“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to his commitment to excellence, regardless of his chosen field of endeavor.” – Vince Lombardi
Last Wednesday the High school competed in the 30-3A district track meet. I know many of you get bird calls. Coach McCarthy was sending out bird calls in real time. The only calls I own are an owl hoot, a turkey yelper, and a duck call. So, everyone knows how we did I send out these electronic mails. I guess for ten years I have been spoiled competing with the teams from Devine, Fredericksburg, and Bandera who insist that the standards for the throwing rings are maintained and the competition is honorable. Unfortunately, no one insisted on treating throwers as an important part of the meet.
We did well but there were areas which I feel we could have done better. The Varsity girls' throwers of Emily Garcia (JR), Noelia Medina (SO), Alex Medina (SO) and April Bodie (FR) scored 34 points for the team. The JV girls of Emili Oliver (SO), Sydney Estrada (FR) and Amaris Plaza (FR) scored 30 points for the team. The Varsity boys of Victor Garcia (SR), John Flores (SR), James Black (SO), Robey Harold (SO) and Cort Haltom (FR) scored 12 points for the team. The JV lads of Jon Cantu (SO) and Jacob Flores (FR) finished 7th in shot and discus respectively but failed to score any points.
The Discus competition for the varsity was held first. Noelia Medina went into the competition having strained her neck last Saturday. Her first throw placed her in first so I scratched her next two throws because she would make the finals. Her best throw in the competition earned her the District Championship with a throw of 94’7”. Alex Naeglin’s final throw of the competition moved her to second with a nice throw of 94’3”. Emily Garcia placed 5th 2 inches behind the thrower from Dilley but if they would have been measuring every throw instead of having students out in the sector marking whether it was better, I think Emily would have placed fourth.
I knew going into the Varsity boys’ competition that Victor and Cort had to beat the lads from Jourdanton. The red team threw Personal Records on their first throw and Lytle couldn’t match the best. Cort threw 117’4” and the lad from JTown threw 117’10”. Cort and Victor placed 5th and 6th respectively.
The JV threw shot and Emili Oliver threw the District Championship throw with a 27’1” PERSONAL RECORD. Sydney who also plays softball placed sixth with a 21’10” throw. Her footwork has really improved due mainly to her catching in softball. Amaris threw well but because they didn’t measure every throw, I don’t know how far she threw the shot. There is more to tell about Amaris in the discus ring.
It is sad that we cannot get three lads to represent Lytle in the JV rings. Hopefully, that will change next year. Jon Cantu finished 7th with a 31’11” shot. Jacob Flores wasn’t measured.
The Varsity threw both events on Wednesday. We then threw shot. Emily Garcia was not happy leaving 5th from the discus ring. She finished one place from Area as a sophomore. When the pins were measured, she placed in fourth as an Area qualifier with a 30’2” shot. One foot ahead of April who placed 5th with a 29’ shot. Noelia Medina finished 2nd with a toss of 31’4”.
Victor also went into the shot putt ring somewhat down. During warmup, he threw the distance for a new school record but records only count in competition. He placed 2nd with a 45’.5” shot. James Black placed 6th with a 37’.5” shot. Robey Harold finished seventh with 34’10” toss. I told the lads going into the competition that if they wanted to move on, they had to throw 39 or 40’. 3rd and 4th place throwers threw 38’.
The JV boys’ discus had Jacob Flores place 8th with an 81’ throw. He was throwing 96’ throws in warmup but you have to show up when the competition starts.
Emili Oliver and Sydney Estrada went into the discus competition as the favorites. They only got three throws in JV yet in the Junior High we threw four throws. Strange. Emili threw 63’4” to beat Sydney by one inch at 63’3”. Those Jourdanton kids must have calibrated eyeballs. The joy of the day was while I was watching the Varsity shot put, I found that Amaris Plaza had placed 6th. I told her she had medaled 6th in the competition and she began to cry such tears of joy. A parent from Cotulla just smiled as he saw her joy. Sometimes I have throwers throw because they need a place to feel successful.
Well for Victor we go to Area seeking the school record and a trip to regionals. Emily and Noelia have a better chance in the shot to get to regionals. If they both beat the district champion from Dilley they should advance. Noelia and Alex went from the frying pan to the fire. Our Area has the defending gold and silver medalists from the State Track meet in discus. Hey, but if you want to be the best you must compete against the best. Noelia and Alex both needed to throw Personal Records of 110’. If they both throw 110’ they will advance.
“The important thought is that the Packers thrived on tough competition. We welcomed it; the team had always welcomed it. The adrenaline flowed a little quicker when we were playing the tougher teams.”
See pictures at Google Album: District Track Meet 4-4-19@ Jourdanton High School