Area 31/32-5A Round Up: McHi girls, Pioneer boys shine at area meet

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HARLINGEN — Black and red and purple and gold were common colors at the podium during Wednesday and Thursday’s Area 31/32-5A track and field championships, with Sharyland Pioneer’s boys and McAllen High’s girls dominating the competition en route to team championships.

The Diamondbacks finished with 88 points to edge out Weslaco East (83) and McAllen High (80) for the area championship.

The Bulldogs racked up 209 points during the meet, over 140 more than McAllen Memorial, who finished second with 60 points.

The Diamondbacks captured six of the 17 available gold medals during the two-day event, with three different athletes earning double golds.

The Bulldogs racked up 11 gold medals during the meet, including a sweep of the relays. McAllen High also won all but one gold during the running events, with Edinburg Vela’s Emon Mason winning the 400-meter dash.

Here’s a look at some of the top performances from the Area 31/32-5A track and field championships.

Derek Thompson, Sharyland Pioneer: Thompson was one of three Sharyland Pioneer athletes to earn a pair of gold medals during the meet, sweeping the throwing events for a second straight meet.

The junior thrower recorded a throw of 58 feet, 10 inches during the shot put to win the event, with his mark coming in over three feet further than Edinburg Vela’s Kris Perez, who finished second.

He performed even better during the discus throw, setting a meet record during the event with a mark of 184-9. The throw broke the previous record of 179-11 set by fellow Sharyland ISD athlete Chukwubueze Ikondu set in 2023.

Thompson’s performance sends him back to the regional meet after missing last year due to injury. He enters the meet as a contender in both events, ranking sixth in the state in discus this year and ninth in the shot put.

Angel Rodriguez, Sharyland Pioneer: Rodriguez earned the title of Valley’s best in the long jump during Day 1 of the area track and field championships, setting an RGV record in the event with a jump of 24 feet, 9 inches. The jump broke the previous record of 24-6.5 set by Harlingen High’s Jose Garcia in 2021.

He followed up his record breaking day by securing a second straight regional berth in the 400-meter run, winning the area title with a time of 50.60.

The 2024 state qualifier seems to be peaking at the right time, with his jump ranking second in Class 5A heading into next week’s regional meet.

Rodriguez will look to punch his ticket to state in both events once again, advancing in both during last year’s regional championships.

Marcus Mata, Donna High: Mata opened his area meet by setting a area meet record in the pole vault, recording a mark of 15 feet, 1 inch. His vault was five inches further than Sharyland Pioneer’s Jonathan Villarreal, who finished second. The mark also ranks No. 24 all time in RGV history.

Mata added a second gold medal during Day 2 of competition, blowing past everyone to earn gold during the 100-meter dash.

The senior’s area titles marked the second and third of his career, also winning the area 31/32-5A pole vaulting title in 2023.
He’ll look to advance to the state meet for the first time in his career during next week’s Region IV-5A track and field championships in San Antonio.

David Zuniga, Sharyland Pioneer: Zuniga missed out on area titles last year, finishing second and third in the 1,600 and 3,200-meter runs, respectively.

He came back with a vengeance this season, sweeping the events to join Thompson and Rodriguez as a pair of double gold medalists for the Diamondbacks.

The senior distance runner battled it out with Weslaco East’s Aaron Nava for the gold during the 3,200-meter run Wednesday, winning by less than a second with a time of 9:42.67. Nava finished in 9:43.99.

He demonstrated his racing prowess during the 1,600-meter run Thursday, beating Weslaco East’s Adrianno Gonzalez by .41 seconds for the gold. Zuniga clocked in at 4:21.67.

Zuniga is now set to return to the regional meet for a second straight year, looking to improve from last year after finishing seventh and 11^th in the 1,600 and 3,200, respectively.

Sophia Flores, McAllen High: Flores continued to prove to be one of the Valley’s fastest, blazing past the competition during the 100- and 200-meter dash Thursday to secure a pair of individual regional berths.

The junior sprinter smoked the competition during the 100-meter dash, clocking in at 11.94 seconds for the gold. Her sub-11 second time was the only one during her race.

She added another gold during the 200-meter dash, clocking in at 24.86 for the win. Once again, Flores was the lone athlete to break the sub-25 second barrier.

Flores also helped during McAllen High’s sweep of the relay events, anchoring the Bulldogs 4×200 relay team to secure the gold. The time of 1:42.31 broke the area meet record set by McAllen High last year.
Flores is set to make her third straight regional meet appearance in as many tries after a dominant showing at the area meet.

Dana Rojas Vazquez, McAllen High: Rojas Vazquez’s senior year has been a dominant one. She finished her cross country season as the silver medalist in Class 5A. She looks primed to add more hardware during track season, once again dominating the competition during the Area 31/32-5A championships.

She kicked off her area meet by setting a personal best during the 3,200-meter run, finishing in first with a time of 10:38.90. The mark ranks No. 2 all-time in RGV history, while also ranked as the No. 1 time in Class 5A this season.

Rojas Vazquez added a silver medal during the 800-meter run Thursday, finishing behind her teammate Sophia Simpson in the event. Simpson, a freshman, won the race with a time of 2:16.50, while Rojas Vazquez followed in 2:17.23.

The University of Houston commit capped her area meet with a dominant showing during the 1,600-meter run, cruising to another gold with a time of 5:04.23. Rojas Vazquez is vying for her second straight state meet appearance in the 3,200 during next week’s regional meet, while also hoping to advance in the 1,600 for the first time.

Dariana Luna, McAllen High: It’s hard to find another athlete as dominant as Luna. The multisport athlete continue to prove to be one of the Valley’s premier competitors Wednesday and Thursday, earning regional berths in four events.

Luna’s day began with the long jump and high jump on Wednesday at Richard Thompson Stadium in Mission, earning regional bids in both.

The senior finished second in the long jump with a mark of 17-4, finishing just one inch behind Brownsville Lopez’s Paola Solis. Luna added another regional berth during the long jump, finishing fourth with a mark of 4-10.

Luna’s best performances came during the running events, however, sweeping the hurdling events as she’s done all year against RGV competition.

The now three-time regional qualifier record a time of 14.04 during the 100-meter hurdles, over one second faster the second place finisher. She finished her day by dominating the competition during the 300-meter hurdles, finish almost three seconds faster than the competition. Luna clocked in at 44.58 during the race.

The senior is now gearing up to defend her regional title in the 100-meter hurdles, while also looking for her first regional title in the 300-meter hurdles.

Isabella Parker, Mercedes: Parker is heading back to regionals for a second straight year, only this year she’ll be competing in two events after earning a pair of bids during the Area 31/32-5A championships.

The junior grabbed her first bid during Day 1 of the competition, winning the high jump title with a mark of 5-2.

She added a second berth during the running finals, finishing second during the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.42 to secure a return to the regional meet in the event.

Parker nearly added a third regional berth during the 300-meter hurdles, finishing fifth in the event. The top four finishers from each event advance to the regional meet.

For a full look at the results from all of the RGV’s area meets, click here.

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