The Devine Arabians added another plaque to their trophy case this past week by claiming the Area Track Championship in Poteet by a 129 to 123-point total over district foe Carrizo Springs. As the Carrizo Springs team anxiously awaited the Lady Wildcats name to be called over the PA system at Aggie Stadium as the Area Champion, it was actually the Arabians who jumped ahead to have their team announced as the winner in the showdown thanks in large part to their 3rd place finish in the 4x400m relay (Andrea Gomez, Espi Mendoza, Harlie Walker, Caroline Anderson). That relay finish gave the Arabians 12 points, a come from behind victory, and its first ever Area Meet Championship.
Seventeen different Arabians accounted for the 129 points led by Mari Murillo’s 18 combined in the 1600m run (10) and 3200m run (8). Fellow distance runner Espi Mendoza was 2nd with 13 points (10 in the 800m run and 3 points in the 4x400m relay). Her 2:27.95 set a personal record by over 2 seconds. Stephanie Campos won Discus, Tori Martin was 2nd, and Paige Coté finished 5th for 20 points in that event. Paige also scored 8 points in Shot Put finishing 2nd behind winner Jenna Sadler.
Sydney Rendon scored 11 points with 4th place finishes in the 100m dash and long jump as well as her leg in the 4x100m relay. Her 6th and last attempt in the long jump propelled her into Regional by 1 ¾”. In addition to her points in the 4x400m relay, Caroline Anderson also scored 3 points in the 4x100m relay, 2 points in the 4x200m relay, and 1 point in Triple Jump. Jaylyn Stewart earned 8 points with a 2nd place finish in Pole Vault while Maycee Howard contributed 4 additional points in the same event by finishing 4th.
Macie York tallied 7 points with 5th place finishes in both the 100m dash and her legs in the 4x100m and 4x200m relays. Five points each were scored by Andrea Gomez and Dana Aaron (both sprint relays) and Harlie Walker (400m dash, 4x400m relay). Tayler Rice scored in both hurdles with her 5th place finish in the 100m hurdles and 6th place in the 300m hurdles. Alissa Stehle had 2 points in Triple Jump while Chesney Friesenhahn earned a point in High Jump.
Final Point Total: 1st-Devine-129, 2nd-Carrizo Springs-123, 3rd-Cuero-92, 4th-Poteet-65, 5th-Pleasanton-60, 6th-Pearsall-58, 7th-Lytle-36, 8th-Somerset-20, 9th-Crystal City-19, 10th-Beeville-18.
100m dash: 1st-Shanice Nelson-Carrizo-12.90, 2nd-Jazmine Velasquez-Carrizo-13.14, 3rd-Danica Delafuente-Poteet-13.39, 4th-Sydney Rendon-Devine-13.42, 5th-Macie York-Devine-13.45 200m dash: 1st-Gift Owolabi-Carrizo-26:88, 2nd-Jazmine Velasquez-Carrizo-26.97, 3rd-Delafuente-Carrizo-27.12, 4th-Cassie Rosselt-Cuero-27.16 400m dash: 1st-Ayanna Oltivero-Pleasanton-59.91, 2nd-Adamari Sanchez-Carrizo-1:02.12, 3rd-Natalie Rivas-Beevilee-1:02.51, 4th-April Parsons-Pearsall-1:03.09, 5th-Harlie Walker-Devine-1:03.18 800m run: 1st-Espi Mendoza-Devine-2:27.95, 2nd-Brianna Moreno-Pearsall-2:28.22, 3rd-Addison Sheppard-Cuero-2:32.98, 4th-Megan Hulzar-Pleasanton-2:34.56 1600m run: 1st-Mari Murillo-Devine-5:38.39, 2nd-Maria Godina-Lytle-5:49.21, 3rd-Clarissa Cantu-Lytle-5:54.52, 4th-Moreno-Pearsall-5:59.86 3200m run: 1st-Godina-Lytle-12:19.23, 2nd-Murillo-Devine-12:28.54, 3rd-Cantu-Lytle-12:56.65, 4th-Isel Garza-Carrizo-13.21.28 100m hurdles: 1st-Emma Foster-Poteet-15.36, 2nd-Bryana Duck-Carrizo-16.12, 3rd-Lois Owolabi-Carrizo-16.96, 4th-Ally Lott-Cuero-17.03, 5th-Tayler Rice-Devine-17.81 300m hurdles: 