Gregory-Portland pole vaulters headline successful day at regional track meet

SAN ANTONIO — The sea of red and blue in the corner of Heroes Stadium is not hard to spot.

And they're there every year, perched overlooking the pole vault competition.

The names may change, but the results do not.

Gregory-Portland's Madison Snody won the girls pole vault (13-feet), after coming in as the favorite, and Ryder Harrison won the boys event (15-6), both on fewer misses as the Wildcats doubled in one of the events they are most known for at the Region IV-5A Track Meet.

Snody returns to state after missing last year during an injury-plagued season and Harrison qualified as a sophomore after his older brother Colton had qualified in each of the last two seasons. It was the third time since 2015 that G-P had at least one boys and girls pole vaulter advance to state and ninth straight year that the Wildcats will send a vaulter to state.

"I knew I had a chance to do it and hit 15-6," Ryder Harrison said. "It was coming down to attempts, so I had to really lock in. I got over on the first attempt on every bar and that got me the win. It is all mental when it comes to regionals. You have to know you can do it.

"We hold ourselves to a higher standard (at G-P) and when it comes to big meets, we are ready to compete."

Harrison's success was made sweeter after coming off a significant lung injury that required hospitalization during football season and after the sophomore needed a third attempt to hit his opening height at the District 29-5A meet, nearly ending his season prematurely.

Harrison's pole vault coach, Kevin Hall, of the Vault Barn, said Ryder's older brother Colton helped the cause with some field-level advice as the sophomore cleared 15-6 for the first time in competition.

Ryder follows Colton (pole vault) and their oldest brother Hunter (discus) as state track qualifiers.

"It is pretty awesome, it is like the passing of the torch," Ryder Harrison said. "I learned from them and they are coaching me up and it is helpful."

Snody said when she was injured as a junior there were doubts that she'd ever get back into the same form she had as a sophomore, but success in the summer, including winning the prestigious MAC Vault National Championship, helped her understand that she could even reach new heights.

"After my injuries, it means a lot and I'm grateful to get a chance to go back," Snody said. "Last year at this time I was not confident I was ever going to get back, but I worked really hard last summer and offseason to get to where I am. I double PR'ed (personal record) at MAC Vault and a couple weeks before that I also had set a new PR that is when I knew I could get back to it."

More: Veterans Memorial's Temoc Zamora builds off Texas Relay experience

Gregory-Portland sends quartet to state

Sophomore Kaitlyn Kilgore and junior TJ Schmidt each made the most of their final throws in shot put on Friday — with Kilgore winning the girls event (40-4.5) and Schmidt moving up from fifth to second (55-8).

Flour Bluff's Cameran Dickson surprises long jump field

Hornets junior Cameran Dickson set a new PR with a jump of 23-1.5 to beat the Region IV field, despite coming in with the seventh-best mark from the area meets.

Veterans Memorial's Brody Garcia claims high jump crown

It took Vets sophomore Brody Garcia three attempts at 6-foot-6 to with high jump and clear the bar he topped at area, but given a crack at 6-8, Garcia sailed over the bar to also establish a new best clearance to go with his gold medal.

Kiana Lanton, London Martinez break Veterans Memorial triple jump record

Eagles sophomore Kiana Lanton (38-feet, 2-inches) and senior London Martinez (37-10.75) both broke the Veterans Memorial school record in girls triple jump on Saturday, with Lanton booking a trip to Austin with her new PR taking second place.

Worth noting

King's Diego Canto and Veterans Memorial Michael Rodriguez finished fourth and fifth in the boys 3,200-meter run.

Carroll freshman Daniel Flores took sixth in boys triple jump.

Flour Bluff's Maggie Croft finished fourth in the long jump and fourth in girls shot put while Hornets senior Drake Ebelt was sixth in boys shot put. Austin Villanueva was sixth in boys high jump

Veterans Memorial's Brooklyn Rincon and King's Janiya Jenkins finished sixth and seventh in women's shot put.

Gregory-Portland sophomore Tristen Grimes and freshman Bailey Mitchell finished third and sixth in girls pole vault.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: G-P pole vaulters headline successful day at regional track meet