After two full days of competition in Jourdanton which Mother Nature threatened numerous times, the District 26-3A Track and Field Meet was an overall success in Atascosa County last week. When the competitive battles wrapped up, the boys and girls in blue advanced athletes in a total of nine events to the 3A Area Meet which is set for this coming Wednesday, April 19th.
“We are excited to have 12 kids qualify for Area on Wednesday after a good showing at district,” Coach Martin Alvarez said. “We are excited for the opportunity to compete with a chance at advancing to regional on the line.”
The Mustangs and Lady Mustangs were unable to finish in top spots as a team when it came to overall standings in the Junior Varsity and Varsity Competitions.
In the Junior Varsity Boys Division, Poth won it all followed by Karnes City, Cole, Fox Tech, Jourdanton and Natalia.
In the 200 M. Dash at the JV Boys level, Marcus Perez claimed 6th place with a time of 26.21.
In the 4X200 M. Relay, the team of Caden Fregia, Falen Villarreal, Roberto Curiel and Tomas Chavez finished in 5th place with a time of 1:47.70.
The 4X400 M. Relay saw Curiel, Chavez, Brad Martin and Perez finish in 5th place with a time of 4:05.90.
In the throwing events, Natalia had two place in Shot Put. Matthew Manka threw a 36’2” as Uri Arellano threw a 35’6 ½”. Arellano also placed 2nd in the Discus with a throw of 99’4”.
Finally, in the JV Boys division, Perez claimed 3rd place in the high jump with a jump of 5’2”.
The Junior Varsity Lady Mustangs also finished at the bottom of the standings following Jourdanton, Fox Tech, Karnes City, Poth and Cole.
In the 1600 M. Run, Jessica Slaton finished in 6th place with a time of 7:48.33. She also claimed 3rd in the 3200 M. Run with a time of 17:28.16.
When it came to field events, Abigail Rivera finished in 2nd place in the Shot Put with a throw of 24’9”. Julie Corona was next for the Lady Stangs as she threw a 22’5 ½” good enough for 6th place.
Rounding out action for the JV girls was the Discus event. Corona threw a 72’6” which allowed for a 4th place finish.
When it came to Varsity Competition for the Mustangs, Natalia finished in 5th place with 40 points. This trailed 26-3A Champion Cole (257), 2nd place Poth (155), Jourdanton (72) and Karnes city (61). Natalia did finish ahead of Fox Tech (9).
Natalia’s first area bound participant came in the 100 M. Dash as Ray Rizo claimed 4th place with a time of 11.84. Gabe Figueroa was next in line coming in 5th with a time of 11.87.
In the 200 M. Dash, Figueroa punched his ticket to the area meet with a 3rd place finish courtesy of a time of 23.61.
Dustin Richardson placed in the 400 M. Dash, as he used a time of 55.45 to claim 6th place.
In the 3200 M. Run, Joel Rios finished in 6th place with a time of 12:20.50.
Looking at results for the relays, Natalia advanced to area in the 4X100 and the 4X400 M. Relays. In the 4X100, Oscar Alvarez, Rizo, Nikolai Patino and Figueroa finished in 4th place with a time of 47.08.
The 4X400 M. Relay included Richardson, Manny Padilla, Patino and Diego Zapata and they finished in 4th with a time of 3:54.86.
The only Mustang to advance to area in throwing events was Julian Martinez who finished in 4th in Shot Put with a throw of 40’7 ½”.
Matt Billalobos finished in 6th place in the Discus with a throw of 114’10” as Patino finished in 6th in the Triple Jump with a mark of 38’3”.
The final Mustang to advance was Dustin Richardson who claimed 4th in the High Jump with a jump of 5’10”.
The Varsity Lady Mustangs rounded out action in 26-3A as they finished in 6th place with 15 team points. They trailed Cole (199), Poth (156), Jourdanton (123), Karnes City (85) and Fox Tech (27).
The first Lady Mustang to claim a spot at area was all-around athlete Regina Garza. The talented senior finished in 4th place in the 100 M. Dash with a time of 13.63. She also claimed 4th in the 200 M. Dash with a time of 27.37.
In the 400 M. Run, Samantha Stallworth claimed 6th place with a time of 1:06.97. She also claimed 5th in the 800 M. Run with a time of 2:39.90.
Natalia’s 4X200 M. Relay team consisted of Camryn Arizola, Anastasia Rodriguez, Garza and Stallworth. They finished in 5th place with a time of 1:58.71.
District 25/26 3A Area Meet
The District 25/26 3A Area Track and Field Meet will be held this coming Wednesday at Randolph and Judson Stadiums. All Field Events will be held at Randolph and all running events that afternoon at Judson.
The reason they are splitting locations, is because District 27 and 28 3A schools will also share the two locations.
The following Events will begin at 10:00 a.m. at Randolph: Discus (Boys), Shot Put (Girls), Long Jump (Boys), Triple Jump (Girls), High Jump (Girls). At 11:30 a.m. Discus (Girls), Shot Put (Boys), Long Jump (Girls), Triple Jump (Boys) and High Jump (Boys).
The Running Events will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Judson ISD in the following order: 400 M. Relay, 800 M. Run, Girls 100 M. Hurdles, Boys 110 M. Hurdles, 100 M. Dash, 800 M. Relay, 400 M. Dash, 300 M. Hurdles, 200 M. Dash, 1600 M. Run and 1600 M. Relay.
The order of Running Events will be: 25-26 3A Girls, 27-28 Girls, 25-26 Boys and 27-28 Boys.
Eric Smith
Staff Writer