Elizabeth Leachman
The high school track season is over in Texas and for the San Antonio girls it was an amazing season with individual State Champions and Team Champions. Randolph won a third consecutive 3A team title while Fredericksburg Heritage repeated as TAPPS 1A champs and the San Antonio Patriots won the Texas Homeschool championship.
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.
100m - Taylor Nunez, Jr., Randolph
Taylor Nunez remained perfect at the State meet winning the 100m, 200m and long jump titles for a third straight year. Last year, she was the long jump award winner and this year she grabs the 100m title. She ran a season best time of 11.46 en route to winning the State title and she won the Texas Relays with a time of 11.48. She took on all-comers this year knocking off some of the best 5A and 6A girls in the area during the season.
Others: Daisha Shular (Seguin), Taniyah Adams (Pieper), Darinasia Taylor (Judson)
200m - Nnenna Opara, Jr., Reagan
The 200m was one of the toughest calls this year since Nunez was already picked. Nnenna Opara did not have the fastest time in the area but was the most consistent and was the best in the postseason. She was the District and Area champion in the 200m and broke 25 seconds on five occasions. She was part of Reagan's State qualifying 4x100m and 4x200m relay teams.
Others: London Graham (Brandeis), Daisha Shular (Seguin), Victoria Arowosegbe (Clemens), Taylor Nunez (Randolph)
400m - Jazmyn Singh, Sr., Smithson Valley
Jazmyn Singh wins the 400m award for a second straight year and she had a great senior season from start to finish. She medaled for the first time at the State meet in the 400m, running an all-time best of 54.41. She won the District and Regional titles with times under 55 seconds. She was also the anchor leg on both the 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams that posted the best times in San Antonio this year.
Others: Shyniece Davis (Jay), Caila Lyons (Brennan), Ayren Lightfoot (Canyon Lake), Sydney Wyrwich (Stockdale)
100mH - Kendall Jones, Sr., LEE
Kendall Jones may be a surprise choice to some people but with Isabella Dagrosa and Iyanna Webb both stronger in other events she slots in nicely in this spot. Jones got better and better as the season went along. She ran her two best times of the year at the Regional meet. She ran 14.67 in the prelims and then came back with a 14.86 in the finals to grab a solid fourth place. She was one of only five hurdlers to break 15 seconds this year.
Others: Isabella Dagrosa (Reagan), Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Syenna Lara (Warren), Shylah Abbott (DDS)
300mH - Isabella Dagrosa, Sr., Reagan
Isabella Dagrosa had another outstanding season winning the 100mH and 300mH Regional titles for a second straight year. She took third at the Texas Relays running a time of 42.10 and then she reset her own San Antonio area record in the 300mH in the Regional prelims when she posted a time of 41.57. She closed out her career with a silver medal at the 6A State meet with a time of 41.84.
Others: Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Kendall Fallon (Davenport), Madisyn Jackson (O'Connor), Maia Aldrich (Canyon), Breezy Hall (UC First Baptist Academy)
800m - Caila Lyons, Jr., Brennan
It was a near toss-up this year on the 800m winner but Caila Lyons edges Smithson Valley's Mia Perez by a hair for the second straight year. Lyons ended up being the wild card qualifier for the 6A State meet where she ran her fastest time of the year, 2:11.04. She ran faster than 2:15 at five different meets during the year and is also one of the top 400m runners in the area.
Others: Mia Perez (Smithson Valley), Sophia Bendet (Randolph), Elizabeth Leachman (Boerne Champion), Taylor Grona (Fredericksburg)
1600m - Sophia Bendet, Jr., Randolph
Sophia Bendet had a case to grab the 800m award since she won the State for a second straight year, but I am going to leave her in the 1600m for the second straight year. She had a dominant season that included a runner-up finish at the Texas Relays where she ran a 4:47.28. She easily won State titles in the 800m (2:09.99) and 1600m (4:53.73) after winning the State cross country title in the Fall. She also ran the second leg on the State champion 4x400m relay team.
Others: Elizabeth Leachman (Boerne Champion), Cadence Patterson (Canyon Lake), Ann Claire Cop (Fredericksburg), Savanah Moya (New Braunfels)
3200m - Elizabeth Leachman, So., Boerne Champion
All Elizabeth Leachman did was put together one of the greatest distance seasons in high school history. She set a national record in the 3200m and focused on the two-mile early in the season when she ran three straight races under 9:50 including her 9:43.74 at the Boerne Greyhound Relays. She was never challenged in Texas in the 1600m or 3200m as she won both at the State meet. She tried to win all three distance races at the State meet but had to settle for fifth in the 800m even though she had a season best of 2:09.90 in the event.
