Every week it seems like there are more and more local meets. This past week, the action started on Wednesday at the Bruce Faust Warrior Relays in Ingram and concluded on Saturday with a trio of meets including the Saint Mary's Hall Baron's All-Relay Meet. After the first few weeks it seems like the depth of top distance runners and throwers has increased over last season.
The Best Thing I Saw
I may be a little biased, since I used to coach at Smithson Valley, but when I saw that Aliya Murphy cleared 5-7 in the high jump I knew I had to give her a little spotlight. Last year, she cleared 5-5 and she has been shooting for the school record for the past two seasons. She put it all together to win the Boerne Greyhound Relays where five other jumpers cleared at least 5-2. The Smithson Valley school record of 5-6 was set in 1993 by Lindsay Winn. The record had been the second longest running in school history trailing only Dawn Davis' 43-year old mark in the discus.
Greyhound Relays Boast Top Milers
The best place to be for milers this past week was at the Boerne Greyhounds Relays. There were seven girls who went under 5:18 with Payton Kidder (Boerne Champion) coming out on top with a time of 5:13.07. The rest of the competitors to go under the mark included Madi Molinar (Canyon), Scarlett Dusek (Canyon), Rebecca Bezerra (Boerne Champion), Addison Knibbe (Smithson Valley), Emma Radtke (Boerne Champion) and Skyler Fonseca (Smithson Valley). The boys 1600m was as fast and as close as the girls race with six runners under 4:30, including five between 4:23.72 and 4:25.93. Nicholas Maldonado (Madison) posted the winning time and the second fastest time of his career while holding off Aiden Adams (Clark), Aaron Garcia (Boerne), Silas Gonzalez (O'Connor) and Chris Esparza (O'Connor) who were all less the 2.25s behind him.
The 800m boys race was also a fast one with five athletes breaking 2:00. Urijah Peterman (Clark) and Adams went 1-2 as they came across within a step of each other at 1:54.59 and 1:54.72. Gonzalez and Esparza each ran 1:56 while Ethan Espey (Smithson Valley) made his first foray under two minutes.
Marion Relays are Moving
The Marion boys sprint relays have been running well this year and on Thursday they took it to a new level. Their 4x100m relay team of Jaylen Reese, Tanner Otis, Kyson McBride, and Jack Wells set a new school mark while running a winning time of 42.48 at the Canyon Lake Hawk Relays. A little while later, there 4x200m relay team of Reese, Otis, Aaron Salinas, and Wells performed the same feat while running a 1:29.24. Despite being a 4A school, Marion's two relays are both ranked in the top five in the San Antonio Metro area.
Vaulting Over the Bar
It was a good week for pole vaulters with four boys clearing 15-feet this week and another six clearing 14-feet. Canyon's William Moffatt led the way with his 15-6 clearance at the Boerne Greyhound Relays. Not to be outdone, small school vaulters Brody Fizer (Marion) and Pierson Pilgrim (Pleasanton) each went 15-0 at the Canyon Lake Hawk Relays. Pieper's Logan Tennell became the first vaulter in school history to clear 15-0 when he did it on Saturday at Buda Johnson. The girls had a pair of 12-foot vaulters this week with Xylina Xac (Health Careers) taking the SAISD Metro Meet title with a 12-0 mark and Smithson Valley's Sofia Mitschke set a new personal best by winning the Greyhound Relays with a 12-8 clearance.
Dynamic Duos
Boerne and Churchill each feature a pair of outstanding runners that compete in the same events. The Greyhounds have a pair of outstanding freshmen girls who are near the top of the charts in the 400m and 800m this year. Sutton Amerman and Presley Merkens took the top two spots are their home meet this weekend. Amerman won the 400m in 58.13 and was second in the 800m with a time of 2:18.31 while Merkens was second in the 400m (58.23) and won the 800m in 2:16.91. The Churchill girls are home to Kallie Van Prooyen and Mia Kellogg who swept through the mile and 2-mile at the NEISD 10 meet last week. Van Prooyen took both races running 5:11.03 in the 1600m and 11:10.15 in the 3200m. Kellogg was not far behind with times of 5:14.51 and 11:19.75, respectively.
