2026 San Antonio Track News and Notes #1

The Best Thing I Saw

I did not make it out to a meet this week I do know what made me say, "Wow." The boys 400m dash at the NEISD 8 meet featured some of the best quarter-milers in San Antonio. Johnson's Yashiyah Griffin won the race in 48.04 but he was not the only racer to break 50s. Benjamin Tealer (Brandeis) crossed the line in 48.55 while Judson's Quincy Baker (48.94) and Johnson's Jayden Lea (49.58) both ran fast enough to win most meets.

Fresh Faces

Many times, there are freshman girls who make a big impact during their first year of competition, but it is not so common with the freshman boys. This week there were three freshman boys who stood out. Silas Gonzalez of O'Connor posted some impressive times in his two distance events. He ran 1:58.35 in the 800m against a strong field of upperclassmen and then came back with a 4:29.08 in the 1600m to finish as the runner-up at the Boerne Champion Charger Relays. At the same meet, Boerne Champion's Ryder Flugence took gold in the triple jump with a mark of 42-8.5. The final freshman who really stood out was Logan Valdez of Sotomayor. He set a pair of school records in the discus (151-11) and shot put (47-3.75) at the NEISD 8 meet.

Back on Track

It was good to see Reagan's Aryiel Sherman competing this week after missing most of last year with a medical issue. As a sophomore, she cleared 5-6 in the high jump on multiple occasions including at the Region meet where she finished in third place. She also triple jumped 37-5.5 that same season. Last year, she did not get cleared to compete until right before the District meet. She still managed to win District 27-6A in the high jump with a 5-4 clearance and repeated that at the Area and Region meets to once again finish one place away from the State meet.  This year, she opened with a 5-4 clearance and a distance of 35-1 in the triple jump at the PSJA North Winter Relays. This week she match her personal best with a clearance of 5-6 at the Champion Charger Relays and should once again be considered as one of the favorites in the Region.

Half-Milers Crush It in Week #1

I used this same headline last year and it works again this year after the boys smoked the 800m. In Boerne, Reagan's Samuel Ackerman laid down an impressive victory with a time of 1:54.18. He was joined under the 2-minute mark by Chris Esparza (1:57.25) and Silas Gonzalez (1:58.35) of O'Connor and Wells Peterson (1:57.30) and Elliott Stead (1:59.67) of TMI. At the Clemens Invitational, it was three Buffalos who broke the 2-minute mark with Sean Gonzalez (1:56.51), Timothy Lawson (1:59.01) and Aric Pinguelo (1:59.14) taking the top three spots. At Heroes Stadium there were four more runners breaking the 2-minute barrier led by Medina Valley's Payton DeFelippis (1:58.30). Brennan's Michael Davis (1:58.90) and Wolfgang Thoener (1:59.40) both accomplished the feat as well as Anthony Gonzalez from Laredo Alexander.

Big Throws

There were some big throws during the first week of the season. Madison's Cyani Ingram was the 6A Region champ in the shot put in 2025 and she took gold at the Clemens Invite with a big toss of 42-2. At the same meet, Marshall's Arrian Spratt had a huge personal best in the discus with a heave of 120-6. East Central's Jordan Pinones was the thrower to exceed both 50-feet in the shot put and 150-feet in the discus this week. He threw 51-5 in the shot and 154-7 in the discus to win both events at Clemens. Cyelan Whitley (153-0) and Case Dierschke (150-0) were each over 150-feet for Clemens. In addition to Logan Valdez's performance at the NEISD meet, Joshua McNeil (Johnson) won the shot put with a throw of 52-4.5 while Medina Valley's Alejandro Hernandez just missed 50-feet. Boerne's Noah Blomqvist won the shot put with a mark of 50-7 at the Champion Charger Relays. At the South San Relays, Kaleb Ned (Stevens) had a huge discus throw of 162-8 and also won the shot put by a half inch over Harlandale's Jermaine Ramirez.

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).

