San Antonio Track News and Notes Week #8

The Best Thing I Saw

I was at the NEISD Invitational this week and near the end of the meet they recognized John Gallardo who is retiring at the end of the year. John has been the director of high school cross country and track in North East ISD and he has always been very helpful and accommodating to me. Thursday was his final regular season meet and it was nice to see him get the applause that he deserves.

Small Schools, Big Jumps

A pair of the top pole vaulters in the State matched up against each other at the Charles Austin Classic. Utopia's Jace Bennett won the competition with a clearance of 16-6 while Brady Chandler of Geneva School of Boerne finished in second place with a height of 15-6. Bennett is a two-time UIL 1A State champion in the pole vault and recently cleared 16-11.5 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. Chandler was the TAPPS State runner-up in the pole vault last year and has cleared at least 15-0 at four meets this year. Bennett currently ranks fifth in the State among all classifications.

State Meet Preview Races

Lilly Koenig (Smithson Valley) and Eva Cragnolino (Austin LASA) are two of the top distance runners in UIL 5A and they got to go head-to-head last week in both the 800m and 1600m. Last year, Koenig finished fourth in the 800m and second in the 3200m while Cragnolino was first in the 3200m and sixth in the 1600m. At the Charles Austin Classic, neither runner competed in the 3200m, but they did race in the 800m and 1600m. In the 800m, Koenig defeated a loaded field that included Cragnolino, Ivy Parada (Round Rock) and Daniela Shelfo (TMI) by running a time of 2:12.51 which nearly matched her 2:12.08 from the State meet. In the 1600m, Koenig narrowly defeated Cragnolino as both athletes ran well. Koenig posted a winning time of 5:00.20 while Cragnolino crossed the line in 5:00.59. Even though they are not in the same Region, we can all hope that they will meet up again at the State meet.

One Lap Around the Track

It has been a great year for San Antonio area boys running the quarter-mile this year. This past week there were 10 athletes who broke 50s and another 11 who broke 51s in the event. Steele's Maverick James ran the fastest time of the week when he won the Steele Invitational in 47.48 while Michael Davis (Brennan) ran 48.11 and Kingston Brown (New Braunfels) crossed the line in 48.91 at the same meet. Johnson's Abdou Ndiaye, Jayden Lea and Chris Tijerina all broke 50s this week at the NISD Invitational which gives them six total runners who have posted a time of faster than 50s in the event this year.

First to 40-feet

Randolph freshman Skye Thompson became the first local girl to eclipse 40-feet in the triple jump this year. She jumped 40-3.75 at the Ro-Hawk Relays on Thursday. She is one of only eight girls in the entire State who have jumped over 40-feet this year. She is the only athlete who competes at the UIL 3A level to have accomplished the feat this year, but there are three others in the division who have jumped at least 39-feet. One of those athletes is Jayla Hessler of Yoakum who was the 3A State champion last year with a jump of 40-3.25. Thompson and Hessler will see each other at the UIL IV-3A Region meet.

District Meet Previews

The District 27-6A varsity boys title appears to be Johnson's to lose. Their strength in the 100m, 200m, 400m, pole vault and relays will be tough to beat. They have one of the best 4x400m relay teams in the State and can mix and match who they want to have run without losing much. In addition, they also boast Cameron McDuffie in the long and triple jump and Joshua McNeil in the throwing events. The battle for second place will be intense with five teams having a legitimate chance at it. Brandeis will be attempting to sweep both hurdle events with Caiden Rodriguez, Amauri Thornton and Ajahni Williams.

The District 27-6A varsity girls championship appears to be too close to call heading into the meet. Brandeis, Johnson and Reagan all have a chance and it will come down to who performs the best on Wednesday and Thursday. I am leaning towards Reagan because they always seem to win these meets and they have not lost this year. All three teams have strong relays and it could come down to which relays can earn the most points. Gabriella McHugh (Reagan) has a good chance to earn the most points in the meet since she is ranked highly in the long jump, triple jump and 300mh while also running two relays. Madison's Cyani Ingram ranks as the top thrower in the District and she has consistently had the top shot put marks in San Antonio all year long.

