GOLDEN EAGLES

Mission Track & Field Boys Win District Again

 

 

The physical and mental demands of the high school track and field season are numerous. Surviving a full season requires urgent preparation, cerebral focus, and a manically competitive spirit. Even if a solitary student-athlete can master what the season requires, it’s no guarantee that a full team will. Yet, the Mission Eagles boys’ Track and Field team, through two years of competition, has established a championship pedigree predicated on doing just that. Under the first-year head coach, Robert “Bobby” Flores, the Eagles emerged from the District 30-5A track meet as champions for the second year in a row.

 

Flores, the previous head football coach and Athletic Coordinator at McAllen Nikki Rowe High School for nearly a decade, resigned his position just over a year ago after a 25-year career at McAllen ISD. Flores had designs on staying, taking a break until an opportunity arose that he could ill afford to ignore. After winning a district championship for the Eagles track and field team, former head coach Bryan Fernandez departed for Edinburg High School, creating a highly coveted vacancy. For Flores, the decision to apply took some deliberation but in the end was a no-brainer. As a former collegiate sprinter at the University of Texas-Pan American (now UTRGV), Flores applied, seeking a position he was actually hired for at Rowe before transitioning to lead its athletics programs. He was hired shortly after applying and appointed as the new track and field coach and wide receivers coach on the football team under first-year Athletic Coordinator Joseph “Jody” Cantu.

 

“It was a win-win for me getting the opportunity and knowing that Mission has always been very strong in track. Coach Cantu and the administration gave me the opportunity to lead the track team last summer,” Flores said about his transition to coaching at Mission High.

 

 

Flores leaned on a talented coaching staff to identify and develop student-athletes he knew could contribute to success on the track. That staff includes professionals like jumps coach Brian Garza, distance coach William Proctor, throws coach Roberto Galvan, and sprints/hurdles coaches Daniel Enriquez, Edward Lopez, and Chad Butler. As he cultivated relationships with his staff and track athletes, Eagles from across Mission High began showing up and producing. Basketball, soccer, and football players are all working together toward a common goal.

 

“We have an open-door policy regarding communicating with all of our coaches. I am very blessed to work with the coaches who are all-in with supporting track as a tool for developing speed and conditioning… and our kids bought in. A big part of our success was that I was able to rely on a lot of kids,” Flores said about collaborating with Eagles coaches.

 

There was Elian Vallejo, whose contributions to the Eagles’ sprints culminated with gold in the 100-meter dash and the 4×100-meter relay. His relay teammates Angel Salazar and Shelby Sital finished right behind him in the 100-meter dash, giving the Eagles a clean sweep. Ryan Aguirre qualified for the Area meet in the 800-meter run, the mile, and the two-mile run. Kevin Berrones finished in the top three in the 100, and Sebastian Rodriguez finished in the top three in both hurdle events. Angel Cisneros won the pole-vault, and sophomore phenom Ezra Cuadros cemented his place as one of the RGV’s elite long jumpers with a first-place jump of 21 feet 9 inches.

 

The season may have been grueling, but the Eagles accepted the challenge in the most crucial time of the year and came out victorious.

 

 

“This has been a great track season so far. My goal is to finish the season off strong and exceed expectations with the guys heading into area, and so on,” Vallejo said when asked about the Mission Eagles’ expectations going forward.

 

“We had our ups and downs at the beginning of the track season. As the season progressed, we fixed our mistakes and improved every day and every meet. And our goal is to keep getting better and be more consistent, and hope to advance and finish the season off strong,” Cuadros said after winning the long jump and advancing to the Area meet.

 

With only two weeks left in the high school track season, multiple Eagles advanced to the Regional Meet in San Antonio, Texas, the first weekend of May. The Eagles are the only Big 7 boys’ team to qualify multiple relays to the Regional meet. While the thrill of competition awaits them, they’ll have one more week of training where they’ll fine tune their technique in order to achieve their goals as they’ve done all year.