Kaleb Ned, Stevens, Discus, 162-8

Destynee Sourignavong, Steele, Pole Vault, 10-6

Logan Valdez, Sotomayor, Discus, 151-11

Logan Valdez, Sotomayor, Shot Put, 47-3.75

Christian Weber, Sotomayor, 200m, 22.40

Jon-Eric Gonzalez, Sotomayor, 100m, 11.00

Douglas Greene, Sotomayor, 110mh, 15.10

Sotomayor Girls, 4x100m, 47.60 (Saqqara Price, Kaelony King, Nevaeh Johnson, Jayden Echols)

Sotomayor Girls, 4x400m, 3:59.60 (Saqqara Price, Kaelony King, Nevaeh Johnson, Jayden Echols)

Brennan Boys, 4x400m, 3:19.40 (Wolfgang Thoener, Michael Davis, Jaylin Kelly, Jayden Greene)

Around the City

Smithson Valley and Canyon had their annual dual meet on Wednesday at SV. Last year's 5A Region champ in the 100m Liam Magee (Smithson Valley) ran 11.10 while teammate Hunter Haug ran 11.05. Haug also went 22-3 in the long jump and Canyon's Marouane Flamant-Cesbert leapt 22-1.5.  Magee won the 200m in 22.34 just ahead of teammate Noah Johnson who ran 22.37. Johnson won the 400m in 49.85. Canyon's Madi Molinar and Mollie Allen each broke 2:20 in the half mile. Sofia Mitschke (Smithson Valley) was in mid-season form clearing 12-0 in the pole vault.

The Boerne Champion boys won their Charger Relays on Thursday with 161 points while Boerne edged Reagan for second place. In addition to an excellent 800m race, Logan Martinez (Reagan) and Aaron Garcia (Boerne) were outstanding in the 3200m. Martinez won in 9:42.42 while Garcia crossed the line in 9:51.16. Somerset picked up a pair of individual victories with Malakai Iverson taking the 100m in 11.07 and Gavin Martinez won the 400m in 51.59. Reagan's Zion Jackson cleared 6-4 to take gold in the high jump.

The Reagan girls won the Charger Relays with 190 points while Champion was second with 156. The Rattlers were particularly strong in the jumps with Aryiel Sherman taking the high jump (5-6) while Gabriella McHugh won the long jump (17-3.5) and triple jump (34-3.5). The Boerne Champion and O'Connor 4x200m relay teams had a spirited fight with the Chargers winning in 1:46.85 and OC was right behind at 1:46.95. TMI's Daniela Shelfo took gold in the 800m against strong competition with a time of 2:14.77. Juliana Syroney (100m, 200m) was a double winner for Boerne Champion. Reagan's Esmae Shaeffer won the shot put with a nice throw of 35-6.

At the NEISD 8 meet at Heroes Stadium, the Brennan boys held off Johnson by a score of 140-125.5 to take the team title. The Bears were led by Quentin Jones who won the pole vault with a 14-0 clearance and the triple jump with a mark of 45-11. He was also third in the 110mh running 15.20. Jayshawn Mitchell and Dorian Gray went 1-2 in the 100m for Brennan. The 4x200m relay team of Mykal McEvoy, LaSalle Thomas, Micai Thompson and Elijah Venegas took gold in 1:29.20. Caiden Rodriguez (Brandeis) was second in the 110mh (14.70) and the 300mh (38.60). Johnson's Austin Anderson ran a fabulous 300mh in 37.71. Kyle Carpenter (Medina Valley) took the gold medal in the 1600m (4:33.20) and 3200m (9:40.30).

Johnson won the girls title at the NEISD 8 meet with 118 points while Sotomayor had 103 points and Brandeis had 98 points. The Jaguars did not rack up first place finishes, but did score throughout the meet. Their 4x200m relay team of Madelynn Wheelwright, Emma Scott, Ava Colson and Jadasymone Humble won in 1:45.30. They picked up 24 points in the pole vault that was won by Sydney Laissle. Churchill's Kallie Van Prooyen won a tough 1600m race in 5:11.20 and her teammate, Mia Kellogg, was third in 5:16.90 after finishing second in the 3200m (11:13.00). Trinity Pinto (Medina Valley) showed her form in the 400m with a winning time of 56.50. In the horizontal jumps, Kaelony King (Sotomayor) took the triple jump (36-11) and long jump (16-10.5). The discus featured three strong throwers in Charleigh Jacobs (Brandeis), Adyson England (Sotomayor) and Nia De Luna (Churchill) who all threw over 105-feet.

