By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
It was a record-breaking day for the Del Rio Rams track and field team.
The 4 x 200-meter relay team of Zane Hughes, Juan “Chili” Peralta, Jovahn West and Zack Taylor set a new Del Rio High School record in the event at this year’s Border Olympics held in Laredo this past weekend.
The group took first place in 1:30.20, shattering the mark set in 2007. They beat the team from Laredo Nixon by nearly two full seconds and bettered their preliminary time by more than a second.
Their performance was just one of many that helped the Rams win the team title with 106 points. Nixon was second with 75.33 points, and Laredo Alexander was third with 74 points.
More than 20 teams from around the region were represented at the meet, which is usually one of the biggest in Texas. It also served as an early glimpse at this year’s District 30-6A Track and Field Meet as all seven district teams were in competition.
Teams earn points based on the performance of their athletes. Points are awarded to the top six finishers in each event.
Hughes and West earned points in the 100 meters. They finished second and third, respectively, as Hughes finished in 11.51 seconds and West was third in 11.60 seconds.
Taylor was fifth in the 200 meters in 23.74 seconds, just edging teammate Peralta who was sixth in 23.92 seconds.
Nathan Reyes captured gold in the 400 meters, taking first in 49.90 seconds.
Mikael Perez was sixth in the 800 meters in 2:02.96.
In the 400-meter relay, Del Rio was third in 43.84 seconds. Nathan Adame, West, Peralta and Hughes represented the Rams in that race.
Del Rio was also third in the 1,600-meter relay in 3:30.29. That team included Reyes, Taylor, Alex Rodriguez and Luis Pablo Galaviz.
Two Rams finished among the top six in the discus. Diego Piña was second after a throw of 167 feet, 6 inches. Teammate Noe Rodriguez was fourth at 154 feet, 1 inch.
Jairo Venegas took second in the high jump, clearing six feet.
Devin Barrera was third in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 12 feet, 6 inches.
West tied for fifth place in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 10 inches.
Alan Dobbins was third in the triple jump as he soared to a distance of 41 feet, 7 inches.
QUEENS TRACK AND FIELD
Del Rio’s girls had a tough time at the Border Olympics, finishing 13th out of 17 teams.
Only two of the Queens athletes finished high enough to earn points for their team.
Ariana Erickson took fifth in the 100 meters in a time of 13.27 seconds. She was also fourth in the 200 meters in a time of 26.55 seconds.
Emily Torres was fifth in the 100-meter hurdles in 17.61 seconds. She was also third in the 300-meter hurdles in 48.84 seconds.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