A Return to the Circle
Johnson's Jera Salters made her first appearance of the season this past weekend in the shot put and discus and took home a gold and silver medal. The basketball star was a State qualifier last year and got off to a good start this year despite some rust. She won the NEISD 10 discus with a throw of 111-4 and was runner-up in the shot put with her toss of 35-6.75.
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, Shot Put, 54-5.5
Marion Boys, 4x100m Relay, 42.48 (Jaylen Reese, Tanner Otis, Kyson McBride, Jack Wells)
Marion Boys, 4x200m Relay, 1:29.24 (Jaylen Reese, Tanner Otis, Aaron Salinas, Jack Wells)
Mia Nunez, Brennan, Pole Vault, 11-3
Savanah Unruh, Pieper, Discus, 103-1
Connor Hinojosa, Pieper, Shot Put, 47-2
Quentin Jones, Brennan, Triple Jump, 47-3
Carson LaCombe, Pieper, 200m, 21.65
Skylar Carter, Pieper, Triple Jump, 38-1.5
Logan Tennell, Pieper, Pole Vault, 15-0
Aliya Murphy, Smithson Valley, High Jump, 5-7
Southwest Girls, 4x100m Relay, 49.45 (Zaniah Taylor, Alty Keita, Aniyah Parson, Aniyah Armstrong)
Trinity Pinto, Medina Valley, 200m, 25.34
Ella Rodriguez, Medina Valley, 1600m, 5:14.07
Around the City
At the Bruce Faust Warrior Relays in Ingram Antonian's John Boland got the week started with a 9:39.31 in the boys 3200m. Bandera's Breydan Gherman showed well by winning the 100m (11.18) and 200m (23.05). Antonian freshman Cyril Girgis finished a close second in the 1600m with a time of 4:41.38. Cole's Katherine Zinnante and Klarrisa Frain were the stars of the girls meet. Zinnante won the 800m (2:27.41), 1600m (5:40.83) and the high jump (5-4)! Frain was her usual self in winning both hurdle events in 16.70 and 46.82, respectively. Ingram's Jaycee Crawley had a great day in the throws with winning marks of 35-3 in the shot put and 107-4 in the discus.
The Lockhart boys posted a blazing 4x100m relay at their own meet. The team of Dae'Jon James, Bob Estrada, Dylan White and Kaidyn Roland-Brite won the meet in 41.52, which is the fastest time in the area this year. In addition to anchoring the relay, Roland-Brite won the 100m (10.85) and 200m (22.39). Rowdy Proctor (San Marcos) showed he was in good form by clearing 6-6 in the high jump. Aaralyn Julian led the San Marcos girls team with a win in the 3200m and a runner-up performance in the 1600m.
The Smithson Valley boys won the Boerne Greyhound Relays by nearly doubling up Boerne Champion and Alamo Heights who took the next two spots. Hunter Haug and the 4x100m team led the Rangers. Haug won the long jump (21-6.75) and was runner-up in the 100m (10.96) while also running on the winning 4x100m team that clocked a 41.66. The shot put was a highly contested event with Hans Scheff of Smithson Valley winning with a mark of 53-8.5 while Blake Stehling (Boerne Champion) and Noah Blomqvist (Boerne) were right behind with throws over 50-feet. Urijah Peterman (Clark) was a double winner taking the 400m (50.56) and 800m (1:54.59). The Boerne Champion 4x200m relay team blazed to a 1:28.80 finish.
Boerne Champion took the girls half of the Greyhound Relays with 154 points while Boerne and Smithson Valley settled for second and third place. Juliana Syroney led the Chargers with a pair of victories in the 100m (12.11) and 200m (24.77). They also won the 4x100m relay in 48.87 and the 4x200m relay in 1:46.22. Smithson Valley's 3200m State Runner-Up from 2025 Lilly Koenig made her first appearance on the track this season and took the race in 11:24.36. Clark's Leona King nipped Boerne's Prisca Igbo in the 100mh with a time of 15.14.
