AUSTIN, TX — Menard’s Danni Ruiz won three gold medals Saturday to lead a sensational day by Concho Valley athletes at the UIL Class 1A State Track and Field Meet.
The Menard junior won the 400- and 800-meter races for the third straight year, and she brought home her first state title in the 1600.
Ruiz ran a time of 2 minutes, 19.16 seconds to win the 800 by more than two seconds over the rest of the field. She followed that up with a 58.47 in the 400 to again win by more than two seconds.
Finally, she won the 1600 in 5:15.97, which was just 1.06 seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Ruiz’s three gold medals single-handedly gave Menard 30 points and a tie for third place in the team standings.
Menard was one of three Concho Valley schools to finish in the top five in the girls team standings.
Veribest scored 32 points to finish in second place behind Gordon’s 52. The Lady Falcons had a pair of gold medals from Chloe Becker in the 100 and 200 and a third-place finish from its 4x100 relay team of Kayden Broadway, Shaelee Leal, Aidyn Palmer and Becker.
Becker defended her state title in the 200 in 24.78 seconds, and she avenged her second-place performance last year in the 100 with a winning time of 12.20.
Water Valley tied for third with 26 points thanks to a win in the 4x200 relay and a third-place performance from Janaye Coston in the long jump (17 feet, 6.75 inches — which was just an inch away from a gold medal).
Water Valley’s 4x200 relay team members were Brooke Woods, Adalyn Luna, Sydney Treadaway and Coston, and they ran a time of 1:44.88.
Irion County freshman Presley Parker also had a stellar day by winning the pole vault with a mark of 11 feet, 7 inches, and taking second place in the 300 hurdles (46.36).
Garden City’s 4x100 relay of Natalie Crownover, Emily Easterling, Claire Eggemeyer and Sydney Tomlinson brought home a silver medal with a time of 50.56.
Richland Springs Boys Finish 2nd in State
The Richland Springs Coyotes scored 69 points Saturday, which would have been enough to win a state championship many years, but they had to settle for second place behind Gordon’s 81.
The Coyotes claimed three gold medals — two by Brice Roesler in the shot put (55-1.5) and discus (165-8), and another from the 4x200 relay team of Layne Ward, Evan Deeds, Ethan Deeds and Cohen Ethridge in a time of 1:30.29.
Ethridge won a remarkable four medals on the day as he claimed silvers in the long jump (22-7.75) and 300 hurdles (38.50), and he was part of a bronze medal-winning 4x100 relay, along with Ward and the Deeds brothers.
Click here for a full list of results from Saturday, which includes 1A and 6A schools.
Concho Valley Wins 6 Medals Friday at 2A Meet
There were some memorable performances by Concho Valley athletes on Friday at the Class 2A state meet, including a gold medal by Mason’s Caden Klingelhefer in the boys 800.
The Mason junior ran a time of 1:57.77 to clip Hamilton’s Colton DeLaGarza by .13 seconds.
The win — along with Kingston Garza’s third-place showing in the 400 — helped Mason to an eighth-place finish in the team standings.
Ozona’s 4x100 relay of Graciano Garcia, Joe Jurado, Trey Ruiz and Christian Villarreal ran to a second-place finish in a time of 42.55, which was just .04 seconds behind Shiner.
It was the last athletic performance of Villarreal’s high school career, capping a spectacular senior season when he ran for 3,667 yards during football season, averaged 19 points per game during basketball season, and hit a walk-off home run during baseball season.
Another silver medal came from Christoval’s Khloe Bolander in the girls pole vault. The Lady Cougars junior had a vault of 11-9.
Christoval’s Colt Floyd missed the medal stand by .01 seconds after his fourth-place finish in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.77 seconds.
Coleman’s Victoria Guerrero had an outstanding day with three top-five showings. She was third in the 1600, fifth in the 3200 and fourth as a member of the 4x400 relay, along with Kylie Strickland, Makenna Edwards and Savannah Hurtado.
Junction’s Brock Bierschwale won a bronze medal in the 300 hurdles.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: