.59. Kinlee Lawlis ran a 25.87 in the 200m for Bandera. Shylah Abbott of DDS won the 100mH in a time of 15.35.

Reagan traveled to the Katy ISD Bubba Fife Relays and the girls took second place overall. In addition to the exploits of Isabella Dagrosa and Samuel Abati, Mackenzie Dagrosa won the high jump with a clearance of 5-8 and Gavin Chapa finished second in the 1600m with a great time of 4:17.83. The girls 4x200m team of Katie Burnett, Romina Reyes, Nnenna Opara and Mackenzie Dagrosa won in a time of 1:38.48. The boys Sprint Medley relay team of Caden Doll, Ryan Rosemond, Demario Chapa and Gavin Chapa took third with a time of 3:31.59.

St. Mary's Hall hosted the Baron's All-Relay Meet on Saturday. The Cornerstone boys relay teams swept through the 4x100m (43.25), 4x200m (1:31.13) and 4x400m (3:31.60). TMI finished just ahead of Antonian in the Distance Medley as both teams ran strong times, 10:36.78 and 10:39.79. Joshua Cornelius of Great Hearts Northern Oaks cleared 6-4 in the high jump in his first meet of the year and will compete for top high jumper in the city this year. O'Connor sent their distance girls to the meet and they won the 4x800m in 9:57.32 with Elizabeth Wade, Alma Lazo-Cazares, Araceli Ford and Madisyn Jackson running the four legs. They also won the DMR in 12:36.67. Bracken Christian's Sophia Grinstead has been the top thrower in the area and she won with marks of 131-0 in the discus and 45-3 in the shot put. Emily Easton of Cornerstones was no slouch in the throws either with tosses of 108-3 in the discus and 39-4 in the shot put. Antonian won the boys meet and Devine won the girls meet.

The Lytle Pirate Relays featured a number of great results despite the times being hand-held from some smaller schools. Davenport dominated the boys meet thanks to a relay sweep where they won the 4x100m (43.51), 4x200m (1:33.93) and 4x400m (3:42.65). Dilley's Dorian Aranda was the big winner in the meet as he won four individual events. He won the 100m in 10.51, the 400m in 51.20, the long jump with a leap of 21-8 and a big-time triple jump of 44-4.5. Lytle's Abel Sanchez won the 1600m in 4:37.64 and 3200m in 10:30.68 while also finishing second in the 800m.

The Davenport girls scored over 250 points en route to winning the meet. Like their boys team, they also won all three relays with an impressive 1:46.53 in the 4x200m and 4:15.57 in the 4x400m. Davenport's Kendall Fallon won the 800m in 2:28.74 and the 300mH in 49.13. Crystal City's Lyndsie Bosquez had a fantastic throw of 37-10 in the shot put while Dakota San Miguel of Dilley won the discus with a mark of 105-5.

Please read my article from last Friday for a complete recap of the Central Catholic Invitational.

Looking Forward

This weekend there are a pair of outstanding track meets taking place. The Smithson Valley Relays and Judson's Ron Faught Relays are both on Saturday and promise to have some of the top teams around. Reagan, New Braunfels and Brandeis are all scheduled to be at Smithson Valley while Harlan and one of the top teams from the Rio Grande Valley, Harlingen, will be at the Ron Faught Relays. Smithville, Karnes City, Southwest Legacy and Floresville are all scheduled to host meets as well.

Senior Signings

I would like to keep a running tally of all the track and field and cross country signings so please contact me if you notice someone is missing.

Ella Pickron, Smithson Valley, Colorado State

Erin Martin, Boerne Champion, West Texas A&M

Isabella Dagrosa, Reagan, Vanderbilt

Mackenzie Dagrosa, Reagan, Vanderbilt

Hayden Brace, Boerne Champion, USMA

Marcelo Parra, TMI, Princeton

Franco Parra, TMI, Princeton

Ben Blomqvist, Boerne Champion, Angelo State

Araceli Ford, O'Connor, UIW

Anthony Zapata, Southwest Legacy, UIW