District 28-5A is similar to District 27-6A in that it looks like the varsity boys title will be easy to pick and the varsity girls title is up for grabs. The choice for the boys is MacArthur who has been putting together a strong season. They are strong in the sprints and hurdles and Theo Abraham is their star runner. He has the best 200m and 400m times heading into the meet and will likely run on their 4x400m team as well. Harlandale's Jermaine Ramirez in the shot put and Southside's Maverick Vela in the pole vault are two athletes to watch. Southwest should finish as a strong second place team while Eagle Pass Winn could be in line for third place.

The District 28-5A varsity girls title could come down to the 4x400m relay. I have MacArthur as a slight favorite, but if Southwest can win the 4x400m they may be able to pass them up. MacArthur is led by Ayana Young and Ava Williams in the sprints and hurdles while Danieliz Villafane is the top athlete to watch for Southwest in both throwing events. Jay's Duprasia Beets is one of the top 400m runners in the entire region. Southwest Legacy has a good chance to finish in third place.

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).

Michael Ajagbe, Pieper, Triple Jump, 48-3

Brady Rees, Pieper, 3200m, 10:01.58

Kyle Fromel, Clark, Shot Put, 53-1.75

Around the City

Northside ISD hosted their fourth meet of the year last week and it was the Johnson varsity boys taking the team title over Sotomayor and Clemens. In addition to their 400m prowess as earlier mentioned, Cameron McDuffie and Joshua McNeil each shined bright. McDuffie won the triple jump with a leap of 47-9.5 while McNeil took the shot put with a throw of 53-10 and the discus with a mark of 144-11. Medina Valley's Kyle Carpenter picked up a pair of victories racing to times of 4:25.68 in the 1600m and 9:55.25 in the 3200m.

The Medina Valley varsity girls won another team title with 158 points while Johnson was second and Clemens was third. Trinity Pinto and Kiyana Perez led Medina Valley once again as they combined for three individual event wins and a pair of runner-up performances in addition to running on the winning 4x400m relay team. Adriana Parra (Johnson) has been running extremely well lately and she took the gold medal in the 1600m (5:13.97). Jera Salters (Johnson) won the discus with a throw of 119-1 and was second in the shot put to Harlan's Kiara Shaw who threw 38-3.5 to win by 6.5 inches.

The Karnes City Invitational featured a few strong performances. Enzio DeLeon (Carrizo Springs) won the 1600m in 4:46.52 while Savion Nixon-Thompson (Karnes City) was the champion in the triple jump with a leap of 41-2. Arianna Rivera of Carrizo Springs won both distance races with times of 5:47.80 in the 1600m and 12:20.91 in the 3200m.

Canyon traveled to the Don Holland Relays in Austin. Mollie Allen and Madi Molinar each had strong performances. Allen won the 400m in 1:00.60 and finished third in the 800m (2:19.47). Molinar was runner-up in the 800m (2:19.42) and won the 3200m in 11:32.79 leading a 1-2-3 finish in the event for Canyon.

The Floresville boys took the team title at the Pleasanton Brush Country Relays. They scored 164 points while Antonian finished second and Bandera was third. Kaden Cypert led Floresville with victories in the 1600m (4:23.47) and 3200m (9:54.56). Mason Johns matched Cypert with a pair of gold medals winning the high jump (6-5) and triple jump (43-1). Antonian's Channing Shaeffer matched the Floresville duo by winning the 400m in 51.23 and the 800m in 2:01.44.

The Brush Country Relays featured a close team title in the varsity girls division. Bandera won with 140 points while Pleasanton had 125 points and Floresville finished with 116 points. Bandera's Milesia Casas led her team to the title by winning the 400m (58.59) and 800m (2:26.01). Merry Robinson won the 100m and was second in the 200m for Bandera. Kaliya Jones (Antonian) won three events. She took the 100mh (16.00) and 300mh (47.31) on the track and added the long jump (17-2.5) in the field.

Holy Cross, Lytle and Randolph battled it out for the Ro-Hawk Relays varsity boys title. Holy Cross won with 99 points while Lytle and Randolph finished with seven points. Jackson Vann-Morgan won the 110mh (15.98) and triple jump (41-8.25) for Holy Cross but the meet came down to the 4x400m and the Knights won in 3:24.80. They nipped Lytle who ran 3:25.02. If the places had switched then Lytle would have won the meet. Jacob Cantu (Lytle) won the 1600m (4:29.04) and led a 1-2-3 finish in the 3200m (9:35.75). San Antonio Christian's Liam Harville leapt 22-4 to win the long jump and Ryan Harr (Taft) took the discus with a throw of 150-9.

