A total of 14 Fort Stockton track and field athletes took one step closer to qualifying for the state meet on April 15 at the team’s respective area track meet at Clint Mountain View High School.

A pair of Panther relay teams and Ali Jackson were top performers for Fort Stockton as the five male athletes who made up the two relay teams, and Jackson brought home a total of three gold medals.

Eliazar Lopez and A.J. Garcia will head to regionals in the most events of all Fort Stockton qualifiers, as each will compete in three events on April 23-24 in Lubbock.

The Panthers 400-meter relay squad and the 800-meter relay team both clocked season-best times and placed first as a result.

Miguel Trejo, Eliazar Lopez, A.J. Garcia, and Pedro Vasquez teamed together on the 400 relay and finished the race in 43.1 seconds.

Trejo, Lopez, Garcia, and Aryan Hernandez ended the 800 relay in a time of 1:31.04.

Fort Stockton’s 1,600 relay (Garcia, Lopez, Hernandez, Caleb Garcia) also qualified for regionals via a third—place finish.

Jackson took first place in the 800-meter run and second in the 400-meter dash. The freshman was one place away from qualifying in the 1,600, placing fifth in the event.

The Prowlers 400 relay and 800 relay teams also qualified for regionals with top-four finishes.

Rosa Hernandez, Serena Quiroz, Adriana Aguilar, and Aislynn Robledo qualified for regionals with a third-place finish.

Hernandez, Robledo, and Aguilar were joined by Gabriella Renteria on the 800 relay team. The unit crossed the finish line in fourth place, qualifying for regionals with the mark.

Cross country state qualifier Leslie Esquivel showed off her long-distance running ability by claiming a bronze medal in the 3,200. The upperclassman is one step away from making yet another state appearance this school year.

On the boy’s team, Lopez, Fabian Perez, and Garcia each qualified for the regional meet in individual events.
Lopez recorded earned a silver medal via his best time of the season in the 200-meter dash (22.85).

Perez finish in fourth place in the 1,600 (4:46.30) while Garcia also took fourth, doing so in the triple jump (40 feet 1 1/2 inches).

Zane Hodges just missed out on a qualification to the regional meet, clocking a season-best time in the 300-meter hurdles (42.39) to take fifth.

Hernandez’s best leap in the triple jump was a 1/2 inch less than Garcia, and the mark of 40-1 earned him a fifth-place finish.

The boys 200-meter dash proved to be one of the tightest races of the day as Trejo was 1/2 second behind his teammate, Lopez, who placed second. The 1/2 second proved to be the difference between second place and fifth place.

The Panthers finished in fifth place as a team with 74 points.