2025 San Antonio Area News and Notes #6

The upcoming week will be the final week of the regular season and the performances are showing that the athletes and teams are starting to get tuned up for their championship seasons.

The Best Thing I Saw

I went to the Don Hardin Alamo Relays this week and it gave me a chance to see Clark freshman Jayla Flemons perform for the first time. She had an outstanding meet winning a difficult double by taking the 400m and 800m. In the half-mile, she pushed the pace early and still had enough left at the end to hold off Brennan's Kailyn Brunson at the end. In the 400m, she ran strong the entire time, beginning with a good start and a controlled race that she won in 57.26. She has a good chance to be a 6A Regional finalist in both events this year.

Elite Company

There are a few throwers who have been turning heads this year, but it is lonely at the top. There have only been 10 boys throw the discus over 150-feet this year in San Antonio and even fewer, five, have thrown the shot put over 50-feet. There are only two throwers in the area who appear on both lists, Jackson Kerth of Tivy and Aiden Reed of Poth. Last week, Kerth went to the Charles Austin Class in San Marcos and had two throws over 60-feet in the shot put, including his winning throw of 61-8.5 and he also eclipsed 160-feet in the discus for the fifth straight meet. Kerth is currently #1 in the city in shot put and #2 in the discus while Reed is one spot behind him in both events despite not competing this past week.

There are a few others who are close to hitting both marks. Judson's Josiah Green uncorked the top discus mark of the season on Wednesday with a toss of 169-9 and he has a season best of 49-7 in the shot put. Blake Stehling of Boerne Champion and Nick Barber of Brandeis have each gone over 50-feet in the shot put but are just short on the discus with marks of around 147-feet. Holy Cross' Josue Lerma might be the most unique big thrower with a big toss of 152-9 in the discus this past week and he has thrown the shot put over 48-feet in his career. On Thursday, he also competed in the high jump and cleared a respectable 5-8.

Making a Statement

Southwest Legacy junior Daniella Okorie has been quietly putting together an excellent season. She has been consistent in the triple jump going over 36-feet twice in February and then on Wednesday she hit 37-0 for the first time en route to winning the Harlandale Relays. She has also shown herself to be one of the top 5A sprinters in the Region. She has a top FAT time of 12.24 and she won the Harlandale meet in a hand-held time of 11.94 and defeated Alzara Mysliwiec of Alamo Heights, another top sprinter in the area.

A Big Return to the Track

Madison junior Jordan Clay is one of the top athletes in all of San Antonio. He is a Power 5 recruit in football and is also outstanding on the basketball court. On Thursday, he made his first appearance on the track this year and he ran a time of 14.84 to win the NEISD Invitational 110mh. It was just 0.06s off his personal best set last year when he was the District 28-6A champion. Last year, a bad start at the Area meet kept him out of Regionals, but he should have a clear path to get back again after qualifying his freshman year.

The Flying Latta's

The Latta sisters of the South Texas Heat all ran well at the Texas Distance Festival in hosted by Southlake Carroll this past weekend. Elin Latta ran a time of 4:45.47 to finish second in the 1600m. Remy Latta (10:43.35), Reese Latta (10:54.23) and Iris Latta (10:55.69) all ran the 3200m and broke 10-minutes.

No Slowing Down

Hurdles are supposed to by definition slow a runner down, but the boys 300m hurdlers in the area have been crushing it this year and last week was no exception. At the Charles Austin Classic, David Vasquez of San Marcos won in 38.87 while Pieper's Cash Lancaster (39.30) and TMI's Beau Bregman (39.67) provided great competition. The top hurdler in the area, Taft's Ja'Dan Keiler, took a break from the hurdles and showed his true speed by winning the 200m at the Jimmy Dykes Relays in 21.81. Aiden Martinez of Great Hearts Monte Vista has been one of the best 300mh guys for three years and he won the Cornerstone Warrior meet in 39.89 last week. Jake Grullon (O'Connor), Austin Anderson (Johnson) and Caiden Rodriguez (Brandeis) all ran 39.33 or better at the Don Hardin Alamo Relays on Saturday while Max Bacon (38.44) and James Lynch (39.39) each posted outstanding hand-held times at the Harlandale Relays. It has been a great year for the group and it should only get better.

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).

