Classes 1A and 6A take home 5 gold medals at State Meet

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AUSTIN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Rio Grande Valley brought home six medals in the final day of 2024 UIL Track and Field State Meet.

In Class 1A, Lasara senior Xiomara Rodriguez earned two gold medals in the girls’ shot put and discus. Rodriguez threw a personal best, 154.7 feet, to capture the discus championship, but that wasn’t her only personal record. Prior to the discus event, Rodriguez threw for a mark of 41-5.50 in the shot put.

Of her stellar performance, Rodriguez said, “It honestly feels amazing. I’ve worked hard throughout all my high school years, and it’s honestly amazing. I didn’t think I was going to hit 150 feet because in practice, I never hit 150. In God’s graces and with me working hard, it did help a lot to give me the courage and stamina that I needed.”

Rodriguez wasn’t the only one who enjoyed a great performance. Edinburg North’s San Juanita Leal successfully defended her Girls’ Class 6A 3200-meter title. The Texas A&M commit finished with a time of 10:02.10.

Leal wasn’t done there; she claimed the bronze medal in the 800-meter with a time of 2:08.88. She would then cap off her night in triumphant fashion, defending her gold in the 1600-meter. She clocked in at 4:42.30.

“It means a lot,” Leal said. “I wasn’t really getting recognized like all year basically, and to come here and show what I am and what I could do is really special. I’m so happy to represent myself and the Valley in the State meet and hopefully a few national meets as well.”

It was a first for Harlingen senior Jazmine Thompson. The Wake Forest commit broke through in her third appearance at State, taking home the gold in the 6A Shot Put with a throw of 47.8 feet.

“Third times a charm,” Thompson said. “This is my moment, and I came to seize it. There’s no point in me coming this many times and not showing who I am, so I was like this is my year. This is my last one. Might as well pop off.”