Photo of Sophia Bendet, Randolph
The first full week of track and field in San Antonio produced some outstanding results as the weather warmed up. Even though it was windy throughout the weekend the performances were excellent. Most teams stayed close to home, but a few teams and individuals made the trek to College Station for the Texas A&M Bluebonnet Invitational that boasted some of the best performances to date for the 2025 season.
The Best Thing I Saw
I covered the Alamo Heights Mule Relays this week and I wanted to give a piece of advice to all future media members. If a coach is kind enough to send you all the meet information ahead of time, make sure you take a moment to look things over. I had completely forgotten that Alamo Heights High School has a lot of construction going on right now and I drove to their stadium first when if I had just looked at the information sheet I would have known the meet was at Heroes Stadium.
Fortunately, I was still able to make it to the meet by 4 p.m. so I didn't miss too much. The best thing I saw was the hurdle performance by the Alamo Heights boys. They took the top three spots in both the 110mh and 300mh. Jack Hollimon won the 110mh in 15.40 while Max Bacon and James Lynch were both within 0.20s of him. In the 300mh, Bacon came out on top in 39.21 while Lynch also broke 40s and Hollimon nearly did the same despite a strong head wind on the home stretch the entire meet.
A Homecoming Performance?
Randolph's Sophia Bendet and Taylor Nunez each signed with Texas A&M this year and over the weekend they got a chance to compete at their future home. Bendet won the 1600m over some of the best distance runners in Texas. She pulled away from the pack on the final lap and won in 4:44.49 for a near 5-second victory. She also finished as the runner-up in the 800m with a quality time of 2:12.72.
Nunez ran the 100m and 200m at the meet. She posted the top prelim time in the 100m with an 11.33 and then she finished second in the finals with a time of 11.35. In the 200m, she clocked a 23.43 in the prelims and then finished fourth in the finals with a time of 23.04. It was a personal record for her in the 200m and she was only 0.02s off her best in the 100m.
Back in Business
Two years ago, Seguin's Daisha Shular finished the 2023 season by taking home the silver medal in the 5A 100m dash. Last year, she returned to the State meet but only finished in eighth place. It seems like Shular is back in form after her exceptional performance at the Canyon Cougar Relays. Going up against quality sprinters from Johnson and Pieper she ran away with victories in the 100m and 200m. She took the 100m in 11.57 and then ran a big personal best of 23.78 to win the 200m.
Small School, Big Throws
Poth always has top 3A boys and girls teams and this year is no different. This year the Poth boys are led by their throwing tandem of Aiden Reed and Larson Dziuk. At the Falls City Relays this past weekend, they took the top two spots in the discus. Reed threw the discus 164-5 and Dziuk went 162-6 which are two of the top three marks in 3A this year. Reed also won the shot put with a toss of 56-7.5 which is #2 in the 3A this year. Dziuk is not as good as Reed in the shot put, but still posted a quality mark of 43-1, just two inches off his personal record last week. That puts him seventh in the Region and it would not be surprising to see him contend for a State berth in both events.
Half-Milers on Parade
One week into March and it seems like it is going to be a great year for half-milers. In the San Antonio Metro area, there are currently 13 girls who have run faster than 2:20 and 22 boys who have run faster than 2:00 already this season. The girls division is led by seniors Mia Perez (Smithson Valley), Caila Lyons (Brennan) and Sophia Bendet (Randolph). Perez and Lyons have already run 2:10 while Bendet is at 2:12 although she ran 2:06 last year. The top junior is Pieper's Aniyah Gill who ran 2:16.77 at the Smithson Valley Ranger Relays, while Daniela Shelfo of Taft leads the sophomore class with a top time of 2:11.18 from her season opening meet. The top freshman is SV's Brady Solansky who clocked a 2:14.01 this past weekend.
The half-mile boys are also led by seniors who currently have the five best times of the season led by Reagan's Gavin Chapa who ran a 1:54.98 on Feb. 6. Johnson's Kyle Wunderli has been the top junior so far after running 1:57.02 at the Ron Faught Relays. Sophomore Chris Esparza of O'Connor and freshman Caden Kitson of San Antonio Spartans lead the underclassmen and each has broken 2:00.