 

 

“At this point, everyone is working hard to advance to the next round. We worked hard and were fortunate to win the district championship and qualify for the Area round… they [Eagles supporters] should expect our kids to do their best. I am very fortunate to work with a great group of coaches, administration, and a supportive community. Our kids are going to keep fighting and give us everything they have. So, we’re going to continue to push them as coaches to excel on the track and in the classroom. We’ll continue to strive and build to be the best team we can be every time we take the track,” Flores said when describing the Eagles’ accomplishments and goals for the future.

 

Here is the complete list of the Eagles’ Area & Regional qualifiers:

Area Qualifiers: 100 Meter Dash: Ellian Vallejo (1st), Angel Salazar (1st), Shelby Sital (3rd), 200 Meter Dash: Ezra Cuardos (4th), 400 Meter Dash: Kevin Briones (4th), 800 Meter Run: Ryan Aguirre (3rd), 1600 Meter Run: Ryan Aguirre (3rd), 3200 Meter Run: Ryan Aguirre (3rd), 110 Meter Hurdles: Sebastian Rodriguez (2nd), 300 Meter Hurdles: Sebastian Rodriguez (3rd Place), Long Jump: Ezra Cuadros (1st), Triple Jump: Brandon Soliz (2nd), Pole Vault: Angel Cisneros (3rd) Relays: 4×100 Meter Relay (1st ), 4×200 Meter Relay (3rd), 4×400 Meter Relay (1st)

 

Regional Qualifiers: 400 Meter Dash: Kevin Briones (3rd), Long Jump: Ezra Cuadros (4th), Triple Jump: Brandon Soliz (4th) Relays: 4×100 Meter Relay (3rd ), 4×200 Meter Relay (4th)

 

Here is a list of the Big 7 Athletes that competed in last week’s Area Meet and qualified to next weekend’s Regional Track Meet in San Antonio, Texas:

Mission High Girls (30-5A): Breanna Longoria- Triple Jump (2nd), Anahi Garcia- 200 Meter-Dash (3rd) La Joya Palmview (30-5A): GIRLS: Genesis Dolores Razmirez- 1600-meter run and 3200-meter run (3rd x2), Dayanna Munoz- 100-meter hurdles (4th), Corina Robles- 3200-meter run (4th) BOYS: Azael Davila- 1600 m run & 3200 m run (1st & 3rd), Adrian Rivas – 400 meter dash (2nd) Mission Veterans (30-5A): Edwin Romero 1600 meter run (4th) La Joya Juarez-Lincoln (30-5A): Eban Alvarez- ShotPut (4th) Sharyland Rattlers (31-5A): GIRLS: Sofia Lauren Garza- 1600 meter run, 3200 meter run (4th & 3rd), Paris Gomez- 100 meter hurdles & Long Jump (1st x2), Bella Krell-Discus (3rd), Camila Castellanos- 300 meter hurdles (4th) BOYS: Mauricio Garcia- 110 m H Hurdles and 300-meter hurdles (1st &4th), Cesar Vega- High Jump (1st), Deangelo Synowiecki- High Jump (4th), Jonah Driscoll- Pole Vault (2nd), Stormy Walker- 200 m dash (2nd), Nathan Salinas- 1600-meter run (1st) RELAY: 4X2 (1ST)

 

Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks (31-5A): BOYS: Cole Scurlock 100-meter dash (3RD), Angel Rodriguez- Long Jump (4TH) RELAY: 4X4 (4TH) GIRLS: Alexandra Moya- 400-meter dash (1st), Elle Hill – Triple Jump & 100-Meter Hurdles (1st & 3rd), Janel Garcia- High Jump & Triple Jump (4th x2) Emily Aguilera- High Jump (3rd), Sophia Castillo- Pole Vault (2nd), Jamilet Chavez-Shot Put (3rd), Jayda Garcia- Long Jump (2nd) RELAYS: 4X1, 4X2, 4X4 (2ND, 1ST, 2ND) La Joya (31-6A): GIRLS: Aliayh Martinez- 100-Meter Dash (3rd), Jaida Flowers- Discus (3rd) BOYS: Isaac Segura- Shot put (4th)

 

The Region IV 5A and 6A track meets will take place on Friday, May 1st, and Saturday, May 2nd. All field events and running prelims will take place on Friday, and all running finals will take place on Saturday. Northside Independent School District will host the track meet at Heroes Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.