PSJA North Winter Relays Top Performers – 02/01/25

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The RGV continued to shine at the state level in track and field last season, with five individuals earning state crowns and five others reaching the podium.

This year should be no different, with several of last year’s podium finishers back and several others looking to leave their mark.

The journey to state began Saturday, with several of the RGV’s standout athletes competing in the 43rd PSJA North Winter Relays at PSJA Stadium in Pharr.

Here’s a look at some of the top performances from Saturday’s action. For a full look at the results from meets across the RGV, click here.

Nicole Richer, Junior, Brownsville St. Joseph: The defending TAPPS 5A state champion kicked off her junior campaign with a gold medal performance, clearing over one foot higher than the next competitor during Saturday’s girls pole vault competition.

The two-time state medalist finished with a mark of 10 feet, 6 inches for the gold, with no other competitor going over 9-6. Richer attempted to break the meet record of 11-00 set by Weslaco High’s Sydney Salinas in 2016, but the junior vaulter fell just short.

Richer is an early favorite to defend her state title, with her early season mark not far off from her PR of 11-00 a year ago.

Derek Thompson, Junior, Sharyland Pioneer: After a promising freshman campaign, Thompson’s sophomore year ended prematurely due to injury, not competing in any meets last season.

The junior thrower came out with a vengeance Saturday, needing just his first throw to secure the gold and a meet record in the boys discus throw. Thompson recorded a mark of 171-01 to win the event, breaking the previous record of 170-04 set by Brownsville Veterans’ Andres Booden in 2018.

Thompson’s gold medal performance marks the first of his career, setting the tone for a possible state meet run. His brother, Evan Thompson, made a run of his own in 2023 where he finished the year as the Class 5A shot put champion.

The junior thrower also added a bronze medal on the day during the shot put, setting another personal best with a mark of 53-06.5.

Paris Gomez, Junior, Sharyland High: Gomez was one of the top female performers during Saturday’s season-opening meet, capturing a pair of gold medals during the day.

The junior opened her day by taking home first in the long jump, recording a mark of 16-07.25 for the gold. Her jump was over six inches further than the next competitor.

She carried that momentum into the meet’s running events, adding her second gold medal during the 100-meter hurdles. The junior hurdler took first in a field of 14 athletes with a time of 16.63, nearly one second faster than the next finisher.

Her gold in the hurdles marks the first of her career according to her Athletic.net profile, with her first-place finish in the long jump the second of her career.

Kristopher Perez, Senior, Edinburg Vela: Perez has established himself as a household name in the ring over the past two years, entering his senior campaign with a pair of state meet appearances under his belt.

After a year plagued with injures, the Houston signee looks primed to return to the big stage this season, opening his final campaign by capturing first in the boys shot put.

Perez beat out his competition by nearly four feet during the event, recording a throw of 58-04.5 on his second throw to capture first.

The Vela thrower wasn’t done after winning the shot put, adding a silver in the discus with a throw of 159-05.

Delylah Briscoe, Senior, Mission High: Briscoe scratched on her first attempt at 4-10 during the high jump Saturday, placing her behind Los Fresnos’ Laylah Galvan in the standing.

After clearing the mark on her next attempt, Briscoe followed it up by being the only athlete to clear the 5-feet mark in the next round to take home the gold.

Briscoe was near-perfect during Saturday’s debut, clearing every mark on her first attempt until reaching 4-10. She quickly bounced back by clearing the 5-0 mark on her first try in the next round, however.

The season-opening mark is just one inch shy of her personal best of 5-1 set last season.

Christopher Kirk, Senior, Mission High: Kirk’s athleticism was on full display during the meet’s jumping events, flying his way to a sweep of the long and triple jump.

Despite going back-and-forth between the events, Kirk managed to finish atop both leaderboards, ending the day with a pair of individual golds.

Kirk edged teammate Brandon Solis for first in the triple jump with a mark of 42-01.25. Solis finished in second with a jump of 41-07.75.

He added to his medals in the long jump, earning the gold with a mark of 20-05. Kirk was the lone athlete to reach the 20 feet mark Saturday.

Jayden Pinkard, Senior, McAllen Memorial: Pinkard notched a pair of top four finishes Saturday, including gold-medal performance during the girls shot put.

Her big day comes nearly one year since her last first-place finish, last capturing gold during the 2024 Yellow Jacket Relays.

Pinkard secured her spot atop the leaderboard in the shot put with a throw of 39-01.5, a personal best for the Mustangs thrower.

She followed it up by adding fourth in the girls discus, an event that featured nearly 30 athletes. Pinkard finished just outside of a medal finish in the event, coming just over two feet behind the bronze medalist with her best mark of 104-11.

Masyn Vela, Senior, McAllen Memorial: Vela enters the 2025 track and field seasons as one of the top hurdlers not only in the area but in the entire region.

He made sure to solidify that Saturday, kicking off his senior campaign with a sweep of the hurdle events.

Vela blazed his way to a personal and meet record in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking in at 14.70 seconds for the win. The time beat a 10 year old record of 14.74 set by Donna High’s Vince Castillo in 2015.

He added to his medal count during the 300-meter hurdles, finishing in 37.99 for his second gold and second meet record of the day. The time beat his own meet record of 39.40 set last year.

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