The NEISD 10 meet at Heroes Stadium opened with a bang as 10 boys ran faster than 9:58 in the 3200m. Reagan's Logan Martinez won the race in 9:31.47 while Lee's Alvaro Zuniga was runner-up in 9:37.47 and he was also runner-up in the 1600m (4:29.27). Johnson won the meet with 141 points led by their scintillating 4x400m relay team that broke the meet record with a time of 3:15.67. Austin Anderson ran the anchor leg for Johnson after winning the 300mh in 37.92. Brandeis posted a 1-2-3 sweep in the 110mh behind Caiden Rodriguez (14.84), Ajahni Williams (14.87) and Amauri Thornton (15.52). Judson's Emaurie Jones and Carlwynn Young went 1-2 in the 400m as each broke 49s. Cameron McDuffie (Johnson) won both the long jump (21-4.25) and triple jump (46-10).
The Reagan girls topped both Johnson and Brandeis in a great competition as each team scored over 100 points. Reagan was led by their winning sprint relay teams that won the 4x100m (47.74) and 4x200m (1:43.61) and Ella Meares who swept both hurdle events. She won the 100mh in 15.84 and the 300mh in 46.42. Sotomayor's Kaelony King continued her dominance in the horizontal jumps taking the long jump (17-9.5) and triple jump (37-3). A pair of Brandeis sprinters took home gold medals with Faith Ponds winning the 100m in 12.32 and Leila Smith-Harris took the 200m in 25.03. Judson's Jenesis Cordero ran another fast 400m race winning in 56.76.
The Brennan boys took the Northside meet by only 16 points over Clemens. They took gold in the 4x400m running 3:20.96 to clinch the victory. They also won the 4x100m relay (41.75) and 4x200m relay (1:28.21). Quentin Jones (Brennan) broke his second school record in as many weeks winning the triple jump with a leap of 47-3. Sean Gonzalez led Clemens with a pair of victories in the 800m (1:55.31) and 1600m (4:19.17). Cyelan Whitley and Case Dierschke gave Clemens big points in the throws as Whitley won both events with marks of 48-3 in the shot put and 160-3 in the discus. Dierschke was runner-up in the discus (151-2).
The Steele girls won the Northside meet with over 200 points. They swept all three relays and posted some of the top times in the City this year in the 4x100m (47.80) and 4x200m (1:41.15). Lauren Dobbins (Steele) and Dessalyn Rogers (Harlan) have been two of the top sprinters this year but usually only run one individual event. Dobbins won the 100m in 12.24 while Rogers took the 200m in 24.94. Steele's Desarae Johnson and Jaliyah Holland jumped big marks to win the long jump and triple jump. Johnson flew 18-1 in the long jump while Holland went 37-9 in the triple jump. Taft's Addison Pitts posted a huge personal best en route to winning the 100mh in 14.98.
Medina Valley swept both the boys and girls titles at the SAISD Metro Meet. Kyle Carpenter led the boys team by winning the 3200m (9:57.00) and 1600m (4:30.87) while Ella Rodriguez and Trinity Pinto were the stars in the girls meet. Rodriguez took gold in the 3200m (11:35.00) and 1600m (5:14.07) while Pinto won the 400m (57.70) and 200m (25.34). Stevens' Kaleb Ned had a great performance in the throws hitting 162-1 in the discus and 54-5.5 in the shot put. Wagner's Channon Davis ran another strong 800m race with a time of 1:54.78. Luke Estrada (Burbank) edged Chance Stanley (Wagner) by 1/100th of a second to win the 100m in 10.89. Zoe Maricle ran well for the Wagner girls taking the 800m in 2:21.70 while finishing second in the 400 (58.85).
Canyon Lake hosted the Hawk Relays where Davenport and Marion finished in second and third, respectively in the boys meet. Marion was led by their sprint relay teams and pole vaulter Brody Fizer. Davenport had a few second place finishes, but also got victories from Connor Crysler in the discus (140-4) and their 4x400m relay team won in 3:29.49. Jayce Love, formerly of Clemens, ran his first meet for Marion and won the 800m (2:01.98) and took runner-up honors in the 1600m (4:34.19).
In the race for the girls title Canyon Lake and Wimberley both topped Dripping Springs with the Hawks winning by 12 points. Savanna Oberholtzer led the way with wins in the 100m (12.08) and long jump (18-5) as well as a second place finish in the triple jump (35-5.25). Their 4x100m and 4x200m relay teams flashed great speed while winning both races. Kennedy Grindle, Shana Cutrer and Aubrey Avey give them three top-quality hurdlers that all have a chance to make the State meet. Grindle won the 100mh and was second in the 300mh while also clearing 11-0 in the pole vault. Wimberley was led by Ella Patek who won the triple jump (35-7) and was second in the long jump (17-8). Ella Watson cleared 5-5 to win the high jump for them while Corina Joyce took gold in the 3200m (11:32.55) and 800m (2:25.30).