The Hurdle King
Taft's Ja'Dan Keiler was a Regional champion in the 300mh last year when he ran a huge personal best of 37.06 in the Regional finals. On Saturday, he eclipsed that mark at the Bluebonnet Invitational running a smoking fast 36.78 to finish in second place. He is currently ranked #2 in 6A and will be a favorite for a podium spot at the State meet. Keiler had a fantastic weekend running 37.31 in the prelims before his outstanding performance in the finals and he also set a new personal record in the 110mh with a time of 14.23.
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).
Brody Vestal, Davenport, Shot Put, 44-5
Sotomayor Boys, 4x200m, 1:29.14 (Jose Gonzalez, Jon-Eric Gonzalez, Mykell Johnekins, Julius Johnson)
Sotomayor Boys, 4x100m, 42.74 (Jose Gonzalez, Jon-Eric Gonzalez, Haewood Anderson, Julius Johnson)
Adyson England, Sotomayor, Discus, 103-9
Amberlyn Frausto, Davenport, Shot Put, 34-8.5
Alamo Heights Boys, 4x100m, 42.10 (Lord Atticus Wooten, Max Bacon, Landon Balldin, Patrick Arriaga)
Kailyn Brunson, Brennan, 3200, 11:31.24
Kahdyn Freeman, Pieper, Triple Jump, 46-8.5
Carson LaCombe, Pieper, 200m, 22.04
Mishaila Briggs, Pieper, 200m, 24.95
Shyla Boydstun, Pieper, 100mh, 14.59
Pieper Girls, 4x100m, 47.45 (Hailey Tomlinson, Taniyah Adams, Mishaila Briggs, Shyla Boydstun)
Payton DeFelippis, Medina Valley, 800m, 1:57.64
Sloane Paugh, Floresville, High Jump, 5-6
Kaden Cypert, Floresville, 3200m, 9:57.85
Noah Marquez, Medina Valley, High Jump, 6-9.5
Around the City
Judson ISD hosted a second straight meet with their Candy Tanner Relays. In the boys division, Brennan narrowly won the meet by 13 points over Steele. The Bears won five events and their top performance came from high jumper Kimball Gurr who cleared a personal best mark of 6-6 to win the event. Judson's Josiah Green had another outstanding day in the throws winning the discus (160-5) and shot put (46-10.25). Steele was led by John Williams III and Maverick James. Williams had a huge triple jump of 48-2 and also finished second in the long jump (22-1) while James won the 400m in 48.94 and nabbed second in the 200m (22.47). The 4x400m was a thriller with Judson (3:25.05) holding off Brennan (3:25.11) by just 0.06s.
The Steele girls won the meet with well over 200 points and Brennan took second place. Steele's Kassia Kozarski and Brennan's Kailyn Brunson went head-to-head in the 1600m and 3200m. Kozarski took gold in the 3200m (11:22.71) but had to settle for second in the 1600m (5:19.84) while Brunson set a school record in the 3200 (11:31.24) and won the 1600m (5:13.37). Steele's Sienna Baker pulled off a rare double in winning the 100m (12.46) and the 400m (58.62). The high jump featured a good competition with Brennan's Makenna Goff and Wagner's Samantha Franco each clearing 5-4.
Cornerstone Christian had great success at their own Warrior Meet #1 winning both team titles with Gloria Deo Academy coming in second in both meets. Israel Cuellar of CCS took gold in the 800m with a time of 1:57.79 and Josh Hoover of St. Mary's Hall won the high jump with a leap of 6-3 and the 100m in 11.12 to lead the boys.
The throwers took center stage in the girl's meet. Bracken Christian's Sophia Grinstead won the shot put (43-0) and discus (128-0) while Cornerstone's Emily Easton was runner-up in the shot put (37-6) and third in the discus (112-11) despite a big throw. Tyla Blackstock of Great Hearts Northern Oaks was runner-up in the discus with a throw of 113-9. Kaidyn Holmes-Oliver was a triple winner for Cornerstone taking gold in the long jump (17-0.5), 100m (12.80) and 200m (26.33).
