The TAPPS State Track meet was held concurrently to the UIL State meet at Midway High School in Waco. San Antonio area teams and athletes were very successful including a pair of team titles for the Fredericksburg Heritage and Holy Cross boys.
All He Does is Win
There is a superstar track athlete living in San Antonio who does not often get notices. Junior Andrew Wright of the Lutheran School of San Antonio is a complete sprinter who excels at the 100m, 200m and 400m. He won three individual gold medals this past weekend at the 3A level. He ran 10.64 in the 100m, 21.11 in the 200m and 47.60 in the 400m and the races were not particularly close. It was the second straight year he has won all three events.
Wright and his teammate, Aiden Martinez, nearly swept all three events. Martinez was second in the 100m (11.04), second in the 400m (50.57) and third in the 200m (22.32). The duo combined for 52 of the 57 total points that Lutheran earned at the meet.
Title Town
Fredericksburg Heritage has been a powerhouse program at the 1A level for many years for both their boys and girls. The boys won their eighth team title since 2005 with 123 points, doubling up second place Hill Country Christian. Bridger Welch led the way with an incredible four solo and one relay State title. He won the 110mh (15.86), 400m (52.86), high jump (6-0), and pole vault (12-0) and then closed out the meet anchoring the winning 4x400m relay team in 3:40.84.
The Eagles were not just a one-man show. Wyatt Craven earned a silver medal in the 300mh (44.07) and a bronze medal in the 110mh (17.44) and was also on the 4x400m team. Zeke Shipman was the bronze medalist in the 300mh (44.24) and took the silver medal in the pole vault (12-0). The team also picked up good points in the 4x100m and 4x200m relays finishing in third place in each.
The Heritage girls team has won four State titles since 2012 and finished in third place with 79 points, the best finish of any TAPPS San Antonio area girls teams. SSkyelar Welch Fredericksburg was the team's top performer earning 30.5 points total. She won the triple jump (33-10.75), was second in the 300mh (49.96), fourth in both the 100mh (17.86) and long jump (15-1.5) and was part of the fourth place 4x100m relay team.
Holy Cross Wins Big
Holy Cross won the 4A boys title with 111 points and they capped off the victory by winning the 4x400m. The quartet of Jackson Vann-Morgan, Jayden Olivarez, Aiden Olivarez and Julian Salas won the race in 3:25.31. Vann-Morgan won an individual gold in the 300mh with his time of 40.19 and he finished second in the 110mh (15.82). Salas was the runner-up in the 400m (49.96) and Aiden Olivarez added fifth place in the event, 51.78. Salas was also part of the winning 4x200m team that crossed the line in 1:30.12.
Adrian De Los Santos and Josue Lerma were big contributors to the title. De Los Santos opened the meet by winning the 3200m in 9:53.42 and then he finished his meet with a bronze medal in the 1600m (4:38.50). Lerma won the discus with a throw of 158-0 and added points in the high jump by clearing 5-10 and the shot put with a heave of 48-7.25.
Gold Medal Winners
Brianna Hall (First Baptist Academy) starts off the group of athletes who took home gold medals. She took home 1A titles in the 100mh (15.60), 300mh (47.33) and high jump (5-2) for a second straight season giving her eight State titles in her career.
Sophia Grinstead (Bracken Christian) capped off an incredible career with two more victories at the 2A level. She won the shot put for a fourth consecutive year with a throw of 39-4. She also won her third straight gold medal in the discus with a toss of 126-5.
Lauren Hurst (San Marcos Academy) took home the 3A title in the discus with a throw of 94-10 and added a silver medal in the shot put with her toss of 30-11.75.
Sticking with the field events both Josiah Wentrcek (Castle Hills) and Rye Roberts (San Marcos Academy) took home triple jump titles. Wentrcek eclipsed his personal best on both his fourth and fifth attempts finishing with a best mark of 44-8.25 to win the 4A triple jump. He finished third in the high jump (6-0) and 110mh (15.84) and finished with 27 points. Roberts posted his winning jump on his second attempt, 44-9.25, to take the 3A triple jump.
Josh Hoover (Saint Mary's Hall) won his gold medal in the 5A long jump. Despite fouling on four of his attempts, on his fourth attempt he went 22-3.5 to win the event. He was the silver medalist in the high jump (6-2) and bronze medalist in the 200m (21.85).
Two locals were in direct competition for the 4A boys pole vault, Barrett Thornhill (New Braunfels Christian) and Brady Chandler (Geneva). Chandler was leading for most of the event remaining perfect at each height until 14-6 where he cleared on his second attempt. Thornhill had a miss at 13-0 and 13-6 and missed twice at 14-0 before clearing 14-6 on his first attempt. After both went out at 15-0, the gold medal went to Thornhill.
Micaela Villarreal (Antonian) ran sparingly this Spring, but she did enough to take home the 6A girls title in the 800m with her personal best time of 2:13.54.
Distance runners Adrian Rule (San Antonio Christian) and Wells Peterson (TMI) each nabbed wins. Rule took the 3200m title in 5A with a time of 9:33.21 and he was runner-up in the 1600m with a time of 4:28.64. Peterson ran the fastest times of the meet in both the 3200m (9:08.88) and 1600m (4:15.04) to take home both 6A crowns.