The Randolph girls won their home meet by a few points over Taft. Their key to victory was winning all three relays and getting Skye Thompson's huge triple jump. D'Vani Hernandez (San Antonio Christian) showed her quality in winning the 800m (2:21.27) and 1600 (5:17.89). Jay's Duprasia Beets is making a case as one of the top all-around sprinters in the area after winning the 400m (56.63) and finishing second in the 100m (12.47).

At the Steele Relays, the Brennan boys won the team title with 145 points while Steele was second with 113 points. The Bears won the 4x100m relay in 42.00 and the 4x200m relay in 1:28.28. Maverick James (Steele), Michael Davis (Brennan) and Kingston Brown (New Braunfels) blazed through the 400m. Quentin Jones (Brennan) won the triple jump with a mark of 46-5.5 while Steele's Teylen White won the discus with a heave of 153-1.

Reagan traveled to the Killeen ISD Relays and their girls team won the team title with 194 points while Temple was next best at 145. Their three relay teams excelled while posting times of 47.69 in the 4x100m, 1:43.11 in the 4x200m and 4:07.75 in the 4x400m relay. Gabriella McHugh won the long jump with a mark of 18-5.5 and she took gold in the 300mh (45.54). Ellyson Spurlock, Aryiel Sherman, Shobhana Spielmann and Esmae Shaeffer all won individual events. Zion Jackson won the high jump for the Reagan boys with a clearance of 6-6 while Thomas Schwennesen was the discus champion with a throw of 158-1.

Texas State hosted the Charles Austin Classic on Friday. The Smithson Valley varsity boys had the best local finish at third place. They were led by Noah Johnson and Schaeden Davis who each broke 22s in the 200m. Their 4x400m relay team won gold with a fast time of 3:19.84. Hayden Hoskins (TMI) ran well in the hurdles taking fourth in the 110mh (15.41) and second in the 300mh (39.48). Cordel Leon (Seguin) was the high jump champion after clearing 6-8. The Cornerstone sprint relays always performed well getting fourth in the 4x100m (42.43) and second in the 4x200m (1:28.97).

The Smithson Valley girls matched the boys by finishing third at the Charles Austin Classic. In addition to the performance they received from Lilly Koenig, they had winning marks from Sofia Mitschke in the pole vault (11-6) and Aubrey Pozzi in the 3200m (11:46.70). Rylie Wells (Devine) continued to perform well with a 17-1.5 long jump and a time of 15.68 in the 100mh. Kaidyn Holmes-Oliver (TMI) won the long jump with a mark of 18-6. Other local winners were Daniela Shelfo (TMI) in the 400m (58.21) and Danieliz Villafane (Southwest) in the discus (122-7).

At the Carlos Enrico Central Catholic Invitational, the Pieper boys were champions with 199 points while Alamo Heights was second with 120. Michael Ajagbe led the way by winning the 100m in 10.97 and setting a new school record en route to winning the triple jump, 48-3. The Warriors won the 4x100m relay in a race that came right down to the wire. They won in 42.24 while Veteran's Memorial finished at 42.32 and Alamo Heights crossed the line in 42.34. Jack Hollimon (Alamo Heights) continued his dominance in the hurdles by winning both events. Antonio Guevara (Central Catholic) and Anthony Romero-Kibler (Alamo Heights) each cleared 6-6 in the high jump.

Alamo Heights won the varsity girls team title at Central Catholic by nine points over Pieper. Heights had a trio of event winners in Alzara Mysliwiec in the 200m (26.06), Kate Rogers in the 1600m (5:25.98) and Emily Jones in the triple jump (34-5). Pieper's 4x100m relay team outran Alamo Heights in a nice race crossing the finish line in 48.73. Perla Valenzuela (Harlandale) won the shot put with a throw of 36-2.

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

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

Klayre Cook, Lytle, Texas Lutheran

Anastacia Garza, Judson, UTSA

Ava Arellano, Wimberley, Texas Lutheran

Amariah Young, Medina Valley, Texas Lutheran

Payton DeFelippis, Medina Valley, Texas A&M-Texarkana

Next Week

On the schedule for this week are the District 27-6A and District 28-5A meets on Wednesday and Thursday. Clemens is hosting the Buffalo Relays and Northside hosts their Meet #5 on Wednesday. San Antonio Christian hosts a meet on Thursday. The Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays will take place over the weekend.