Wimberley took the boys and girls team titles at the Jack Adcock Relays hosted by Cuero. Nolan Waida led their boys team with victories in the long jump (21-6.5) and triple jump (44-4.5) and then he capped off the meet by running a 47.6 split in the 4x400m relay to win the race. Charlie Hanle cleared 14-0 to win the pole vault for Wimberley. Floresville freshman Kaden Cypert had a big meet winning the 1600m (4:34.70) and 3200m (9:57.85) while taking second in the 800m (2:04.92).
The Wimberley girls scored big points in the relays. They won the 4x200m in 1:47.55 and the 4x400m in 4:11.95 after taking second in the 4x100m. Nora Felan of Floresville was the top distance runner winning the 1600m in 5:38.67 and the 3200m in 12:06.90. Sloane Paugh of Floresville set a new school record en route to winning the high jump with a clearance of 5-6.
At the Falls City Relays, the Poth duo of Aiden Reed and Larson Dziuk led the way with their great performances in the throws. Breiten Ramsey of Falls City ran a great time of 51.70 in the 400m. The 1600m was a tight race with Stockdale's Cooper Warrick (4:45.74) beating Stacey's Jarred Dunn (4:45.92) by 0.18s. The Falls City girls 4x100m (49.60) and 4x200m (1:46.35) won their relays while posting some of the top 2A times in the State. Keandra Johnson of Falls City won the 100m in 12.15, the top 2A time in the State this year and Stockdale's Peyton Keller cleared 5-5 in the high jump, also the top mark in 2A this year.
At the Somerset Sonny Detmer Relays it was the Devine boys winning with 160 points while Madison was second with 150 points. Devine was led by Rowdy Esparza who won the long jump with a leap of 21-9 and a triple jump of 42-0. Harlandale's Jermaine Ramirez took gold in the shot put with a toss of 46-2.5. In the 800m, two of the top distance runners in the area went head-to-head in the 800m with McCollum's Jorge Vargas winning in 2:00.55 to hold off Nick Maldonado of Madison.
The Devine girls also took home the team title winning by 30 points over Madison. Kylie Monreal led Devine by winning the 300mh in 45.67 and the high jump with a clearance of 5-4. She was also part of a strong long jump competition that she finished third with a jump of 17-4. Mia Stewart of Madison won the long jump title with a leap of 18-0 and Devine's Rylie Wells took second with a mark of 17-9. Madison's Cyani Ingram went over 40-feet again in the shot put with a winning throw of 40-10.5.
In addition to the performances already highlighted, there were many other strong performances at the Bluebonnet Invitational. Darinasia Taylor led the Judson girls with her sprint performances running 11.72 in the 100m and 24.21 in the 200m. They also got some good performances in the 400m from Jenesis Cordero (56.55), Juliana Dodson (57.33) and Kinsey Jackson (1:00.48). Bandera's Kinlee Lawlis posted a time of 24.99 in the 200m and long jumped 16-11.5 and Taft's Daniela Shelfo finished third overall in the 800m in 2:12.80.
At the Canyon Cougar Relays, Johnson finished in second place and was led by Michael Repper-Molina. He won the 1600m in 4:26.32 and added a second-place finish in the 800m running a time of 1:57.12 while his teammate, Manny Mood, came across in 1:57.27. Overall, there were eight runners who broke 2:00. Ocean Moreno led the Seguin contingent with runner-up finishes in the 100m (10.91) and 200m (21.64). Pieper's Kahdyn Freeman had a big day in the horizontal jumps winning the triple jump in 46-8 and taking second in the long jump (22-4). Medina Valley's Noah Marquez cleared 6-9.5 in the high jump for the top performance in the area this year.