Peterson's teammate, Kagan Hill (TMI), was the final the individual gold medalist. He won the 6A boys 400m race in 48.48.
Multi-Medal Performances
I have mentioned most of the athletes who earned multiple medals over the weekend, but there are still a few others that need to be recognized. Ashlyn Prescott (Bracken Christian) had a big performance at the 2A girls meet. She was the runner-up in the 100mh with a time of 16.85 and then added bronze medals in the 300mh (50.20) and triple jump (35-1.25).
Antonian's John Boland would have been the distance star of the meet if it wasn't for Wells Peterson. Boland was the 6A boys runner-up in the 3200m running a time of 9:19.95 and he took the same honor in the 1600m with a time of 4:19.26.
The New Braunfels Christian Academy girls had a pair of successful relay teams with the 4x200m squad taking second and the 4x100m team was third. The team of Charleigh Albergaria, Ellie Schwandt, Maren Joseph and Karley Kruger finished in 1:51.10 for the 4x200m. Albergaria and Kruger were joined by Amira El-Kadi and Leigh Ann Skelton in the 4x100m finishing in 50.78.
Other Medalists
Hopefully, I don't miss anyone in this section, but winning a State medal of any kind is difficult and should be recognized.
Ava Gonzalez (Castle Hills), pole vault
Hannah Hill (First Baptist Academy), high jump
Kaliya Jones (Antonian), long jump
Bella Morales (Incarnate Word), shot put
Ariel Bosmans (Holy Cross), discus
Chloe Hawkins (Incarnate Word), high jump
Ireland Gunder (San Marcos Academy), long jump
Benjamin Tabor (Fredericksburg Heritage), pole vault
Jonas West (Hill Country Christian), shot put
Kaleb Fluitt (Antonian), discus
Rocky Martinez (St. Anthony's), triple jump
Evan Woolf (River City Believers Academy), discus
Savannah Parker (Castle Hills), 3200m
Fredericksburg Heritage girls, 4x400m
First Baptist Academy girls, 4x200m
San Marcos Academy girls, 4x200m
San Antonia Christian girls, 4x100m
Ellie Scott (Saint Mary's Hall), 800m
Avery Parvin (Providence), 100mh
Nathan Womack (San Antonio Christian), 1600m
Antonian boys, 4x400m
Ben Tomsett (Hill Country Christian), 100m
Chloe Nellis (Incarnate Word), 300mh
Hill Country Christian boys, 4x400m
School Records
In this section, I want to highlight the new school records that were set during the week. I need coaches to please let me know when you have a new record set. Either email me at shanemeling@gmail.com or message at me @ShaneMeling on X (Twitter).
Brady Chandler, Geneva, 100m, 11.07
Senior Signings
I would like to keep a running tally of all the track and field and cross country signings so please contact me if you notice someone is missing.
Taylor Nunez, Randolph, Texas A&M
Sophia Bendet, Randolph, Texas A&M
Zailey Zimmerman, Smithson Valley, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Mia Perez, Smithson Valley, Texas
Thomas Bucks, Johnson, Penn
Zac Miller, Brennan, Houston
Christopher Harris, Cornerstone, UIW
Alicia Galvez, Southwest Legacy, Houston
Gavin Chapa, Reagan, Texas A&M
Maddie Meinke, Boerne Champion, Western Colorado
Mia Stewart, Madison, Southeastern Oklahoma
Luis Tovar, Boerne Champion, UIW
Michael Repper-Molina, Johnson, Boston University
Jade Perez, Clark, Adams State
Caroline Peterson, Pieper, Texas
Aiden Martinez, Great Hearts Monte Vista, Yale
Aiden Reed, Poth, SFA
Caila Lyons, Brennan, Iowa
Taylor Fuentespina, Johnson, Army
Eli Bliss, Davenport, Trinity
Jorge Vargas, McCollum, Our Lady of the Lake
Crissangel Avitua, Southside, Our Lady of the Lake
Daisha Shular, Seguin, East Carolina
Kelsay Edwards, Taft, Trinity
Kinlee Lawlis, Bandera, Angelo State
Jake Grullon, O'Connor, UIW
Katie Burnett, Reagan, New Orleans
Clifton McBride, Brennan, Central Arkansas
Max Bacon, Alamo Heights, Rice
Olivia Peak, San Antonio Christian, Binghamton
Deven Langston, Steele, Our Lady of the Lake
Sofia Lundy, John Paul II, Our Lady of the Lake
Ocean Moreno, Seguin, UIW
Bryce Lloyd, Sotomayor, Houston Christian
Addison Jackson, Reagan, Southwestern
Isabella Gaylord, Reagan, Trinity
Ilan De Luna, Churchill, UIW
Julius Johnson, Sotomayor, Schreiner
Christian Peralta, Floresville, Texas A&M-Kingsville
DeAnthony Anderson, East Central, UIW
Avery Parvin, Providence, Trinity
Sophie Gaddy, Providence, ETBU
Kimberly Juarez, Providence, ETBU
Josiah Green, Judson, UIW
Alexandra Johnson, Antonian, Tulsa
What's Next
The TTFCA Meet of Champions is hosted by Antonian this year on Friday and Saturday.