The Veterans Memorial boys won the Southwest Legacy Titan Relays with 130 points. Their best event came in the long jump where Chance Perez, Daniel Aguilar and Trecorrus Jordan swept the top three spots. Vets Memorial was also involved in the best race of the day, the 4x200m relay. East Central won in 1:31.00 while Vets Memorial crossed in 1:31.09 and Somerset came in at 1:31.13. Tivy's Jackson Kerth competed for the first time all season and easily won the shot put (60-0.5) and discus (150-1). Jordan Pinones (East Central) threw 52-6.5 but had to settle for second place in the shot put. Nehemiah Parson of Southwest took the 100m (10.98) and 200m (22.48).
The East Central girls won a closely contested meet with 127 points while Warren had 113 points and Southwest had 105 points. Jade Espitia took gold in the triple jump for East Central with a leap of 36-2.5 and their 4x400m relay clinched the team title with a victory in 4:06.53. The girls 4x200m was just as close as the boys with four teams; East Central, Tivy, Warren and Southwent all finishing in 1:47. Danieliz Villafane (Southwest) uncorked a huge throw in the discus, 135-7, to win and also took the shot put with a mark of 33-1.5.
New Braunfels, Pieper and Seguin traveled to the Buda Johnson Relays and the Pieper boys took the team title. Kahdyn Freeman and Carson LaCombe led the Warriors. Freeman won the triple jump (45-1) and was second in the long jump (23-2) while Lacombe was second in the 200m (21.65) and also jumped 22-0 in the long jump. Valentine Onyenagada took gold in the 110mh for Pieper with a time of 14.94. Kingston Brown (New Braunfels) finished second in the 100m crossing the line in 10.64 and also long jumped 21-9.5 and his 4x200m relay team won in 1:29.64.
Pieper's Skyler Carter and Shyla Boydstun each had top performances in the girls events. Carter won the triple jump with a mark of 38-1.5 and was second in the 200m (25.69). Boydstun took third in the 100m with a time of 11.87 and grabbed gold in the 300mh (46.25). New Braunfels' Savanah Moya won the 800m with a solid time of 2:17.34.
Devine won both the boys and girls titles at Baron's All-Relay Meet hosted by Saint Mary's Hall. Their boys took the 4x200m relay in 1:30.13 and Tanner Davis was gold medal winner in the high jump (6-4) and pole vault (14-0). Joshua Hoover (Saint Mary's Hall) was in mid-season form going 22-3 to win the long jump. Rylie Wells (Devine) was the star of the girls meet taking three individual medals. She won the 100mh in 16.06 and also grabbed gold in the long jump (16-2.5) and triple jump (36-2). Tyla Blackstock of Great Hearts Northern Oaks continued her strong start to the season with winning throws of 36-7 in the shot put and 121-5 in the discus.
Floresville hosted a small meet with a few high quality performances. Kaden Cypert (Floresville) won the 1600m (4:38.03) and 3200m (9:52.06) in the boys division. D'Vani Hernandez (San Antonio Christian) and Chloe Nellis (Incarnate Word) were the top individuals for the girls. Hernandez won the 800m (2:29.25) and 1600m (5:29.16) while Nellis won three events. She won the 300mh (47.07), high jump (5-0) and long jump (16-3.5). Haley Gordon of Falls City took the 100mh title with a time of 15.90.
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
Lilly Koenig, Smithson Valley, Texas Tech
Jaelyn Moore, Cornerstone, Dallas Baptist
Juliet Osuna, Cornerstone, Carson-Newman
Elizabeth Leachman, Boerne Champion, Stanford
Maverick James, Steele, UIW
Aaron Garcia, Boerne, Lamar
Sadrac Castillo, Jefferson, Our Lady of the Lake
Next Week
There are a ton of meets this week for people to go and watch. On Thursday, Harlandale, Bandera, Comfort, Southwest and Navarro are all hosting meets. On Friday, it is Floresville and Karnes City with meets and then on Saturday, Canyon, Judson and Smithson Valley are playing host.