By CONSTANCIO MARTINEZ, JR.
Special to the PRESS
Summer track has begun, and a local Track & Field team, “Coastal Heat,” is making headlines as they competed in two T&F meets this past weekend. The team is comprised of the following athletes: D’Anthony Howard, Jordan Badillo, Elle Wall, Escarlet Urrutia, Jayda Howard, Layla Mata, and Johvonne Hernandez Howard.
On Friday, June 6, the team competed in the 2025 USATF Association Youth JO, Masters, and Racewalk Championships held in Seguin, TX.
Up first was Badillo, who competed in the boys (15-16) 1500m run, where he won gold with a time of 4h55m30s.
In the (11-12) Shot Put event, Ja. Howard won gold with a throw of 30’-1.5”, setting a new personal record.
She also won gold in the (11-12) Discus event with a throw of 72’-9”, a new personal record.
In the girls’ (17-18) Shot Put event, Urrutia won gold with a throw of 32’-7.5”, setting a new personal record.
She also won gold in the (17-18) Discus event with a throw of 101’-8”, a new personal record.
In the Master’s division Shot Put event, coach Jo. Howard won gold with a throw of 123’-8”.
In the (15-16) 100m Hurdles, Mata won gold with a time of 17.96s, setting a new personal record.
In the 200-meter run, Wall won gold with a time of 27.14s, setting a new personal record. Right behind Wall was Mata, who won silver with a time of 29.10s.
On Saturday, June 7, the team participated in the North-South Texas Primary Championships and the LC Express Invitational. The meet was held at Buffalo Stadium in Giddings, TX, and featured hundreds of athletes from ages 6-18 from all over Texas.
In the boy’s (7-8) Javelin event, D. Howard won silver with a throw of 47’-2”, just two inches shy of first place.
He also won silver in the Shot Put event with a throw of 4.72m, setting a new personal record in both
events.
In the girls (11-12 Years old) Shot Put event, Ja. Howard won gold with a distance of 8.80m. She also won gold in the (11-12 Years old) Javelin event with a throw of 74’-2”. She earned a third gold in the Discus event
(stat unavailable).
In the (15-16) High Jump, Wall won bronze with a height of 5’-2”, a new personal record. Mata came in 5th place with a height of 4’-10”, also setting a new personal record.
In the girls (17-18 Years old) Shot Put event, Urrutia won gold with a distance of 34’-1.5”, out throwing the silver medalist by almost four feet. Coach and competitor, Jo. Howard put it succinctly, “We came, We Saw, We Conquered.”
Proud of her team’s efforts, Coach Howard stated, “All team members qualified for the (USATF) Regional in Odessa in July,” and her son, D. Howard, also advanced to the regionals held at the end of the month.
In the meantime, up next for the team is the Track & Field AAU District Qualifiers Meet to be held at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Brownsville, TX on Friday, June 13th. The top 16 finishers in each individual, relay, and field event shall advance to the regional meet.
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