Smithson Valley and Pieper took second and third, respectively in the Cougar Relays girls meet. In the discus, Canyon's Peyton Wilson won the discus with a throw of 136-0 while Annabelle Jehl of Medina Valley was second with a big throw of 130-6. Pieper's Shyla Boydstun and Smithson Valley's Maycee Moody each ran fast in the 100mh with Boydston winning in 14.59 and Moody was second in 14.82. Lilly Koenig of Smithson Valley had a strong performance taking second in the 3200m (11:04.09) and third in the 1600m (5:16.79).
The Pleasanton Brush Country Relays featured another pair of great throwers in Jackson Kerth of Tivy and Evan Guardiola of the host school. Kerth threw it 160-3 in the discus to narrowly beat Guardiola who had a throw of 158-9. In the shot put, Kerth separated himself with a huge heave of 56-8 while Guardiola settled for second with a toss of 44-9.5. Navarro's Josiah Saberon and Ty Carter of La Vernia went head-to-head in the sprints with each winning once. Saberon gook gold in the 100m (10.72) and was second in the 200m (22.92) while Carter won the 200m (22.79), was second in the 100m (10.86) and also took the long jump title with a mark of 21-8.
The Pleasanton Relays saw many outstanding marks in the girls competition as well. Canyon Lake's Savanna Oberholtzer broke 12 seconds en route to winning the 100m, was second in the 200m (25.74) and took gold in the triple jump (34-0). Emerson Cochran of Navarro won the 200m in 25.42 and took silver in the 100m (12.26) and 400m (1:00.00) while Canyon Lake's Ayren Lightfoot seems to be getting back in form by winning the 400m in 59.33. Canyon Lake's Aubrey Avey dropped the fastest 300mh time in the area with a lightning fast 43.73. The pole vault featured two of the top small school vaulters in the area with Zoe Breitsprecher of La Vernia clearing 11-6 and Marion's Kaitlyn Rackley going over 11-0.
San Marcos and Davenport competed at the Pflugerville Panther Relays. Connor McGlothlin of San Marcos won the boys 3200m in 9:57.96. His teammate on the girls side Nellie Mauritz-Barboza finished second in the 400m (1:02.77) and won the pole vault with an 11-0 clearance. Davenport's Olivia Bounds won the 800m in 2:26.62 just missing the school record in the process.
Reagan traveled to the Cedar Park Vista Ridge Relays where the girls team won the title and the boys were runner-ups. Rayshun Hurt led the boys team by winning the 100m in 10.68 and the 200m in 21.90. He was also part of the winning 4x100m relay team that posted a time of 41.94. Nnenna Opara matched Hurt by winning the girls 100m in 12.27 and 200m in 25.13. Theone Glosser took the gold in the 3200m with a time of 11:59.24 and their three relay teams finished first or second.
Be sure to check out the article about the Alamo Heights Mule Relays from Saturday.
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.
Taylor Nunez, Randolph, Texas A&M
Sophia Bendet, Randolph, Texas A&M
Zailey Zimmerman, Smithson Valley, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Mia Perez, Smithson Valley, Texas
Thomas Bucks, Johnson, Penn
Zac Miller, Brennan, Houston
Christopher Harris, Cornerstone, UIW
Alicia Galvez, Southwest Legacy, Houston
Gavin Chapa, Reagan, Texas A&M
Maddie Meinke, Boerne Champion, Western Colorado
Mia Stewart, Madison, Southeastern Oklahoma
Luis Tovar, Boerne Champion, UIW
Michael Repper-Molina, Johnson, Boston University
Jade Perez, Clark, Adams State
Caroline Peterson, Pieper, Texas
Aiden Martinez, Great Hearts Monte Vista, Yale
Aiden Reed, Poth, SFA
Caila Lyons, Brennan, Iowa
Taylor Fuentespina, Johnson, Army
Eli Bliss, Davenport, Trinity
Jorge Vargas, McCollum, Our Lady of the Lake
Crissangel Avitua, Southside, Our Lady of the Lake
Daisha Shular, Seguin, East Carolina
Kelsay Edwards, Taft, Trinity
What's Next
There are not a lot of meets going on this week due to Spring Break, but Cole and Davenport are each hosting meets on Thursday and New Braunfels is scheduled for a meet on Saturday.