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STATE TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Aranda earns state championship in triple jump; finishes as state runner-up in 200m.

Dilley’s Dorian Aranda etched his name in the Dilley High School record books, becoming the district’s newest state champion following competition at the UIL State Track & Field Championships in Austin last Thursday, May 2.
Aranda, a five-time District 28-3A, area and four-time Class 3A Region IV champion, won the state title in the triple jump and was also a state runner-up in the 200m dash.
“Dorian did what no other athlete in the history of Dilley High School had ever done in track and field,” DHS Head Coach Victor Flores said of Aranda’s two state medals.
Aranda, the only competitor for the Wolves at the meet, tallied 24 points in his four events as Dilley finished seventh overall in the team standings.
“Not bad for the one-man crew, placing seventh as a team at state,” Flores noted.

Dilley senior Dorian Aranda won a state title in the triple jump and earned silver in the 200m dash at the UIL Track & Field State Championships in Austin last Thursday, May 2. He helped Dilley place seventh at the meet. (Photos courtesy: Keeley Jo McKinney & Ray Aranda)

Aranda opened action Thursday morning with the long jump, where he finished just shy of earning a spot on the medal stand, taking fourth with a leap of 21’10-1/2″.
Aranda’s personal best and school record tying jump of 22′ 8-1/2″ that he set earlier this year, would have been good for first at the state meet.
Later that day, he would earn his state title, cruising to the top finish in the triple jump.
Aranda hit his winning mark on the final attempt of prelims. He then was able to strategically watch the opposition come up short of his mark of 46′ 9-3/4″ and went on to capture the gold medal in the event.
Far from done for the day, Aranda then competed in the 100m dash early that evening.
Aranda did not run close to his best time of the year, hitting a mark of 10.70 to finish fifth overall in the event. He ran a 10.51 and a 10.55 in events earlier this year. Those times would have landed him in second place at state.

“He ran in a competitive field of athletes from second through fifth place,” Flores said. “They were all separated by only .09 of a second from each other.”
Aranda then capped his day with a silver medal finish in the 200m dash, setting a new personal best time and school record mark of 21.67.
The senior capped a successful track and field career as an 11-time district champion, ten-time area champion, four-time regional champion and as a state champion and state runner-up.
He holds school records in the 100m dash (10.51), 200m dash (21.67) and long jump (tied with JJ Neves at 22′ 8-1/2″). He also has the second best mark in the triple jump at 46′ 9-3/4″. Neves holds the standard at 47′ 3-1/4″.
“We’re so proud of Dorian and how well he has progressed over the years as a track athlete, and setting the example for the younger generations,” Flores said. “We hope to continue with this success for the years to come.”