Cal Carpenter, Warren, Discus, 155-5

Brennan Boys, 4x200m relay, 1:27.25 (Elijah Venegas, Malik Mitchell, Devin Gills, Clifton McBride)

Rylie Wells, Devine, Long Jump, 17-10

Floresville Girls, 4x200m relay, 1:47.79 (Brooklyn Pelech, Ava Talamantez, Carley Lang, Alexis Scott)

Kendall Fallon, Davenport, 800m, 2:18.94

Cash Lancaster, Pieper, 300mh, 39.30

Brody Vestal, Davenport, Shot Put, 46-11.25

Around the City

Wagner hosted the Jimmy Dykes Relays on Wednesday and the boys meet was very close with District rivals Judson and Clemens vying for the top spot. The Rockets won with 137 points while the Buffaloes finished with 132. The Judson sprint crew had a great day with Cole Walker winning the 100m in 10.66 while Tyson Youngblood was second in 10.71 and also second in the 200m (22.32). Judson won the 4x100m (42.30) and the 4x200m (1:29.76) and got a great performance from Josiah Green who won the discus (169-9, season best) and shot put (48-5.25). Clemens swept the top three spots in both the 1600m and 3200m with Jayce Love winning both races in 4:37.06 and 10:00.46, respectively. Christian Dupree cleared 6-6 to win the high jump for Clemens in his first meet of the season and Lanier's Markeis Dixon took gold in the long jump with a leap of 22-2.

The JDR girls meet was easily won by Judson with 236 points with Wagner taking second with 127 points. Judson's Jenesis Cordero and Julianna Dodson took the top two spots in the 200m and high jump with each winning one event. Adelyn Miller led a strong performance by the Taft distance runners who took the top three spots in the 3200m. Miller won the 1600m (5:39.62) and 3200m (12:09.18). The 4x200m race was a good one with Sotomayor winning in 1:45.70 and Judson was second in 1:46.59. Mya Robinson of Taft ran a season best to win the 100mh in 14.68.

Devine hosted their own meet on Wednesday and both their boys and girls took team titles. The boys narrowly beat Lytle by 14 points, but the girls won by over 100 points. Diego Reyna led a tough Lytle distance crew that swept the 1600m and 3200m. He won both events in 4:36.87 and 10:24.54, respectively. Karter Brown of Devine won both the shot put (44-10) and discus (129-0) while teammate Donovan Dixon took first in the 400m (51.48) and 800m (2:03.05).

Kylie Monreal and Rylie Wells starred for Devine in the girls meet. Monreal won the 100mh (16.49), 300mh (47.17) and high jump (5-5) while Wells took gold in the long jump (17-10) and triple jump (34-2) and nabbed runner-up honors in the high jump (5-0). Devine's Kourtni Geyer cleared 10-6 to win the pole vault.

At the Harlandale Relays, the Alamo Heights boys hurdler were the story as they led the way to a team title. Max Bacon, James Lynch and Jack Hollimon swept both the 110mh and 300mh. In the shot put, Ricky Gonzalez of Alamo Heights knocked off Harlandale's Jermaine Ramirez. Gonzalez threw 47-0.25 while Ramirez was at 45-9. McCollum's Jorge Vargas took gold in the 400m in a hand-held time of 50.97.

The Alamo Heights girls were also victorious at Harlandale winning a close meet with 145 points while Southwest Legacy had 124.25 and Eagle Pass finished with 120. Southside's Emarald Aguirre was a double winner taking the 800m in 2:28 and the 1600m in 5:35.33. Legacy's Okorie matched her with wins in the 100m and triple jump.

Many of the top male performances have already been written about from the Charles Austin Classic in San Marcos, but Boerne Champion's Jamarri Bowie and Tivy's Christopher Buda also need to be mentioned. Bowie won the 400m in 49.35 and was second in the 200m (22.16). Buda was second in the 400m running 49.54 and he also ran a fine time in the 200m, 22.59. TMI's 4x400m ran an outstanding race and held off San Marcos by a half-second while winning 3:27.47.

Ayleceia Pierson of San Marcos had a big meet at the Austin Classic. She won the long jump with a leap of 18-6.5 and triple jump at 35-5.25. In addition, she was second in the 100m (12.79). La Vernia's Isabella Davis won the 100m in 12.65 and was third in the long jump (16-8.75). Davenport's Kendall Fallon continues to excel in a difficult double, the 800m and 300mh. She won the 800m in 2:18.94 and the hurdle sin 45.79. Luciana Zazueta Ibarra of Boerne Champion took gold in the 1600m (5:27.75) and 3200m (11:48.66).