1st-L. Owolabi-Carrizo-47.02, 2nd-Foster-Poteet-47.32, 3rd-Megan Gonzles-Beeville-47.35, 4th-B. Duck-Carrizo-48.90, 6th-Rice-Devine-51.81 4x100m relay: 1st-Cuero-50.72, 2nd-Carrizo-50.99, 3rd-Devine-Dana Aaron, Rendon, Caroline Anderson, York-51.63, 4th-Pearsall-51.66 4x200m relay: 1st-Carrizo-1:46.05, 2nd-Pleasanton-1:49.16, 3rd-Crystal-1:49.37, 4th-Devine-York, Aaron, Anderson, Andrea Gomez-1:49.97 4x400m relay: 1st-Pleasanton-4:13.87, 2nd-Pearsall-4:16.08, 3rd-Devine-Gomez, Mendoza, Walker, Anderson-4:17.42, 4th-Somerset-4:19.33 Long Jump: 1st-Nelson-Cuero-18’1 ½”, 2nd-Kondra Hargrove-Cuero-16’2 ½”, 3rd-Delafuente-Poteet-16’0”, 4th-Rendon-Devine-15’9 ½” Shot Put: 1st-Jenna Sadler-Devine-35’7”, 2nd-Paige Coté-Devine-34’8”, 3rd-Sania Hafter-Cuero-34’7”, 4th-Claire Leal-Pearsall-32’8” Discus: 1st-Stephanie Campos-Devine-126’7”, 2nd-Tori Martin-Devine-112’1”, 3rd-Leah Whittington-Cuero-109’3”, 4th-Kassandra Olveda-Crystal-105’4”, 5th-Coté-Devine-103’3” Triple Jump: 1st-Nelson-Cuero-37’7 ½”, 2nd-Foster-Poteet-35’3”, 3rd-Sanchez-Carrizo-34’1”, 4th-Tara Fraga-Lytle-33’7 ½”, 5th-Alissa Stehle-Devine-33’4 ½”, 6th-Anderson-Devine-33’0 ½” High Jump: 1st-L. Owolabi-Carrizo-5’4”, 2nd-Foster-Poteet-5’0”, 3rd-Moreno-Pearsall-4’10”, 4th-Laken McAda-Pleasanton-4’10”, 6th-Chesney Friesenhan-Devine-4’8” Pole Vault: 1st-Destiny Vallejo-Somerset-9’3”, 2nd-Jaylyn Stewart-Devine-9’0”, 3rd-April Parsons-Pearsall-8’9”, 4th-Maycee Howard-Devine-8’0”
Arabians share their thoughts:
Stephanie Campos: I am excited about the opportunity to win discus at Regional and advance to State.
Dana Aaron: Qualifying for Regional was really exciting for the 400m relay team because we ran two seconds faster than our fastest time this season. We have another week to work hard to drop more time.
Jenna Sadler: This is my 4th trip to Regional. My goal is to not only improve on my past performances but to make it to State.
Harlie Walker: This is my first trip to Regional and I am excited about going with the other girls from the mile relay team Espi, Andrea, and Caroline.
Tori Martin: This is my second year to go to Regional. My goal is to do my best and improve from the last time at Kingsville.
Mari Murillo: My goal is to break the 5:20 mark in the mile. If I can achieve that goal, there is a good chance that I will qualify for State. I am nervous but excited at the same time. I am confident that I will perform to the best of my ability.
Macie York: I was thrilled when they announced the Arabians as the champions. I am excited about advancing and I am proud of what I accomplished with a lot of hard work.
Sydney Rendon: Qualifying in multiple events is exciting. I am looking to improve on last years’ Regional appearance.
Caroline Anderson: It was a huge accomplishment for us to win the Arabians first ever Area Championship. We have set the bar high for next year’s team.
Paige Coté: With this being my first time to Regional, I want to compete to the best of my abilities and finish in the top 5.
The Regional Meet is held on the Texas A&M Kingsville campus at Javelina Stadium. On Friday, April 28 all 4A teams will begin running preliminaries at 10:30 am while field events will start at 3:30 pm. At 9:00 am on Saturday, April 29 the remaining field events will take place followed by the running finals at 1:30 pm. The awards ceremony will occur shortly after the conclusion of the mile relay which begins at 5:35 pm.
Jerel Beaty
Staff Writer