Clemens boys won their home invitational with 175 points while Steele finished second with 126 points. Clemens swept the 800m behind Sean Gonzalez, Timothy Lawson and Aric Pinguelo. In the 1600m, Gonzalez won in 4:24.71 while Pinguelo was third and Lawson was fourth. Trevor Lawson won the 3200m in 9:53.24, just a step ahead of Madison's Nicholas Maldonado. There were three excellent hurdlers at the meet with Jack Hollimon (Alamo Heights) taking gold in both events and his teammate, James Lynch, was third in both events. Steele's Liam Jones split the duo in both races. Steele's Maverick James was a double winner in the 200m (22.19) and 400m (50.98). East Central's Jordan Pinones was a double winner in the two throwing events against some strong competition.

Steele took the girls team title at the Clemens Invitational with 221 points, nearly a 100 points more than second place Clemens. The Knights picked up huge points in the hurdles where Trinity Onugha, Layla Frieson and Aniya Hawkins swept the 100mh while Keira Reyna, Hawkins and Onugha took the top three spots in the 300mh. Desarae Johnson won the long jump at 17-7.75 while Jaliyah Holland won the triple jump with a leap of 36-5 for Steele. The Steele 4x200m relay team of Holland, Caydence Jackson, Kaylie Sanders and Lauren Dobbins ran a great time of 1:43.89 to start the season. Alzara Mysliwiec was a double-winner for Alamo Heights taking the gold in the 100m and 200m. Madison's Cyani Ingram posted the longest shot put of the weekend while Marshall's Arrian Spratt had the longest discus throw of the weekend.

The Holmes boys won the South San Relays with 150 points as they held off Stevens (133.5) and Warren (113.5). It was a hand-held timing meet. Holmes did their most damage in the distance events. Jeremiah Rodriguez took gold in the 800m and 1600m (4:38.21) while Armando Cantu won the 3200m. MacArthur's Theo Abraham won the 100m (10.75) and the 400m (49.84). Stevens received strong performances in the field events from Kaleb Ned who won both throwing events and Isaiah Farris who took the top spot in the long jump (22-3.5) and triple jump (43-6.5). Stevens' 4x200m relay team of Farris, Jordan Ortega, Colten Gallacher and Luis Sais won in 1:29.00.

The MacArthur girls won the South San Relays in the final event. They trailed Warren by 17 points heading into the 4x400m relay and were able to win the race to pass Warren for first. Southside ended up in third place another 32 points back. MacArthur took gold in all three relays to propel their team title. Ayana Young of MacArthur was also a double winner in the 100m and 200m. Warren's Jayda Rodriguez took the top spot in the 100mh (16.24) and 300mh (47.87). Bella Adams (Holmes) won the 1600m and 3200m although 800m champion Emarald Aguirre (Southside) did not run in either event.

Southwest and Pearsall both traveled to the Eagle Pass ISD Invitational. Jose Rocha (Pearsall) won the triple jump with a mark of 41-3 while Nehemiah Parson (Southwest) took the 100m in 11.06. The Southwest girls were led by Nevaeh Rios who was second in the triple jump (35-7.5) and Aniyah Armstrong who was second in the 100m (12.77).

The Veterans Memorial boys nipped Wagner by two points at the Edgewood Invitational the used hand-held timing. The meet came down to the 4x400m relay that was won easily by Veterans Memorial. Chance Perez had the best performance for Vets Memorial winning the long jump with a mark of 21-0. The Wagner quartet of Alexis Tirado, Jaymeon O'Brien, Jamel O'Brien and Javante Hughes won both the 4x100m and 4x200m. Tirado added a gold medal in the 100m while Jaymeon O'Brien took the 200m. Wagner's Channon Davis took the 800m in 1:58.93. Lanier's Jaiden Green was the top scorer in the meet.

Wagner took the Edgewood Invitational girls title with 160 points while Vets Memorial was second with 119 points. Wagner took gold in all three relays to cement their position at the top. VM's Camille Coleman racked up 36 points by winning the 100m and high jump while adding runner-up points in the triple jump, 4x100m relay and 4x200m relay.

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.

Kendall Fallon, Davenport, Tulsa

Tate Taylor, Harlan, Texas Tech

Mia Villanueva, Canyon, Texas Lutheran

Lauren Pardo, Canyon, Henderson State

Aryiel Sherman, Reagan, Biola

Sadie Larson, Pieper, Tarleton State

Frances Scotello, Lytle, UNLV

Next Week