Against The Odds: Pioneer’s Thompson dominates in return to regionals
SAN ANTONIO 一 Derek Thompson’s high school track and field career has had a number of up and downs.
Thompson began his career as the No. 1 ranked freshman in Class 5A, finishing his first year as a regional finalist.
High expectations for his sophomore year were deterred after a UCL tear during his second meet of the year, sidelining him for the entire 2024 season.
Despite that, Thompson has managed to come back better than before, running through the competition this season en route to a return to the regional meet.
He made the most of his second regional championship appearance, securing state berths in the 5A discus and shot put during Day 1 of the Region IV-5A/6A track and field championships at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
“Freshman year I came in throwing 51 and was ranked the No. 1 freshman in the state,” Thompson said. “I made it to regionals and did okay. That was my season. Then last year I went into the Carl Lewis Invitational and on my last throw, I was already in second but I wanted to go for more. I ended up partially tearing my UCL in my elbow and that was it. I got second that meet behind the state champion of that year and that was my season. Really though it gave me an opportunity like no other to work on my technique and fine tune the mechanics of my throw. Honestly, if it wasn’t last year for me being injured, I probably wouldn’t be throwing as good as I am now.”
While Thompson has been on a tear this season, his first state berth didn’t come without more obstacles. After tweaking his ankle during the Area 31/32-5A championships last week, Thompson spent most of the week leading up to the regional meet in the trainer’s office rather than inside the ring.
Even without a week of practice Thompson shone when he stepped into the ring, recording a mark of 64 feet, 4 inches on his first and only throw during the shot put to secure the regional title and a spot at the state meet.
The mark also broke his brother’s school record of 60-10 set in 2023.
“The second I hit that mark and heard it was 64 I called him and said ‘Hey your record is gone bud’,” Thompson said. “But we’ll see what’s next. I broke the school record and now we got the state meet.”
After a record breaking throw on his first attempt, Thompson waived the rest of his attempts during the event in order to rest up for the discus.
The rested Thompson followed up his shot put performance with another state berth, finishing second in the discus with a throw of 179-0.
Thompson’s two state berths sent him to the state meet at the same grade as his brother, with Evan qualifying for state in the shot put as a junior. He finished third during his state debut.
The younger Thompson now turns his attention to the UIL state track and field championships in two weeks, hoping to bring back hardware like his brother before him.
“Coming into this year I was full of emotions,” Thompson said. “I was striving to get back out there because I’d see all these sophomores passing me up. I had to get out here and do something this year. I feel like I’ve accomplished that already. Now it's on to state.”
Thompson was just one of three Valley athletes to earn regional titles during Day 1 of the meet. Donna High’s Lauren De La Garza won the 5A girls shot put almost simultaneously to Thompson, capturing the gold with a throw of 135-5. Harlingen South’s Sophia Gonzalez made it a sweep of the two state bids during the event, finishing second behind De La Garza with a throw of 131-7.
Mission High’s Christian Kirk was the third RGV athlete to earn a regional title Friday, winning the 5A boys long jump with a mark of 23-0.25. The regional title marked the first of the senior’s career.
On top of three regional champions, five other individuals earned state bids, including a pair by South’s Gonzalez. The senior thrower also added a state berth in the shot put.
McHi’s Dariana Luna and Dana Rojas Vazquez each advanced to state in their first of three events this meet, with Luna finishing second in the 5A girls long jump and Rojas Vazquez taking the silver in the 5A girls 3,200-meter run. Both athletes have two more events to go during Day 2 of the competition.
Edinburg Vela’s Kristopher Perez earned a spot alongside Thompson at the state meet during the shot put, finishing second with a throw of 59-1.75. The state appearance will mark the third straight of his career.
Harlingen High’s Jyazian Moore rounded out the Valley’s list of state qualifiers during Day 1, finishing second in the 6A boys long jump. Moore was the RGV’s lone 6A athlete to earn a state bid Friday.
The Region IV-5A/6A track and field championships are set to conclude tomorrow with the running finals. The final day of competition begins at 9 a.m. at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio.
