McHi, Harlingen High girls dominate Area Meet

HARLINGEN — Shades of purple and red filled the podium after nearly every event during Wednesday and Thursday’s Area 31/32-5A and 6A track and field championships, with McAllen High and Harlingen High’s girls track teams dominating the two-day event.

The Bulldogs and Cardinals combined for 42 total medals during the competition, each finishing as team champions in their respective classes.

The Bulldogs, who claimed the Area 31/32-5A girls title, took the top spot on the podium during nine of the 17 events of the meet.

Among those first-place finishes was a clean sweep of the three relays, setting area records during each of those races.

Individually, do-it-all athlete Dariana Luna led the charge, earning a trio of gold medals during the event. She kicked off the meet by winning the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 3 inches Wednesday, adding another two golds with a sweep of the 100- and 300-meter hurdles.

Dana Rojas Vazquez, Sophia Flores, Lauryn Menchaca and Kenzi Ramirez each added a pair of medals for the Bulldogs, including gold medals by Vazquez and Flores.

The Bulldogs dominant day led to a big margin of victory in the team standings, finishing 113 points ahead of the next closest team. McAllen High finished the two-day meet with 207 points, followed by Edinburg Vela (94) and Harlingen South (48).

Meanwhile, the Cardinals girls team put together an equally dominant showing in the 6A division, earning first in eight of 17 events.

Seniors Faith Franklin and Jazmine Thompson led the charge individual for the Cardinals, each nabbing a pair of induvial golds.

Franklin blew past the competition during the 200- and 400-meter dash en route to a pair of first-place finishes, while also anchoring Harlingen High’s 4x400 gold medal team.

Meanwhile, Thompson swept the girls throwing events, picking up comfortable wins in both the discus and shot put.

Alana Rouquette was Harlingen High’s other athlete to earn two individual medals, taking home the gold in the 100-meter hurdles, while adding silver in the 300-meter hurdles. Emma Reyes and Sarah Sanusi each added gold medals of their own.

Harlingen High’s margin of victory wasn’t as high as McHi’s in the team standings, but still finished 64 points ahead of second-place Los Fresnos. The Cardinals racked up 153 points during the meet, followed by the Falcons (89) and Edinburg High (76).

While the girls divisions was dominated by a pair of teams, the boys provided a much more tightly contested race for the area title.

In the Class 6A division, Harlingen High (146) made it a sweep by the Cardinals of the Area 31/32-6A team titles, finishing ahead of Weslaco High (114) for the crown.

The Cardinals finished with the most total medals out of any 6A team during the event, racking up 12 top three finishes.

Junior Jacob Ortiz was the Cardinals top individual performer during the meet, earning a pair of golds with a sweep of the throwing events. Ortiz’s pair of wins made it 4-of-4 for Harlingen High’s throwers on the day, joining Thompson as a double-gold winner.

Freshman Jyazian Moore also provided a big spark for the Cardinals during the win, earning a pair of individual silver medals and a bronze, while also anchoring Harlingen High’s 4x100 relay team during their first-place finish.

In the Class 5A division, Sharyland Pioneer edged McAllen High for the team title, finishing just eight points ahead of the Bulldogs for the area championship. The Diamondbacks totaled 88 points during the two-day meet, with the Bulldogs earning 80 points for second.

Sophomore Angel Rodriguez was the catalyst for Diamondbacks team championship, earning a pair of individual golds in the 400-meter run and long jump. He also anchored Sharyland Pioneer’s 4x400 relay team which secured the team’s title with a gold-medal finish during the final race of the night.

Jonathan Villarreal earned Pioneer’s only other gold medal of the meet, winning the pole vault with a mark of 13-06.

The athletes and teams now turn their attention to next week’s Region IV-5A and 6A track and field championships, with the top two finishers from each event at that meet punching their ticket to the state meet.

The regional meet is set for April 20-21 at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, with field event finals and prelims scheduled for Friday and running finals scheduled for Saturday.