By Brian Argabright
While Del Rio won’t be represented at this year’s state track and field meet, the Rams and Queens athletes left all they had at this weekend’s regional meet.
Members of the Del Rio High School track and field team descended on Heroes Stadium in San Antonio Friday and Saturday for a shot at this year’s Class 6A State Track and Field Meet in Austin. Getting there would be no small task as aside from the familiar faces from the district and area meets they would need to go through a variety of new schools from across Region IV, which stretches from Austin to Brownsville.
The good news is Del Rio was represented by several underclassmen, so another shot at state next year isn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Senior Sabrina Williams had the best chance to make it to state after her first crack at the 100-meter hurdles. She posted a time of 15.14 seconds, the fastest among the 15 runners who finished the preliminary races.
In the finals, however, bad luck hit Williams early as she clipped the first two hurdles, immediately putting her at a disadvantage. She would finish fifth in a time of 15.90 seconds. San Antonio Brennan’s Kajia Wilson won the race in 14.99 seconds followed by Maci Simmons of Austin Vandegrift, who finished in 15.08 seconds. Simmons was second in the prelims in 15.24 seconds, and Wilson was third in 15.45 seconds.
“She beat both girls that qualified. Still hurts today!” Jesus Limon, Queens head track and field coach, said via text Sunday afternoon.
Williams had another strong showing in the preliminaries of the 300-meter hurdles. She was third in the prelims in 45.68 seconds. In the finals, she couldn’t duplicate that speed and finished fifth in 46.93 seconds. San Antonio Reagan’s Taylen Wise was first in 43.58 seconds while Simmons earned a second state berth by finishing second in 43.60 seconds. Wise and Simmons finished 1-2 in prelims as well.
Another runner with a strong chance at state was senior Ozlynn Urias. Urias won the area title in both the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs. She also qualified for state in cross-country in the fall, so she was no stranger to the pressure of a big race.
Urias finished 10th in the 1,600 meters in 5:32.89 and finished 11th in the 3,200 meters in 11:55.53.
Amalie Mills of Comal Smithson Valley won the 1,600 meters in 5:00.14. Second place went to Gemma Goddard of Austin Vandegrift, who finished in 5:02.35.
Goddard won the 3,200 meters in 10:55.48. Kennaday Fontenot of New Braunfels was second in 11:13.27.
Also competing in the 3,200 meters for Del Rio was sophomore Kimberly Gloria. She finished 15th in 12:19.87.
Gloria also competed in the 800 meters and finished 12th overall in a time of 2:27.72. Amity Ebarb of Weslaco was first in 2:10.42, and Mills was second in 2:11.03.
Junior Joe Chavez competed in the boys 800 meters and was 11th in 2:03.16. Will Powers of Austin High was first in 1:53.65, and Santos Flores of San Antonio Wagner was second in 1:54.36.
Del Rio had two competitors in the boys’ discus event. Junior Diego Piña was eighth with a throw of 151 feet, 11 inches. Teammate Noe Rodriguez, also a junior, was 10th with a throw of 143 feet, 6 inches.
Austin Lake Travis’ Jacob Tracy won the event with a throw of 185 feet, 6 inches. Luis Salgado of New Braunfels was second with a throw of 177 feet, 11 inches.
Del Rio had several other athletes compete but they did not qualify for the finals in their respective races.
The boys’ 800-meter relay team of Aiden Huerta, Zachary Taylor, Juan Peralta and Nathan Reyes was 16th in prelims in 1:31.76. Converse Judson won the event in 1:26.74 while San Antonio MacArthur was second in 1:27.10, edging Brandeis by a tenth of a second.
In the 200 meters, freshman Ariana Erickson was 12th in prelims in 26.88 seconds. Reagan’s Jasmine Montgomery won the event in 23.27 seconds while Saniya Friendly of Schertz Clemens was second in 23.94 seconds.
The girls’ 400-meter relay team of Myla Tabora, Erickson, Alixta Blanco and Sydney Ballard was 14th in prelims in 50.66 seconds. Reagan took first place in 45.60 seconds while Judson was second in 47.70 seconds.
Only the top two finishers in each event qualified for the state meet.
Full results can be found online at https://www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/429021/results