Others: Cadence Patterson (Canyon Lake), Brooklyn Albert (Poth), Savanah Moya (New Braunfels), Brooklyn Crow (Taft), Alexandra Johnson (Antonian)
Discus - Sophia Grinstead, Jr., Bracken Christian
Sophia Grinstead and Cayla Albers could both be the winners for the shot put and discus, but the deciding factor ended up being State titles. Grinstead won the title in both disciplines while Albers had to settle for the shot put. Grinstead had a season best of 135-7 in the discus and actually had the top shot put in the area this year with a toss of 46-0.
Others: Cayla Albers (Falls City), Peyton Wilson (Canyon), Annabelle Jehl (Medina Valley), Gianna Brown (Brennan)
Shot Put - Cayla Albers, Sr., Falls City
Cayla Albers came through in a big way for the second year in a row winning the 2A State title in the shot put with a throw of 42-1.5. She was very consistent during the championship season. She threw 41-11.25 at the Area meet and 41-10.5 at the Regional meet before capping off her year at the State meet. She had the top discus throw in the area with her mark of 144-10 at the Area meet.
Others: Sophia Grinstead (Bracken Christian), Laura Sierra (St. Anthony's), Madison Wright (Fredericksburg), Emily Easton (Cornerstone), Jera Salters (Johnson)
High Jump - Mackenzie Dagrosa, Sr., Reagan
Three of the top high jumpers in the entire State reside in the San Antonio area so it was tough to pick a winner, but I settled on Mackenzie Dagrosa. While she did not win a State title like Kendall Lemm or even take the silver like Caroline Peterson did. She cleared 6-0 at the District 28-6A meet and cleared 5-10 at five other meets, which is higher than any other local athlete cleared. She finished fourth at the State meet and can look back at a Nike Indoor National title earlier in the year.
Others: Kendall Lemm (Boerne), Caroline Peterson (Pieper), Aryiel Sherman (Reagan), Ryan Kovacs (Davenport)
Long Jump - Nyima Williamson, Sr., Veterans Memorial
Three of the top long jumpers in the area are off the board because they were selected for other events, but that does not mean that Nyima Williamson is not worthy of the honor. She had a season best of 19-8.5 and swept through the postseason winning District, Area and Regional titles to advance to State. She was also one of the better 200m runners in San Antonio.
Others: Isabella Dagrosa (Reagan), Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Taylor Nunez (Randolph), Kinlee Lawlis (Bandera), Justice Boston (Steele)
Triple Jump - Iyanna Webb, Sr., Harlan
Iyanna Webb was in consideration for four different events, but the triple jump is her best event. She medaled at the 6A State meet with a leap of 40-0.5 which was the shortest mark she posted on the season. In the seven meets listed in Milesplit, she went past 40-feet in every single one and had a season best and all-time city best mark of 42-1.25 at her Area meet.
Others: Justice Boston (Steele), Rachel Nwankwo (Clark), Leah Brown (Seguin), Anaiya Wood (Steele)
Pole Vault - Ella Pickron, Sr., Smithson Valley
It was a tight competition for the pole vault award until Ella Pickron separated herself at the Regional and State competitions. She cleared 13-0 at both meets which was good enough for second place in the Region and got her the 5A State title. She started the season a little slowly and did not clear 12-0 until her sixth meet of the season but the finishing stretch was something she will always remember.
Others: Taylor Fuentespina (Johnson), Sofia Mitschke (Smithson Valley), Maggie Rudisaille (Marion), Zoe Breitsprecher (La Vernia)
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), Madisun Sparks (Johnson), Avianna Miller (Smithson Valley), Taylor Nunez (Randolph)
Daisha Shular and Taylor Nunez were both on last year's 4x100m team and seemed like good choices again this year since they have the fastest 100m times in the area. Nunez did run the 4x400m relay at the State meet but ran the 4x100m at Regionals. Madisun Sparks and Avianna Miller were each key cogs on the two relays that posted the top times on the season.
4x200m Relay - Nnenna Opara (Reagan), Iyanna Webb (Harlan), Toryn Taylor (Harlan), Darinasia Taylor (Judson)
Nnenna Opara and Darinasia Taylor were two of the top sprinters in the area and could be counted on to run excellent legs. I like having Iyanna Webb pass to Toryn Taylor because that is what they did during the season and that led to Harlan having a State qualifying team in the 4x200m.
4x400m Relay - London Graham (Brandeis), Caila Lyons (Brennan), Mia Perez (Smithson Valley), Jazmyn Singh (Smithson Valley)
London Graham was well on her way to an amazing freshman season before injuries cut it short, but she stayed close to Taylor Nunez in the 100m and 200m and even beat Jazmyn Singh in the 400m early in the season. Caila Lyons and Mia Perez have the strength of 800m runners and the speed of 400m runners. Singh is the easy choice to run the anchor leg and has been the fastest or second fastest 400m runner in San Antonio all four years of her career.