Will it be ‘Leonel Manzano Track’?
“About three or four months ago we were asked by a community group to consider naming the track after Leonel Manzano,” Superintendent Ryder Warren said. “Everybody was so positive at the time. Now, we’re at the point in the construction process that we need to make a decision.”
As a student at Marble Falls High, Manzano won nine state titles in track and cross country. After graduating, his success as a runner continued at the University of Texas where he earned more than one NCAA championship. In 2007, Manzano represented the United States in the World Championships in Japan where he competed in the 1,500-meter run.
In August, the former Granite Shoals resident earned a spot in the biggest athletic venue — the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
Manzano made it to the second round of the 1,500-meter run before getting eliminated. But it’s not the 2004 Mustang graduate’s running alone that has the School Board considering naming the track in his honor.
“If Leonel had won a gold medal but we didn’t believe he was such a good role model for our students, this probably wouldn’t even be discussed,” Warren said. “I feel it’s his character first and then his accomplishments on the track that prompts this.”
In November 2006, MFISD voters approved a $62.3 million bond package which includes a new athletic complex at the high school. The facility will include a new stadium, track and concession area for about $10 million. The project will replace the current stadium located behind the Marble Falls Middle School. That facility will be used by middle school athletics and be called Pony Stadium.
The city has already named a road after Manzano.
District officials said the new stadium should be completed this spring. MFISD doesn’t name facilities or structures after an individual very often.
That includes the Max Copeland-Mustang Gymnasium at the high school. Copeland is a long-time local resident and retired minister who is often found at numerous athletic and youth events.
When the renovations are completed at the Marble Falls Middle School, the library will be named after the former campus principal and assistant superintendent Ernest Seitz. If the board approves the track item Monday, the Leonel Manzano Track will be the third facility named in honor of somebody.
“We don’t do this very much,” Warren said.
The naming would only apply to the track. The superintendent said the stadium itself would still be called Mustang Stadium. The board meeting is at 6 p.m. in the Marble Falls Middle School cafeteria, 1511 Pony Circle Drive.
daniel@thepicayune.com