The Holy Cross boys won their own Westside Relays by 11 points over Floresville. Josue Lerma was the top performer for the team winning the discus with a throw of 152-9 and he also took gold in the shot put. Holy Cross also won all three relays taking the 4x100m in 43.35, the 4x200m in 1:32.02 and the 4x400m in 3:29.67. Rocky Martinez of St. Anthony's won the triple jump with a leap of 42-9.25.

The Floresville girls easily won the team title at the Holy Cross Knights Westside Relays with a solid all-around performance. Laura Sierra of St. Anthony's won the shot put with a big throw of 41-8 and Rylee Higginbotham of John Paul II was stellar in winning the 100m (12.40) and 200m (26.56). Incarnate Word's Chloe Nellis and Chloe Hawkins were also double winners.

The Cornerstone boys and girls were each team champions at the Cornerstone Warrior Meet #2. Eduardo Avendano won the 1600m (4:27.07) and 3200m (10:12.36) for the Warriors. In the shorter races, Christopher Harris won the 400m in 50.02 and Deshaun Horn won the 200m in 22.98 for Cornerstone. Gloria Deo Academy ran a great 4x400m time of 3:31.79.

Emily Easton and Kaidyn Holmes-Oliver led the Cornerstone girls. Easton won the shot put with a throw of 37-0 and the discus with a heave of 109-1 while Holmes-Oliver won the 200m in 25.63 and long jump with a mark of 17-9.25. Madison Teague of Great Hearts Northern Oaks won the 100m, 400m and triple jump to lead all individuals.

Boerne Champion took both team titles at the NEISD Invitational. The Charger boys won with 178 points while MacArthur had 127.5 and Churchill was at 109. Their girls won with 148 points with Churchill second with 127. The 3200m for the boys was their best race with Champion's Charlie Houck winning in 9:21.93 while Madison's Nicholas Maldonado was second in 9:27.31 and Churchill's Zach Hudson took third in 9:48.75. Houck won the 800m and Maldonado also won the 1600m. Churchill's Chauncey James won the triple jump with a mark of 44-1.25 and Jacobo Mendoza of MacArthur took gold in the 400m with a time of 50.40.

The girls distance events were also strong with the top four all breaking 5:20 in the 1600m. Lee's Penny Pim won in 5:13.41 and she was followed by Payton Kidder (5:14.16) of Champion, Kallie Van Prooyen (5:15.61) of Churchill and Sofia Cantor (5:17.75) of LEE. Cantor and Pim also went 1-2 in the 3200m as they came across in a near dead-heat at 11:22. Jay's Shyniece Davis continued to pile up the wins taking gold in the 200, (25.75) and 400, (58.01) while Cyani Ingram of Madison went over 40-feet in the shot put again to win.

The 56^th Annual Fredericksburg Carlin Wicker Relays saw both Fredericksburg teams win the title. The boys won with 169 while Buda Johnson had 166. The Fredericksburg 4x400m team won in 3:27.67 to secure the title. Derek Adams was outstanding in winning the 800m (1:59.77) and 1600m (4:34.01) for the Billies. Titus Gill of the San Antonio Spartans took gold in the 3200m with a time of 9:48.68.

The Fredericksburg girls dominated the meet with 214 points. They won all three relays including the 4x400m relay in 4:04.76. Madison Wright swept the throwing events hitting 41-3.75 in the shot put and 118-8 in the discus. Rilyn Grona was a double winner for the hosts taking the 800m in 2:21.45 and 300mh in 47.13. Comfort's Molly Gowan had a strong meet taking third in the 100mh (16.67) and winning the high jump with a clearance of 5-2.

The Texas Distance Festival had a solid group of locals at the meet. Smithson Valley's Mia Perez won the 800m in 2:09.02 and three other locals broke 2:15; Lilly Koenig (2:13.09) of SV, Caila Lyons (2:13.31) of Brennan and Savanah Moya (2:14.24) of New Braunfels. Christopher Harris of Cornerstone took third in the 800m in 1:55.58. In the 5000m, Reagan's Gavin Chapa was the runner-up in 14:27.85 and Brennan's Zachary Miller took fifth in 14:32.23.

Please read about the Don Hardin Alamo Relays.

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

Kinlee Lawlis, Bandera, Angelo State

Jake Grullon, O'Connor, UIW

Katie Burnett, Reagan, New Orleans

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